The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayana

please read.

Fly

Absurdity

Okay, I'll admit it ...
the practice of yoga seems ridiculous.

I get onto a yoga mat and twist myself into a sweaty pretzel and somehow this makes me a better, more spiritual person.
Sitting to breathe in a particular way somehow makes the world seem brighter.
Chanting in a language I don't understand somehow calms my mind.

On the surface it appears absurd.
I've been wondering a lot recently about how and why yoga works.
Then I came to a realization ...
the how and why don't matter.

I have no clue how my car works, or my computer
or most of the other things in my life.

Then why do I need to know how yoga works?
I don't.

For me it's enough to know that it does work
and every time I roll out my mat,
or sit to meditate,
or chant,
absurd or not,
it works.
That's enough for me.

Hello again from the coast of Maine!! I have yet to make it to Yoga Vermont this summer and am always thinking of it, yet life seems to keep me away.

A new Ashtanga Yoga studio opened this summer in Portland, Maine (just up the road from me) and they are searching for highly qualified (experienced) Ashtanga yoga instructors, so I said I would do my best to help and get the word out. If my schedule allows I'll make it up there once a week this fall. If anyone is interested in teaching in this area (1 hr led Ashtanga, and Mysore style classes) check the studio out online, and drop them some info or ask a few questions!! Or...just come for a workshop or holiday!!

Be well...Fall is in the air, Celina McMichael

Sublime States

Treat those who are happy with friendliness
Treat those who are unhappy with compassion
Treat those who are virtuous with supreme joy
Treat those who are wicked with indifference

About a year ago, I was in class and Kathy mentioned these Buddhist "sublime attitudes". I wrote some of it down, then went home to Google it (completely missing the fact that they were in my Yoga Sutras!). I found nothing, punching in terms that were delivering other results. I decided to come back to it again later.

And, as life does, it came back to me at a time I needed it most. Dealing with frustration, trying hard to control and detach from emotion...it was hard to breathe! And there they were. Like a key to finding peace of mind. I read them over and over thinking, how can I remember these in the future? So, I thought I would share them with you all.

In Buddhism, this is the Brahmaviharas: the Four Immeasureables. It is discussed in Yoga Sutra 1.33: "In relationships, the mind becomes purified by cultivating feelings of friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion for those who are suffering, goodwill towards those who are virtuous, and indifference or neutrality towards those we perceive as wicked or evil."(maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha duhka punya apunya vishayanam bhavanatah chitta prasadanam)

To break the sanskrit down, I found this direct translation:

• maitri = friendliness, pleasantness, lovingness
• karuna = compassion, mercy
• mudita = gladness, goodwill
• upekshanam = acceptance, equanimity, indifference, disregard, neutrality
• sukha = happy, comfortable, joyous
• duhka = pain, misery, suffering, sorrow
• punya = virtuous, meritorious, benevolent
• apunya = non-virtuous, vice, bad, wicked, evil, bad, demerit, non-meritorious,
• vishayanam = regarding those subjects, in relation to those objects
• bhavanatah = by cultivating habits, by constant reflection, developing attitude, cultivating, impressing on oneself
• chitta = mind field, consciousness
• prasadanam = purified, clear, serene, pleasant, pacified, undisturbed, peaceful, calm

Enjoy.

(jaycie)