Compassion in Yoga

This past week, I have been emphasizing "compassion" in my classes. Of course, when we think of compassion, we usually get caught in thinking of us (the fortunate) helping others (the unfortunate). In fact, when we begin to try to "help others," we soon find that compassionate action (karuna) necessitates working with ourselves. If we wish to be of help, we must be there for the one we wish to assist. And to be there fully requires that we fully accept ourselves -- all of it.

In my classes, I see on the faces of many students the signs of rejection and judgement. They wobble in a balancing pose and their face registers absolute consternation, anger and frustration. What they fail to see (until it is mentioned to them, again and again) is that this very aversion to what is happening; this rejection and condemnation of their own experience, is a form of self-aggression. And if we are so quick to reject aspects of ourselves or our experience, how do we expect to have the patience it requires to open to another?

This "rush to judgement" is evidence that we have not really accepted our experience. We place just enough distance between ourselves and our experience in the moment to keep ourselves from really feeling what it is that is our authentic response. This past Friday night, one of my new mindfulness meditation students shared an insight that she had had during the previous week. Something she read or saw on TV regarding the World Trade Center attack made her very upset. She found herself stewing in difficult emotions. But, with only one week of practice "under her belt," she was actually able to see that it was her resistance, her aversion to the emotion, that was really causing her the anguish she was experiencing. With this realization, she said she found the peace of mind and heart to simply feel the emotion.

This is a subtle point. What actually happens is that something waters the seed of an emotion (anger, sadness, fear whatever) and a sensation arises. The sensation is felt to be unpleasant and then we try to avoid it. It is this avoidance of what is real that causes us tension, stress, anguish -- what the buddha called "dukkha." Life out of balance.

It works similarly when we have a pleasant experience. Perhaps one craves a piece of chocolate. This craving may grow so strong that we succumb. We eat the chocolate, and it is wonderful, but soon after eating it, we are looking for something else. Through mindfulness meditation, we come to see that it is not the chocolate we crave, but the sensation that arises when our tongue comes into contact with the chocolate. Again, a subtle point, perhaps, but it makes all the difference in terms of freedom.

It is the most essential teaching of yoga that we base our life upon ahimsa, the practice of "non-harm." When we reject ourselves and our experience with conditions and judgements, we close our hearts to reality. If we do this with ourselves, we will do it when we come face to face with anyone else who suffers, or reminds us of our suffering. For instance, the next time you see a homeless person on the street, notice how you feel and how you react. Do you avert your eyes? Why? Really? If we are honest with ourselves, we may notice aversion, but the aversion is to a feeling we are feeling when we see that particular homeless person. See what happens if you make eye contact and smile. Maybe you can try saying "hello." In learning how not to reject your own discomfort, you may find it possible to not reject a fellow human being.

Each Step

Through the deserted gate,

full of ripened leaves,

I follow the small path.

Earth is as red as a child's lips.

Suddenly

I am aware

of each step

I make.

---Thich Nhat Hanh

Thanks to Frank Jude who wrote this article. He did so shortly after 9/11/2001 and his words still seem relevant in our shifting world.

Frank Jude Boccio is the author of Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body and Mind. He has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh and Samu Sunim and is an ordained Buddhist teacher and interfaith minister. He leads classes, retreats, and teacher trainings throughout the North America and Asia. A certified yoga teacher, Ayurvedic practitioner, hypnotherapist, and health and transformation counselor, he maintains a private counseling practice in Tucson, Arizona.

My experience in Yoga

I have practiced yoga consistently for close to five years. It has had a profound influence in my life. I began practicing yoga as a way to deal with issues of depression and anxiety. It has helped me control those issues. In addition, it has helped me reconnect with my body after living a very sedentary lifestyle. I have also become a vegetarian since I began practicing yoga.

For a long time, I have been intrigued with t’ai chi. I have read about it, but like yoga, you can’t learn much about it by just reading. So, I was very happy to finally be able to take a class, which I have enjoyed immensely and feel like I’ve already been able to get a taste of some of the benefits.

I have found t’ai chi and yoga to be similar in some respects and dissimilar in others. I am going to compare the two based on my understanding of both. First of all, t’ai chi is a martial art while yoga is not. Both, however, are forms of meditation and include mediatation as part of the practice. Both my t’ai chi teacher and a recent article of Yoga Journal have stressed the importance of meditation to the respective practices. Both practices yield similar benefits and seem to be ideal for people of all ages and abilities.

The most striking difference between yoga and t’ai chi in terms of the physical component is that yoga asanas (postures) are held without moving whereas the t’ai chi forms are always in motion. There are vinyasas in yoga, which are flows between postures, but these are the exception and not the rule.

In addition, especially in the style of yoga I practice (Iyengar) the focus is in the asanas is to have very precise alignment. In most postures the goal is for everything to be straight. This is very different than the approach to the t’ai chi forms, where a more natural, flowing approach. As my t’ai chi teacher has stated, “Nothing is perfectly straight in t’ai chi.”

One similarity between the physical aspects is that both yoga asanas and t’ai chi forms is a sense of balance. In asanas, there is always a balance between forces in opposite directions. For example, in utthita trikonasana (the triangle pose), one arms pushes into the ground while the other reaches up. The back heel is rooted strongly into the ground, while the body bends to the other side. The chest is to roll open and the front sit-bone is pulled in. If any of these actions dominate over the others, the alignment of the posture is incorrect. Most every asana is like this; to execute it one has to be aware of one’s body and the pose and balance the conflicting forces. In this way, the asanas are a meditation in which the subject of the meditation is the body and the asana. Yoga asanas were a way for people to prepare their body and mind for meditation. I have practiced seated meditation and with my “monkey mind” – always hopping from thought to thought, I have found it very difficult. By engaging my body as the subject of my mind’s focus, I have been able to train the monkey mind at least a bit.

