Blog
Special Occasions
By Allison Terracio February 8, 2012Response (from one of Harrison’s friends I don’t yet know): You just described every day of my life since becoming a stay-at-home-mother.
My response: Nityakarmas
Nityakarmas are the things you gotta do. They are obligatory. Doing them rarely gets you a pat on the back. Not doing them raises stakes you’d probably rather not be raising. The goal is to not spend a lot of time worrying about them. Their ‘opposite’ is called kamyakarma, the acts that are born of desire. They are indulgences, extras. As tantric yoginis, we have little problem with desire. Desire is how we all got here.
I am a mom of a toddler and a yoga teacher of all kinds of people, including expectant moms. I especially love to teach these mommas, who have chosen to do one of the more expensive, non-necessary actions that an individual human can do. (Having a child, I mean. Yoga class isn’t that expensive.) As my Mamaw pointed out when I told her that I was pregnant, we no longer have to have children to work the farm anymore. There are plenty of people in the world without me making more. Mamaw has a way with words, and she loves her great-grandson dearly, and she is so happy that he is here. But it’s true that our population was in no danger of collapsing without his birth.
Once sweet baby is born, indulgence dissipates (or just gets re-defined). Even though the baby and parents may be surrounded with beauty and love, the reality of the daily requirements permeates every attitude, thought, and deed. This can be wearing. Any ritual, regardless of its object, has a tendency to dry up in the absence of desire.
Our yoga asks us to be not in just one thing or the other. It asks us to hold two things together, often seeming opposites. This is how we live meaningfully in the world, in the midline.
I recently went to the baby shower of a dear friend. She is so ready for this baby, and the party was a very special occasion. All of us moms talked about our pregnancies and births, those subjects that make the men glad they don’t usually get invited to such events. The shower is a metaphor for the pregnancy, a special time set aside to mark what is important. As guests, we let her know that we’re here to support her through a transition, to help her align to her new role. It’s a non-required requirement.
We call these special occasions naimittika karma, to be done as and when a need arises. When a friend visits and we take special care of him or her, this is naimittika. It’s like sitting with the divine. Hopefully your practice feels this way, a midline or alignment between what you want to do and what you have to do. It’s what I try to offer as a yoga teacher, particularly for prenatal students, who often are either trying to work up ‘til the very end or take care of another littlun (that’s Kentucky for ‘little one’).
Babies are desire. They want, and we want them. They are obligation. Not taking care of them results in dire consequences. They are also naimittika. I’m using the word ‘commitment’ to describe this midline. Our commitments are that which we choose to tend to out of the importance and primacy of relationship.
The Secret Ingredient for yoga practice
By Naoko Morita January 25, 2012Winter’s cold has come to New York — and for me that means it is time to make hearty soups. Every winter I make a variety of soups with seasonal vegetables. My soup is like a nutritional powerhouse, and it makes me feel warm, healthy and happy. I don’t follow any specific recipes, but I swear all my soups are delicious because I use my secret ingredient — well caramelized onion with a touch of garlic. I used to rely on either soup stocks or bouillon because I thought that was the only way to make soup. However, while they will add flavor, they do not add nourishment. Since I wanted both good flavor and nourishment, I said goodbye to pre-made broths and started creating my own soup from scratch. And, through the process of making caramelized onions, I discovered a metaphor that defines yoga practice as well. If you want to make your yoga practice more authentic and fun in 2012, follow the recipe for how I make soup base, starting with caramelized onions. Apply these steps as an invitation to add both flavor and nourishment to your yoga. Hint: Be receptive and hungry!
1. Open and soften (remove onion skins) – Invite yourself to soften and open to possibilities. Allow your own sense of boundaries, limitation, and difference to dissolve.
2. Intention (chop an onion) – Setting an intention is the first step in manifesting your vision. An intention helps clarify what you want for your life and helps you focus on the goals you wish to obtain. Be attentive to your highest desires.
3. Steps that matter (1: heat, 2: oil, 3: chopped garlic) – In Anusara yoga, poses follow the Universal Principles of Alignment. The five main alignment principles, which apply sequentially in each pose, are: Opening to Grace, Muscular Energy, Inner Spiral, Outer Spiral, and Organic Energy.
4. Be patient and consistent (stir over low heat) – Listen to your body and maintain a steady awareness of the breath as you move. Begin easy and move forward gradually. Patience and consistency will be the keys for your life-long practice, so pace yourself and plan to practice regularly. FYI: Tapas in Sanskrit means “internal fire,” “self-discipline,” or “effort.”
5. Sweetness (a rich, browned colored onion) – When you slowly cook onions over an extended period of time, the natural sugars in the onions caramelize, making the result intensely and wonderfully flavorful, and very different from the original onion. In the same way, when you align with your intention and act from your potential, you will also change and taste the sweetness of your “self.”
6. Creativity (add any ingredients you like and then add water) – Adding different vegetables and spices makes every soup taste delicious in its own unique way. Be playful and honor what you want to create in your life that is deeply connected to your heart’s desire. Express your unique self on and off the mat and let your beauty shine from inside out. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been practicing for 6 years or 6 weeks. This recipe is for people who are ready to take their wellness seriously.
Abhaya yoga studio offers all types of classes such as open level, prenatal, restorative, therapeutic, beginner, and workshops for all. Grab your mat and come to practice with us this winter!
