The first Yama - Ahimsa

Yoga is much more than what it has been reduced to here in the West. Usually when we hear the word 'yoga', most people think of the physical postures or asanas. Yoga is thought of as a form of exercise,

ways to bend the body, and the more bendy the body is, the "better" at yoga one is.  In reality, the asanas are a very small part of yoga as yoga traditionally is a spiritual path of self-transformation, a process to connect to divine Truth.  So, if you've connected with yoga through the asana or pose practice and have found that it's created more changes for you than just physical benefits like feeling more calm, connected and aware...then read on to learn about how to start the lifestyle practice of yoga.  Making it more than just an hour class a few times a week to a way living life.

One way of connecting to the greater benefits of yoga is through the ethical practices of yoga or Yamas and Niyamas.  These practices are listed in Patanjali Yoga Sutras, which is a "how to" guide that was compiled prior to 400 CE and is typically the yogic text that is referred to most often in modern yoga teacher training. These practices are a guide to a way of interacting with the world in a more loving, responsible and compassionate manner.  They guide one to questioning the fear-based mindset that our minds tend to default to and recondition our reactions to be more love-based.

The first Yama, or restraint, is Ahimsa. Himsa, literally means "to kill" and the 'a' makes it opposite,  non-killing.  So, Ahimsa can mean non-killing or less literally, non-violence or non-injure.  Most times when we think if non-violence, we think of the physical world, for example to not hit or strike someone. This is only part of Ahimsa.

Since yoga is a spiritual path, non-violence goes much deeper into the emotional and spiritual realms.  It means "entire abstinence from causing any pain or harm whatsoever to any living creature, either by thought, word, or deed. Non-injury requires a harmless mind, mouth, and hand."  

The practice of Ahimsa is about refraining from not only words and thoughts of harm towards other beings but also ourselves.  Of course, this can be a hard thing to do, which is why it is a practice.  So, how to practice Ahimsa?

I come back to the saying that 'one can only love others as much as one loves themselves.' I believe the heart of this practice begins within, with working on catching the negative thoughts and beliefs that we say to ourselves all throughout each day. We are our own worst enemy.  This is mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, a yoga scripture and one that is well known in the Hindu tradition.  "A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. (Bhagavad-gita 6.5)"  It is not another person that is our true enemy but the way we think of ourselves and limit ourselves.  "I'm not ___ enough," "I don't deserve___," comparing ourselves to others, thinking we are failures, and lots of self-doubt and self-judgement. 

So how do we change this and lift ourselves out of this falseness and violence that we do to ourselves everyday?  Here are a few practices to start with:

1. Self-compassion.  We are human, we will make mistakes and it is actually a place to learn, not a place to beat ourselves up.  We come from a long line of conditioning to these negative beliefs. Most likely our parents felt they weren't good enough or something was wrong with them, even though they were not conscious of it.  And their parents thought this about themselves, and their parents...on and on.  Again, the Yoga Sutras were written down before 400CE! Our human minds have a long history of this pattern.  So, when you are aware of negative self-talk, celebrate it because you caught it and can now consciously decide what thought you want to go with.  Beating yourself up only perpetuates the negativity.

2. Awareness.  We can't change anything we aren't aware of, so start noticing your thoughts.  When an emotion comes up ask yourself, "what thought is fueling this?"  When you have a reaction to a situation or a person, ask yourself, "why, where is this coming from?"  Own the reaction so you can become aware of the thoughts and beliefs that fuel it. 

Let's take an example of this with driving. We've all experienced someone cutting us off, which is annoying in the least and frightening at worst.  Let's look at our reaction. Most likely there's anger and with that comes cussing, yelling, and maybe the urge to speed up to confront the person who cut us off.  Before we let this take over, let's pause and breathe.  First, have you ever cut someone else off? I know I have. I feel horrible and if I could I'd apologize but in a car you can't.  Second, what does continuing with anger do?  Does it solve anything, change the situation?  No, it may cause us to escalate the situation and it ends up sticking with us for minutes and maybe much longer afterwards. It ends up harming us far more than the event.  Third, what is underneath anger?  Most likely either an expectation that it should never happen, even though it just did. Or with fear, thinking about the worst case scenarios of a crash getting hurt or even killed.  So, we can keep going with these reactions or we can choose something else that helps to start calm the body and mind, and allows us to move from the event rather than getting stuck in it.