I get the same sense from t’ai chi, except that the forms are dynamic and this provides an additional dimension. Chungliang Al Huang writes: “In Zen Buddhist zazen when you sit in lotus position, you find your center. In hatha yoga postures you also put your body into a closer position so you can really sense where you are. All these ways are basically static. Tai ji is slightly different in this one point: It helps you find a moving center. It’s a movement meditation; you move the center with you. Although you are constantly in motion, you retain that quietness and stillness.” In that way, the practice of t’ai chi is a great metaphor; the goal of retaining my center as I move through life is indeed the goal of my spiritual practice.

Where I see the biggest similarities is that in yoga and t’ai chi, the physical practice is a means to a higher end. Yoga is a system of spiritual development developed by the Hindus. Given that t’ai chi is influenced by Buddhism, which sprung out of Hinduism, it is not surprising that there is common ground. Most people in the USA equate yoga with the physical postures, however, in yoga, the physical postures (asana) are only one of the eight limbs, the others being yamas and niyamas (ethical rules), pranayama (breathe control), pratyahara (control of the senses), dharana (concentration on a single point), dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (enlightenment). The asanas are just one part of a complete practice. Although they have physical benefits, they are a means to an end. I get the same sense with t’ai chi. The goal is not to perfect the forms for their own sake, but as a way of focusing and purifying the mind.

I see yoga and t’ai chi as similar and complimentary practices. I hope to enjoy the benefits of both and learn more about both for years to come.

Resources What I recall from my teachers’ instructions. Although I have read a lot about both topics, my teachers are the main way I have learned about them. For anything I have written which is true, they deserve the lionshare of the credit. For any inaccuracies, I take all the blame.

Light on Yoga: BKS Iyengar

Numerous issues of Yoga Journal

Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain: Chungliang Al Huang

Meditation and Concentration

Meditation is a single lesson of awareness, of no-thought, of spontaneity, of being total in your action, alert, aware. It is not a technique, it is a knack. Either you get it or you don't."

Meditation is not concentration. In concentration there is a self concentrating and there is an object being concentrated upon. There is duality. In meditation there is nobody inside and nothing outside. It is not concentration . There is no division between the in and the out. The in goes on flowing into the out, the out goes on flowing into the in. The demarcation, the boundary, the border, no longer exists. The in is out, the out is in; it is a no-dual consciousness.

"Concentration is a dual consciousness; that's why concentration creates tiredness; that's why when you concentrate you feel exhausted. And you cannot concentrate for twenty-four hours, you will have to take holidays to rest. Concentration can never become your nature. Meditation does not tire, meditation does not exhaust you. Meditation can become a twenty-four hour thing - day in, day out, year in, year out. It can become eternity. It is relaxation. Concentration is an act, a willed act. Meditation is a state of no will, a state of inaction. "

Concentration involves a honing in of the attention so that one's entire field of attention is thrown into whatever it is that one is doing. Concentration entails a focusing of energy-the energy that influences all our actions in life.

One has simply dropped into one's own being, and that being is the same as the being of All. In concentration the mind functions out of a conclusion: you are doing something. Concentration comes out of the past. In meditation there is no conclusion behind it. You are not doing anything in particular, you are simply being. It has no past to it, it is pure of all future.

"Meditation is in the present, pure present. Meditation is immediacy. You cannot meditate, you can be in meditation. You cannot be in concentration, but you can concentrate. Concentration is human, meditation is divine."

Yoga should actually be performed during pregnancy. Doctors are a little divided on this issue. Although most doctors increasingly support the practice of Yoga during pregnancy a large number of the medical community still has some reservations.

If you have never practiced Yoga before, I would advise you to wait until after your delivery. This will help to avoid any unnecessary complications and will also ensure that your body returns to its pre-pregnancy state in a short period of time.

Inverted poses are poses where the lower body is elevated higher than the heart. They are said to improve the quality of one's concentration and meditation as well as help improve a person's circulation and their sleep. Here is a listing of a few inverted poses that menstruating women are told to refrain from:

*Sarvangasana - Shoulder Stand

*Sirshasana - Head Stand

*Halasana - Plough Pose

Poses that involve backbends, headstands, handstands and the upward bow such as the Dhanura Asana (Bow Pose), Sarvanga Asana (Shoulder stand) and Sirsha Asana (Head stand) should be avoided. Also avoid poses that involve stretching of the abdominal muscles such as the Pavan Mukta Asana (Wind Releasing Posture), Hala Asana (Plow Pose) and the Ushtra Asana (Camel Posture). After the first trimester you should also avoid any poses that are performed while lying on your back such as the Matsya Asana (Fish Posture). You should also avoid poses that involving balancing your body’s weight on one foot such as the Ekpada Asana (One legged pose) or the Natraja Asana (King of Dance Pose).

A Prayer that can change your life

Four steps to God

1. God Loves You!
The Bible says, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life"

The problem is that

2. All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God.
The Bible says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says "The wages of sin is death."

The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago,

3. God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. "God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."

Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life -- of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me."

God reaches out in love to you and wants you to be His child. "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name." You can choose to ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come in to your life as your Lord and Savior.

4. If you want to accept Christ as Savior and turn from your sins, you can ask Him to be your Savior and Lord by praying a prayer like this:

"Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always."

Did you pray this prayer?

YES!