Musing of the Month

The spiritual path is arduous, but how wonderful to contemplate that we are constantly being looked after and guided. This quote is especially significant as we end our Guru Purnima celebrations and rededicate to our practice. No matter where we are, if we are sincerely treading the path, we are being guided. 

Contemplate yoga sutra 1.14, which states for your practice to be successful; it must be for a long time, without interruption, and done with respect and love. If you don't have respect for something, you can never have love!

Pondering this sutra, ask yourself these three questions.

1.  How long have you truly been practicing in this lifetime? Let's not worry about previous lifetimes; long time also includes those.

2. How long have you practiced without interruption? Does life get in the way, and practice gets put on the back burner or completely forgotten? To use a word the Christians use, how often do you backslide? ;)

3. Most importantly, how much respect and love do you show your practice? Remember, God helps those who help themselves; the help can only come if we do our work. There is ascending force and descending force; ascending force is our work, and descending is the guru's grace which only comes after our sincere efforts have been exhausted. Again ask yourself, how passionate are you in your practice?

May the time spent rededicating yourself to your practice during this Guru Purnima be nourishing and nurturing, and may your ascending force be reinforced.

Om Peace, Peace, Peace

Question of the Month

⁇ What does as ye sow, so shall ye reap mean? 

→ In a word, this means karma. The problem is the word karma has become Westernized, which means it has become bastardized. Karma means action; any action we perform, including thinking and speech, is karma. Whatever karma you sow, you will reap the harvest from those actions. If you sow love, you will reap love; if you sow hate, you will reap hate. Yoga is skillfulness in action which means harmony in thought, speech, and action. For example, suppose you are making dinner for your family, and in your head, you are wishing that you could divorce your partner and condemning your children no matter how great the ingredients and the recipe are; you are sowing hate, which you are not only planting but feeding your family this hate. It is better not to cook food and serve it if you can't do it lovingly; this is true for all your actions. You must be mindful of what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how you are doing it to make it a skillful action. The more proficient we become with our actions, the more we free ourselves from the bondage of karma.

Svadhyaya Corner

Contemplate one question per week and find time to answer it after allowing it to incubate for a week. 

1. How harmonious are your thoughts, speech, and action?

2. In which area of your life are you the least harmonious in your thoughts, address, and actions? Why?

3. How can you balance your thoughts, speech, and actions so that they are in alignment?

4. Why are you afraid of being honest about yourself and who you are now?

Asana Corner

If you feel so inclined, give yourself a month to explore ardha chandrasana, notice differences between the two sides, move into it differently, use props, and morning versus evening; the sky is the limit. 

 You should journal about it and see what changes in one month. Below you will find one way to move into the pose, but we learn so much more by exploring the bodies we travel in, so have fun. 

Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose)

1. Start in trikonasana with the right leg forward.

2. Allow the right leg to bend; while standing, slide the left foot forward six-twelve inches along the back of the mat.

3. Move the right forward approximately twelve inches before the baby's toe on the right side.

4. Exhale and press the right hand into the floor; at the same time, extend through the right leg. The right foot should remain parallel to the long line of the mat; you can put a block lengthwise next to the foot to ensure it stays parallel.

5. Keep the right knee facing forward and lift the left leg buoyantly so it is parallel to the floor. 

6. Rotate the body to the left, allowing the body to be in one plane.

7. Raise the left arm stacking the shoulders and at the same time lifting them away from each other.

8. The right leg and foot support the body's weight.

9. Repeat on the opposite side.

Benefits

1. helps to alleviate sciatic and lower back pain.

2. Improves digestion and elimination.

3. Strengthens the lower part of the body, ankles, legs, and knees

Contraindications

1.  Osteoporosis

2. High blood pressure

3. Recent knee or hip replacement

Reflections with Kali

Guru Purnima is a time of year when we examine our practice, what it means to us, how far we’ve come and what our next steps are. Though practice is something we should all contemplate regularly, there is a potency that comes with using a week out of the year to do so. Celestially we are supported. We honor the teacher without as well as the teacher within. 

Every year we celebrate this as a group and it is one of our most treasured times of the year. We practice together, offering all to our Gurudeva, Swami Rama. This year we had asana + meditation, then satsang, kirtan and our dinner together. I started a new Swamiji book and journaled about where I am now and where I hope to be next year so that I can reflect in the future on years passed and gauge my progress. Jai Gurudeva!

Upcoming Events

July 15: Shakti & Bhakti at Hope Springs Institute Fundraising Gala Read more and purchase tickets.

July 23: Silent Sunday / Vegan Potluck / Karma & Reincarnation Study

Come practice with us!

Mondays: Asana Class with Linda 6 pm -7:30 pm

Tuesdays: Seva Yoga 6 pm - 8 pm

Wednesdays: Asana Class & Kirtan with Ranjani & Riley 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Thursdays: Asana Class with Kali 6 pm -7:30 pm followed by the Mahamrtunjaya Prayer Circle (Names are offered to the power of the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra not to change one's karma but to cultivate the strength to handle it gracefully)

*If you want to add a name message Kali or write it on the paper by Ganesha.

Saturdays: Kirtan Band Practice 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Sundays: Sunday Celebration w/ Ranjani & Riley at Devi Ashram 11:00 am - 1:00 pm OR Silent Sunday

What a busy month we had…

We would love to see you here!