Maybe after owning 'I've done this in the past and not on purpose,' we can start to think that most likely that person did not purposely do that to us. They just realized they were in the wrong lane to exit the freeway or there is an emergency they are trying to get to or they were on their cell phone and not fully even aware of driving.  Most likely, the best thing to do is to slow down a bit ourselves, breathe, hope they and everyone else gets to where they are going safely, and it is a reminder to us that driving can be dangerous if we aren't fully present and aware.  For me, these thoughts help me to let go of anger, calm fear and my body reaction, and be present where I'm at and with what I'm doing.

Again, awareness is the first step of creating change, going from Himsa to Ahimsa.

3. Gratitude. Gratitude is one of the easiest ways to connect with a more loving and abundant mind state.  I use this all the time with my reactions to my husband. When he does a behavior that gets under my skin or I'm already creating a story of how he will react or not do something I asked, I now pause and remind myself of all the wonderful things he does, what makes him a loving human being, and why I'm grateful he's in my life.  It has really helped me meet my resentments and enjoy our time together.

Towards myself, when my mind starts to get stuck in worrying...and it loves to do that...reminding myself what I'm grateful for, what is going well, and what the facts of a situation are, my mind expands from the limits that worrying creates, and I feel empowered and okay where I'm at. It also reminds me of what I can and can't control, as worrying, for me, is about trying to control the future, which I can not control.

These are just a few of the many practices out there to be non-violent or non-injurious to ourselves and, in turn, to others.  Can you IMAGINE what our world would be like if all of us practiced this?! So, start with yourself as that's all you can change and have control over.

Reflections on Joy

Earlier this week, after a meditation group, I was filled with joy in getting to see and receive hugs from a number of people I haven't seen in a bit that were coming in for the next yoga class.  I felt like I was floating. In thinking about this feeling of joy, I reflect, "what really is this joy?' 

When doing a quick search on joy and religions, joy is used interchangeably with happiness. To me, these two words, happy and joy, feel different. Happy is use used so often in regular, daily language, i.e. to wish one a "happy" holiday, 'happy birthday,' I'm 'happy, not sad or angry.'  It's another word for positive and feels more surface or generic since it's used so much.

Joy, on the other hand, feels like openness, love, connection.  It happens when I connect with people,
animals, nature.  It happens when I'm in the present moment, really enJOYing  what is happening right now.  It happens when I notice the small details of life. It leads to gratitude and abundance.

With each person I saw in that morning a few days ago, I felt I was seeing and feeling each person and their beautiful, divine self.  I did just come out of a 30 minute meditation, so I was already practicing being in the moment, which may have allowed me to connect with each person more fully, rather than thinking of what I was going to do next and rushing.

One of my favorite memories of joy was many years ago when I worked a summer job in college at a Montessori preschool.  It was the end of a day and I was out on the playground with several 4 year olds who were riding around on tricycles. One of them made a joke to me as he rode by and erupted in pure laughter at the joke, throwing his head back.  I can still hear his laughter. Every time I think about this moment, even now, my heart fills and I cannot hold back from smiling and laughing myself. A moment filled with joy!

I believe that a true part of experiencing joy is being present, fully aware of the experience, not distracted with mind either in the past or future.  Joy is bordering on bliss, which to me is connection with the divine, God, Holy Spirit, or whatever word you may choose.  It is an indication that I am right here, right now.

In this month, which many religions practice connecting and celebrating God and Spirit, it's no wonder that JOY is spoken about in song and scripture as this is a time many people consciously spend being in connection with each other, in spiritual practices/rituals, and enJOYing time just to rest and do nothing.

How do you connect with joy? How do you define joy?  How can we all keep connecting with joy throughout the year?

The Gift of Gratitude

Last night I watched a couple of episodes of "Modern Love," a new Amazon Prime series inspired by essays from a New York Times column with the same title.  I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my long-time partner.  I wrote him a text that let him know my gratitude for him.

In relationships, we tend to focus on what another person hasn't done or could change. This cultivates resentment and separateness.  We do this with our jobs, about ourselves and so many other aspects of life.  This is a focus on lack.  And when we focus on lack, we miss all the abundance we have in our lives. 

Gratitude is a practice of abundance.  It doesn't take long and when practiced regularly it has many mental health and physical health benefits. When we can connect with gratitude, it opens us wide to connect in a more compassionate loving way with the world around us and ourselves. 

Since November is upon us and there's one day that we already focus on thanks and gratitude, I propose expanding this for the whole month.  Consciously take a moment to connect with 1-3 things you are grateful for each day...maybe making it about one person, one thing about yourself, and one thing in the world...making sure to connect with why. 