Naoko’s class at Abhaya Yoga: Tuesdays 9:30am (Open Level)
Tara’s Interview with Ross Rayburn
TARA: Hi Ross, I’m so excited that you’ll be coming back to Abhaya in the New Year ! It will be the perfect kick off for the very full season of offerings that we have. I’d love to speak with you about your travel, teaching, and the upcoming teacher training intensive at Abhaya.
ROSS: Yeah! I‘m excited to come back. Thanks for having me.
T: First, I’d like to ask you about your recent travels… where you have been. Any favorite or interesting places?
R: I’ll give you a recap of the fall. It was crazy good. I started with five weeks in Asia and Australia, then five weeks in Europe (13 different cities!). I also went to India for the first time. I was down in the south of India, in Kerala. Then it was off to Greece and Turkey … first time to teach in both Athens and Istanbul. Anusara is really booming worldwide. Europe and Asia are busting at the seams. The communities are so hungry, really on fire.
T: What do you think inspires them about Anusara Yoga?
R: What is great about Anusara is that it is principle-based; not only physically but, philosophically, which makes it a great global system of yoga. Essentially it’s a great way to bridge different cultures since its goal is to address the things we all share IN COMMON.
T: What kinds of change and transformation have you observed in these other countries where Anusara is new?
R: Honestly, I see the same things everywhere. People struggle with the same challenges of life… the same stresses. Ultimately, the energetic blockages people have in NYC are the same in Asia, and in Europe. Anusara gives a template for how to navigate the difficulties of humanity and are effective for anyone who would like to give it a shot. It comes down to people’s hearts opening. Everyone wants their hearts to be open but they may not know how. Anusara gives them a very accessible way to do it.
It’s incredibly fun to see the same transformations – the same smiles in Japan as in Germany– when students can do a handstand or better, yet … have philosophical revelations. It’s such a privilege to witness the expansion of a global yoga community.
T: Yoga is becoming increasingly popular. From your experience, why do you think that is?
R: Hmmm, I’m not exactly sure how to answer that except that we are part of a human expansion of Consciousness. Yoga addresses the physical/ spiritual/ mental aspects of human experience and Anusara simply addresses it in a very modern way that is super effective.
Basically, I think it’s the confluence of very potent and beneficial circumstances. The world is more connected and yoga is more accessible … being seen now as a human path rather than just an “Indian/Asia” (or for that matter “hippie” or “just for women”) path. Therefore, anything that is communicated clearly and is done in a universal way is naturally going to become popular. In other words, yoga provides a way to live your life a little bit better…a way to become a little better at being human. Anusara Yoga is just a system of yoga that accomplishes these goals clearly and openly.
T: You are going to be offering a Teacher Training Intensive at Abhaya coming up in January. Can you explain what your intention is for this particular training?
R: This year I’ll be teaching in this intensive format rather than teaching more formal trainings. The training will take Anusara teachers, who have been trained quite well, to the next level. It’ll be quite simple. It’s about a deepening of what we’re already doing. We will be focusing on how to uplift the energy of their classes and bringing attention to little mistakes made energetically or in the sequences offered; how we make classes a little bit more real, a little more fun. I will be targeting the natural traps of Anusara; the high bars we have and pitfalls that happen when we are trying to do too much. I want to offer this training for these communities of teachers that already have a certain level of skill and vocabulary. It will be a fairly open forum/open agenda based on who is in the room and I’ll direct attention toward what is needed. It will also be a great opportunity for teachers to experience how I teach a public 1.5 hour class. Those morning public classes are a part of the training and will be a great way to show how I teach a regular class and how dynamic and different that is in contrast to a workshop.
T: That sounds great and really useful for all of us teachers who would like to improve our teaching skills. From your experience, what skills do you think we as Anusara teachers need to cultivate?
R: That’s a great question. I feel strongly about this. I think elevating the importance of simplicity and clarity first and allowing complexity and creativity to blossom from that. One of the major things I’ve observed in Anusara teachers with a good amount of experience is because the training is so rigorous and deep and they are therefore so full of knowledge and contemplation, so full of beauty – the cart often gets put before the horse. Their sophisticated expressions are often lost on the students. The intentions are always stellar and from their hearts. It can unfortunately however slip into becoming more about the teacher than about the students. I see often that teachers are so eager to show and teach all they know. It can easily turn to over-teaching. Being a good teacher is having the skills to be simple, and to teach what is appropriate. It is important to know there is enough – trusting the process and knowing that the students will get what they need. Know that eloquence will arise over time.
T: In your mind, what are some basic qualities of a stellar yoga teacher?
R: Well, I like to refer to the Anusara TT manual; open heart, sharp mind and vibrant physically. For me that means attitudinally, be open, humble, you can just tell they are there for the students and there to serve.
1. When someone is clear and knows the value of not teaching. Knowing how to hold back and give space. One who gives time to process.
2. And, ultimately just super fun. How to make the time of a class disappear. When I take a class I love it when I’m shocked that it is time for savasana.
T: Your training will obviously touch on these areas. And, I think many of the teachers coming will be interested in learning how to do all of this better. Will you be offering a template to cultivate these skills?
Teacher Training Intensive with Ross Rayburn at Abhaya Yoga
Friday Jan 27- Sunday Jan 29, 2012
http://abhayayoga.com/workshops-and-special-events/