The First Niyama - Saucha (Purity)

For the month of December, we have been contemplating the first niyama - Saucha which can be translated as purity, simplicity, refinement.  We can begin our practice of Saucha in the body, looking at what we consume and how we take care of our body - aiming towards more often choosing purity of food and drink and maintaining practices that help us detoxify our body.  We can examine our thoughts and notice how the quality of our thoughts effect us.  Do we tend to go to negative thoughts?  Do we consume tv shows, magazines, websites, etc. that water our negative seeds, like anger, fear, worry, guilt, shame? or can we choose to take in things that inspire us and make us feel the deep joy and love that is our true nature?  Thich Nhat Hanh's translation of the fifth precept as the Fifth Mindfulness Training in the Plum Village tradition brings us back to these deep practices of Saucha - Purity, Refinement, Simplicity.  We can use this training as a north star to guide us on the path.  We know we are not perfect and we don't need to practice with guilt or shame.  We do the best we can and try to learn along the way.


Nourishment and Healing

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body and consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the Earth.

 http://www.plumvillage.org/mindfulness-trainings/3-the-five-mindfulness-trainings.html


In the season of Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanzaa, we see the element of light in each tradition reminding us of our purity, of the divine spirit in each one of us.  We can use these reminders of the candles, the holiday lights, the prayers, to go deep inside to the witness consciousness, the wisdom, the sense of expansiveness and interbeing that brings us great peace.  Taking the time for contemplation and rest to go into our bodies, breath, and mind, to find the light within, to see first what obscures that light and open to find a path, ask for a path to clarity.  Then bask in that light, however small.  Breathe into it.  Fan the flames.  Let it grow.  And, let it shine.  Be the light, the love, the spirit you want to see in the world.  And, make it a practice to see the light in the other before you speak, before you act, before you make assumptions about them.  The more often we come back to our center, to our light, to what is pure in us, the stronger that energy or groove becomes and the easier it will be to witness our life from that place, to navigate our life from that place.  May we remember this, may we steadfastly do our practices to strengthen this, may we support each other with loving kindness on this journey.



Asatoma Sat Gamaya
Lead me from untruth to truth
Tamasoma Jyotir Gamaya
Lead me from darkness to the light
Mrityorma Amritam Gamaya
Lead me from the fear of death to the wisdom of immortality,
from attachment to what is temporary to the wisdom of what is eternal



Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Blessings of Peace, Love, and Ease of Living to you and your beloveds and to all beings!

You are invited to this Concert, Kirtan, Sound Meditation and Winter Solstice Celebration

"Hello Highland Yoga family...
DALIEN, AKA 13 HANDS CHECKING IN
WISHING YOU A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON.....
Coming back Saturday, Dec 17th 2011
hope you can swing by for this
Bru-ha-ha....and recharge your batteries for the upcoming
Holiday season....and celebrating the Winter Solstice and
Highland Yoga community....."
SATURDAY,  12/17/11
DALIEN, aka 13 HANDS
Concert, Kirtan, Sound Meditation and Winter Solstice Celebration
4- 7 pm
$35
HIGHLAND YOGA
BUTLER, NJ
http://highlandyoga.com


For those of you who enjoy chanting mantra and experiencing the vibration of sound and community, and for those who have never chanted mantra before, come have fun and go deep at the same time with this wonderful musician and yoga teacher who shares the teachings of the practice, mantra, and his own music in such a fun, profound, and beautiful way.


Hope to see you there!

No coming, No going

Here is a video of the song we sang for the month of November to help us look more deeply into the practice of Aparigraha (non-greed, non-possessiveness, non-attachment).  Read the blog two posts below this one for commentary on Aparigraha.

No Coming, No Going

No coming, no going
No after, no before
I hold you close to me
I release you to be so free
Because I am in you and you are in me
Because I am in you and you are in me

The Five Contemplations, for your Thanksgiving meal

The following verses are written by Thich Nhat Hanh, based on traditional Buddhist teachings. Reading them aloud is a beautiful way to begin a meal.

The Five Contemplations

· This food is the gift of the whole universe: the earth, the sky and much hard work.
· May we live and eat in mindfulness to be worthy to receive it.
· May we transform our unskillful states of mind including our greed and learn to eat with moderation.
· May we take only foods that nourish us and prevent illness.
· We accept this food so that we may realize the path of understanding and love.

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

Aparigraha - The Fifth Yama

For the month of November, we have been contemplating Aparigraha which can be translated as non-greed, non-possessiveness, or non-attachment.  It is the fifth and final Yama in Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga from the Yoga Sutras and perhaps the most challenging.  Greed, possessiveness, and attachment stem from fear.  The fear of not having enough, not being enough, not recognizing the abundance in our lives, not recognizing our part and place in the flow of life.  In Buddhism, we learn about impermanence.  Things change, that is guaranteed.  The better we get at recognizing impermanence, the less we suffer.  Can we celebrate the people, possessions, and stations in our lives while they are there and recognize the growth that comes in us from dealing with transition, loss, change?  The autumn leaves are a poignant example of this concept as each year they show their utmost beauty just before they fall to the ground.  And, what happens next?  They compost to help fertilize the ground for the coming year's rebirth in spring.  Rumi reminds us in his poem, The Guest House, that loss makes room for some new delight. 