Even feel free to expand it by texting or messaging that person for the day to let them know personally that you are grateful for them. Allow that energy of gratitude to grow!

Need help?  Try this gratitude meditation to get the juices flowing.  You deserve to connect with the abundance in your life!

Peaceful Mind State Comes From Within

Peaceful is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as "free from disturbance; tranquil" and "not involving war or violence."

I've been on the path of transforming my mind to a more peaceful state through a daily practice of yoga, which for me is at minimum sitting in silence or meditation for 20-30 minutes and up to a two hour practice that includes physical postures (asana), breath work (pranayama) and meditation.  It's been a process to get where I'm at, with many starts and stops and changes in what a daily practice is for me, but ultimately over the past seven years of a more serious dedicated practice, I can see the movement to a more consistent peaceful mind state.

Patanjali Yoga Sutras define yoga as the practice to eliminate fluctuations of the mind (not flexibility and strength of the body which the western world has defined yoga as), which reflects the first definition of peaceful from above.  One thing I've learned on this path is that a peaceful mind state is a reflection of what is going on within myself, not what is going on around me in the external environment.  I can be peaceful when there is chaos outside of me and I can have a racing mind when it's calm outside of me.

Going with the second part of the definition of peaceful from above, the first Yama represents it, which is Ahimsa. Himsa means to kill or violence and A added to the front of a word in Sanskrit means 'opposite' or 'not.'  So Ahimsa means 'not to kill' or 'non-violence.'  So many times we think about non-violence as something we do towards others, but more importantly it is a practice to do with ourselves.  The more non-violent or loving we are to ourselves, the more that will radiate from us in our interactions with others. This Yama is such a great place to start broadening the practice of yoga from a 'class' and 'mat' practice to a lifestyle practice.  Where are you violent towards yourself in daily life in actions, words and thoughts?  Where can you start to be more loving towards yourself and treat yourself like you would a best friend? What are you doing to 'kill' your true spirit or voice?

I have come to realize when I'm having more 'negative' emotions, such as feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, resentful, it's usually a sign that I'm in a more fearful mind state.  It's a red flag for me to stop, go inward and reflect what is going on within me to create this and take action to be more loving and compassionate towards myself. It's amazing how something as simple as changing my perception from what I don't have to what I do have immediately changes my mind state. Try it!

A peaceful mind state is a process, a practice, and requires patience.  Go to www.samyayogahealing.com for upcoming workshops and courses on how to implement inward practices of yoga into your daily life to move towards a more peaceful mind state.

Although I love the season of summer with warmer days, nature in the full swing of life, watching my flowers grow (the hollyhocks out front are about 9 feet tall this year!), and long days, I find myself wearing down from going all the time, trying to fit it all in. This year, more than ever, my meditation practice has helped me start the day off in a more grounded state of mind. It's helped me to keep in perspective the to dos and work on letting go of outcomes more readily to just go with the flow.  When I've had moments of overwhelm, taking time to just practice single-minded focus, reminds my mind to be in a more simple state, focusing on one thing and letting the rest go.


My sadhana (spiritual daily practice) has helped me to go from just practicing in the morning to bringing in that practice throughout the day and this is where the really magic happens.  I've had days in a row where I have to keep focus on where I'm at and then going to the next thing and do the same.  My mind has moments of 'freak outs' where it's overwhelmed by all the details. With coming back to single-minded focus, I get my mind to come back to what is going on now and letting go of the rest until it's time to transition.  It's helped to keep the anxiety at bay more and allowed me to enjoy and be present with what I am doing.  It's starts with being on the mat/cushion and then radiates out to daily living.

I must admit that my meditation practice of single-minded focus has been a process and will continue to be.  It's been a process of committing and re-committing.  Those excuses of why it's not going to

happen today like being too tried and "it'll happen later," or being on vacation and things getting in the way, or "too sick, it's okay if I skip a day," etc. In the end I let those excuses win out.  I'm a person that will follow through if I commit to someone else, so when I committed to my practice daily to my teacher it was amazing how all those excuses just lost their power.  I've practiced Dharana, or single-minded focus daily since.  What is your ultimate motivator?

I haven't regretted at all.  It has helped me ground back during the chaos of life and summer.  A big tip is this: Find your minimum practice.  I know it's easy to get attached to the idea of what a practice is, which can keep us from doing it every day.  Ultimately, my practice is about two hours, which includes asana (poses), pranayama (breathing techniques) and dharana (single-minded focus).  Life does get in the way sometimes and it's better to do a minimum practice rather than no practice at all because it does add up.  My minimum practice at this point is 20 minutes of meditation or dharana.  There are no excuses not to find 20 minutes for me in my day.  Sometimes it turns into longer...wow, more time than I 'thought' I had.

