The Third Niyama - Tapas (Discipline)

For the month of February, we contemplated the third niyama, tapas, which can be translated as discipline.  Often this concept is applied to a vigorous asana practice which can help burn through our obstacles of body and mind.  It seems no accident that is comes after saucha (purity) and santosha (contentment) in the niyamas so that we are mindful of our inner light, our connection to the divine and raising our awareness of our blessings and the ways in which we have enough in our life.  We also want the remember the yamas as a foundation for our tapas:  ahimsa (non-violence/compassion), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (balanced life), aparigraha (non-possessiveness); so that we do not get caught in shame, pride, or guilt as we work on our tapas practice.

We can begin by noticing the areas in our lives that we are disciplined in our thoughts, words, and/or actions.  Recognizing we already have the ability for steadfast attention and commitment to the path we want to travel in this life.  Building our awareness of our strengths.  And, from that place, choosing another area that we may be ready to dedicate our efforts toward refining our behaviors for the betterment of ourselves and to come more in line with our inner light.  Gold is purified by fire.  We ignite our inner fire (tapas) to keep us empowered to stay on the path.  Where does that inspiration and ignition come from? 

All the aspects of our yoga practice fuel this fire.  All the elements of nature and all the planes of consciousness fuel this fire.  We come into our bodies, we come back to our breath, we quiet and focus our mind, and delve deeper into our own witness consciousness and wisdom which helps guide us on our path.  We recognize and accept the support of our many sanghas (communities of support on the path):  in our yoga classes, our meditation groups, our churches, our families, our friends, our co-workers...all those who inspire us and shine their light so we may see ourselves reflected in that light.  We are inspired by so many teachers in our lives who share the dharma and the wisdom that keeps bringing us back to perspective and the knowledge of interbeing (we are not alone).  We cultivate awareness of our subtle body during our asana, pranayama, and meditation practice so we realize how BIG we are, vibrating with life and energy, capable of enjoying such amazing delights in this world and holding a space for our own and others pain that we may more easily transform our suffering.

We chanted the long form of the Gayatri Mantra this month to tune into the elements of nature and planes of consciousness, recognizing the reflection of those elements in us, connecting them with the seven chakras of the subtle body.  We looked at using The Fourth Mindfulness Training as a tapas practice:  focusing on loving kind speech and compassionate listening.  And, we supported each other in either continuing or beginning a daily practice of meditation or asana or chanting or inspirational reading or prayer or some combination of those.  We talked about setting up a special place in your room or your home or apartment for this practice so the energy of it may grow and feed you and keep bringing you back. 

Let us continue to support each other on the path.  Sharing our insights, our practice, our challenges, and our delights.  I look forward to hearing from you and sharing the practice.

Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

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


The Fourth Mindfulness Training
Loving Speech and Deep Listening

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village
http://www.plumvillage.org/mindfulness-trainings/3-the-five-mindfulness-trainings.html

Gayatri Mantra, Long Form

Om Bhur 
Om Bhuvaha  

Om Swaha

Om Maha 

Om Janaha   

Om Tapaha  

Om Satyam

                             

Om Tat Savitur Varenyam                       

Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi                          

Dhiyo Yonaha Prochodayat

Some quotes and readings to inspire Santosha (Contentment)

"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go out and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." 

~ Howard Thurman 

 

"Five most common regrets of the dying: 

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. 

2. I wish I didn't work so hard. 

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. 

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. "

-Harshada David Wagner

 

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened.  Don't open the door to the study 
and begin reading.  Take down a musical instrument.


Let the beauty we love be what we do.
The are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

-Rumi,



The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.


You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.


People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where to two worlds touch.


The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep.

-Rumi

Healing, a poem by Danna Faulds

As we work with our practice on Santosha, contentment, we see that there are times when it is easy to feel contentment and other times when it is a struggle.  We want to find a path to contentment in all of those times.  Not to say that it is easy.  Or, to say that you just shake your head and say "snap out of it."  It is a worthwhile and deep practice to look deeply into our moments of delight and our challenging moments.  What is present in our body in those moments?  How is your breath in those moments?  What are the stories we tell ourselves in those moments?  Can we tune into a deeper place inside that can be witness to all of it, the place that can get really big and hold all of it?  The more we do our yoga practices of body, breath, and mind, the more smoothly and easily we can move to that channel that helps us find healing of pain, transformation of suffering, and Contentment.

Healing

There is healing in the laying on of hands;
in the letting go of fear, in asking for help,
in silence, celebration, prayer. There is
healing in speaking the truth and in keeping
still, in seeking sunlight and not shunning
struggle. Laughter and the affirmation of
wholeness hold their owwn healing.  When
the soul dances, when the day begins in
delight, when love grows and cannot be
contained, when life flows from moment
to moment, healing happens in the space
between thoughts, and the breath before
the first sung note.  Healing is a birthright
and a grace.   When we dare to be open to
the unknown, when we extend ourselves
in caring, when we welcome in the vast
expanse of life, healing comes from the
heart, and blossoms from the inside out.


pg. 50, Go In and In, Poems from the Heart of Yoga, (c) 2002

The Second Niyama - Santosha (Contentment)

How timely that on our journey through the Yamas and Niyamas from Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras that we land on Santosha - Contentment for the month of January.  As we look back on the year 2011, at our challenges and delights, we can try to put them in perspective to see how we continue to grow and learn from the unique path of our lives.  We can see how our lives are intertwined with so many others including family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and even those as far away as the other side of the globe.  Honoring our journey and realizing so many others share similar challenges, we can grow our compassion for self and other and come closer to learning the lessons we are given and seeing how we grow from each step along the way.  (See last post - poem Foundation Stones).  Below is a lovely affirmation on Santosha that comes from Kripalu Center for Yoga to help us deepen our practice and experience of contentment.

"I am content.  I am grateful for what I have and for what I don’t have.  I learn from the joys and the disappointments Life brings me.  I honor the good in myself and others.  I refrain from criticism and fault-finding.  I accept Life just the way it is.  I enjoy my Life!"

Foundation Stones, a poem by Danna Faulds

Perhaps we would like to take some time to look back on the year 2011 to notice our challenges, our joys, and how we have grown as a person in our bodies, in our work, in our relationships, in our contributions to the greater good of this world.  This poem revealed itself in a timely fashion to be shared in this morning's yoga class:

Foundations Stones

Here is my past--
what I've been proud of,
and what I've pushed away.
Today I see how each piece
was needed, not a single
step wasted on the way.

Like a stone wall,
every rock resting
on what came before-
no stone can be
suspended in mid-air.

Foundation laid by every
act and omission,
each decision, even
those the mind would
label "big mistake".

These things I thought
were sins, these are as
necessary as successes,
each one resting on the
surface of the last, stone
upon stone, the fit
particular, complete,
the rough, uneven
face of these rocks
makes surprising,
satisfying patterns
in the sunlight.

 pg. 26, Go In and In:  Poems from the Heart of Yoga

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!