When we consider the Buddhist concept of interbeing, we can work more easily on non-possessiveness.  Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us in his book Peace Is Every Step that without the sun and cloud and rain there would be no trees, without trees and loggers there would be no paper, without food and water to nourish the logger, no logger, etc.  We inter-are with all people and all elements of nature.  When we realize that truth, we can see how when we lose someone, that person will always be a part of us.  We connected to each other in some way, learned something from them, taught something to them, were changed in our lives because of their presence.  This is true whether we consider a pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral person.  When we lose a possession, we can recognize the delight we enjoyed while we had it and realize it may bring the next person joy or some necessary comfort or growth.  Perhaps its loss allows us to grow in some way.  Remember Rumi?  The growth we realize from difficulty in our lives can be as painful and as amazing as the breaking free from the chrysalis to become the butterfly, our next iteration of self getting us closer to our true Self.  Also, when we remember out interbeing with all beings, we can feel compassion or joy for the person who may be blessed by something that has moved on from our lives.

Consider donating some unused items, making space in your home and in your mind from all the burdens of possessions.  Monks and nuns traditionally lived with one bowl and three robes counting on the kindness of the community to provide for their material needs and in return serving them with their spiritual practice.  How liberating would it be to only keep track of one bowl and three robes? 

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.


-- Jelaluddin Rumi,
    translation by Coleman Barks

Complementary Holistic Health Expo

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Time	Saturday, October 29 · 8:30am - 1:00pm
Location	West Side Presbyterian Church Varian Fry Way 6 South Monroe Street Ridgewood, NJ
Created By	Pat McGlade

We know what you're thinking? What is a Complementary Holistic Health Expo? Well, we can tell you what it isn't. It isn't an event that you attend where people tell you how nice you're outfit looks on you or how nice your new haircut is. Rather, it's an event where you can be given information from professionals on how to make you're body, mind and spirit tell you "Thank You." What could be better than that?

The West Side Church's Complementary Holistic Health Expo features:
-Yoga classes for adults and children 

(Note from Angela:  I will be teaching sessions at 9:15am and 10:15am.)
-Energy medicine
-Therapeutic Touch message therapy
-Chiropractor
-I Pad posture screening
-Zen Meditation
-IGM therapeutic acupressure
-The Healing Harp
-Spiritual Direction
-T'ai Chi Chih
-sound therapy
and more!!

We will provide three 45 minute sessions for you to experience and learn. This is a great way to ask, see, and feel what complementary health is all about!

*Some classes are limited by size, so a reservation for your time and spot is recommended. You are welcome to come even if you do not RSVP .

To see the flyer: http://www.westside.org/files/PDFs/flyerComplementary%20Holistic%20Health%20Expo-1.pdf

See a full listing of events here: http://www.westside.org/files/PDFs/Complementary%20Health%20Expo%20brochure.pdf

Register for classes here: http://www.westside.org/324816.ihtml

or email pat@westside.org. 201 652-1966 ext. 35 to leave a message.

Please send this on to your friends if you think they might benefit from this day! Thanks, and I hope to see you there!

**There will also be a blood drive for our area in the parking lot from 9:30 to 1PM. call 201-251-3703 for an appointment.

How do you manage your energy? (Brahmacharya)

This month we are contemplating Brahmacharya, energy management or moderation, the fourth Yama in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.  In our culture, we can use this yama to pause and consider what gives us energy and what depletes our energy.  So far in yoga class this month we've had some nice insights about this.  Noting how food, sleep, movement, breath, people, and mindset, are some elements that help support our energy.  We also noted how these same elements can be depleting to our energy.  So let us consider:

• What kinds of food do we eat?  Are we using food as fuel or as entertainment, distraction, comfort? 
• Are we getting enough sleep?  good quality sleep?  in a comfortable place and position that our body can truly rest and restore itself?
• Do we take the time to move our bodies?  Even when we are tired and don't feel like moving it may benefit us to "get the juices flowing" by going for a walk in nature or doing some simple yoga stretches.  If we start out slow, follow the messages from our body, and gently invite it to "wake up" we may find we have the energy for some sun salutations and warrior poses.  Remember the flow of a yoga class: warm up gently (use the six directions of the spine - cat and cow, side stretches and twisting), heat up to ignite your prana (life force energy), enjoy the vibration and glow of your true nature, and cool down to a relaxation pose to let the subtle vibrations bring you the peace and healing you need.
• How often do we bring our attention to our breath?  Simple breath awareness can help balance our energy by calming the mind and delving more deeply into the signals of the body.  Movement and breath help each other.  The more breath we invite into the body, the more energy we may have for movement.  The more we move and energize our body, the deeper our breath goes to respond to the movement.  In yoga class, we practice pranayama, the expansion of our life force energy, with special breathing practices:  sitali breath, alternate nostril breathing, kapalabhati, etc.  Each breathing practice has its own sutble effects on our energy body (pranamaya kosha).
• Who are the people in our lives who contribute to our feeling good, feeling love, feeling peace, and feeling joy?  Do we make time to spend with those in our lives who raise our vibration to a higher level?  Can we set better boundaries (physical, mental, or emotional) around those people who contribute to depleting our energy?  Are we making good choices in our daily activities to arrive in places where we meet people who inspire us?
• What frame of mind do we filter our lives through most of the time?  If we have reinforced a negative mindset over the years, it can take time to slowly change it.  We do have the choice and the ability to do this.  At the brain level, we create new neural pathways that are more positive and ignite more compassion, love, and joy.  We form the connection in our brain over time that helps us to see the struggles we have in this life as our work to grow and learn - not as a punishment or a signal that the world is a bad place.  In yoga, we talk about this as a samskara or a groove.  These samskaras are created and we get stuck falling back into them until we create new ones.  So with all our habits of body, breath, and mind, we can make choices to create new samskaras that we fall into more positive grooves.