It then translates to my daily life of being aware of the excuses and putting them in their place, one at a time.

Find that minimum practice...YOU DESERVE IT!  Yes, you ARE that important.

Grateful for Awareness

If you have worked with me as a client, group member, or co-worker, you will know that 'awareness' is at the forefront of my mind. It is the first step in conscious change. It can be a mind-blowing explosion and quick, it can be a subtle process like cleaning a really dirty mirror, or it can be a 'huh, interesting.'  However awareness manifests, it is the beginning of empowerment to do something different.  I say beginning with emphasis because our mind can get confused with labeling it as an end.

When we identify awareness as an end, when change doesn't just happen right away, the mind may start to beat it's self up.  "I should know better.  Why do I keep doing this?"  When we become aware of a pattern, it's the beginning of the process to start changing it.

I've had several of those BIG 'ah ha' moments over my life.  One happened when we lived in India, about eight years ago and was the catalyst to deepening my yoga practice.  I have had seasonal depression for quite some time in the winter.  I would feel low, self-doubt and low motivation.  My worst bout of it was in graduate school and I did seek professional help for the first time, which was helpful in taking steps with assertive communication rather than holding things in.

Fast forward five years to India.  My mother and her partner were visiting us and I had put together all of our travel plans, going to some places that were on my bucket list to see.  We were in Hampi, which is in Southern India and a fascinating place both visually and historically.  I had been wanting to go there for a number of years after seeing Chris Sharma's climbing video documenting his time rock climbing there. 

Despite this, I noticed I was being grumpy and irritated with my husband though there was nothing specific to warrant feeling this way.  I was mad at myself for being so mean to him. It thought, "What is this?! I'm in India, halfway across the world from 'home' and it's here again?! It's not even dark and cold out!"  It was that moment and really looking at it a couple months later at my first yoga teacher training with my guru, that a light switch went on.  "This depression is ME.  It's how I'm viewing things.  My expectations, the 'shoulds,' and my perceptions." 

This newfound awareness was a big step in my process of gaining more control over my mind, emotions and reactions.  I'm am definitely still on the path of self-transformation with this awareness and a long way to go...though I've come a long way. The practices of yoga, more so Pranayama (breath work), Dharana and Dhyana (meditation), questioning and being curious about my thoughts and beliefs, have done so much to land me where I am today.

I've gone from someone who is an addicted planner with every moment planned out months in advanced and a chronic mover having moved 20 times in my adult life before the age of 40! (The thought of living in one place for longer than a year terrified me until I lived in India, the same flat for two years...Wow!) To now having more weekends that aren't plan than are, actually buying a house that I've lived in for four years with no plan to move, and in all of it just feeling soooo much more content.  Don't get me wrong, some of these patterns show up in other places, more subtly but because I'm aware, I can meet them and make more conscious choices.

This would not have happened, I'm pretty sure, without my yoga practice, the yoga teachers I've had along the way, my guru, and my personal commitment to holding myself accountable for my actions, thoughts and emotions.

Thank you Awareness!!

Even hummingbirds take time to pause

I looked out of my back window where we put up a hummingbird feeder this year and I saw a hummingbird sitting on the feeder.  It was the first time I had ever seen a hummingbird at rest!  Even hummingbirds take time to rest and pause!

There are so many examples of pausing all around us.  The thing is, we need to pause in order to notice them.  Now that it's summer, the heat of the day is the time when so many insects, birds, animals take pause and rest.  My husband and I were reminded this past weekend why we like to get outside in the morning and then relax in the afternoon in the summer as we sweated buckets in the heat of the day while hiking a favorite trail.

The more subtle practices of yoga like pranayama and meditation are a perfect way to give time to pause and just notice what is going on with ourselves.  There is a natural pause at the top of the inhale, then again at the bottom of the exhale that can only be noticed when we are sitting still. 

Taking time to pause, whether a few minutes during the day or for multiple days of silence...or even

just turning off the phone for a few hours, does wonders to calm our nervous system, slow down, and enjoy the present moment. It helps to help us discern what really is important and what can be let go. It is in the pause where true learning and reflection happen.

Work in pause breaks each day to take care of your body, mind, and spirit. You deserve it!  Whatever is on the 'To Do' list can wait.