Shasta Yoga Institute

Riding the Waves with a Balance of Effort & Ease; Integrating a Core Yogic Principle “Practice” & “Non-attachment”

The Yoga gurus point us toward yogic methods that integrate the body, breath and mind to decrease our habituated patterns and bring clarity, calm, and realization of our true nature, which is free. What specific yoga principle supports life balance and inner harmony?

According to classical yogic teachings, we can loosen the habitual and dysfuctional mental tendencies known as vrittis and foster the peace and happiness that we seek through the core yogic principle, “Abhyasa Vairagyabhyam Tanniirodhah.”   –Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra; chapter 1, verse 12.

Yoga Master BKS Iyengar’s traditional translation from Sankrit: “Practice and detachment are the means to still the movements of consciousness.”

Contemporary Yoga Teacher Arthur Kilmurray offers: “Practice and dispassion lead to the resolution (of dysfunctional mind states).”

Both important Sanskrit words found in yogic texts, Abhyasa is most often translated as “consistent practice” and Vairagya as “non-attachment” but also relate to a familiar, perhaps easier to digest yogic principle of balancing Effort and Ease.

A simple analogy that offers insight into the meaning of these words is that of the banks of a river and the river itself. The banks offer structure, form and guidance. This is Abhyasa. Vairagya is the river itself. When we “go with the flow” and allow the current of life to move through us. The consistent effort of containment and the ease of being…

This analogy also reminds me of boating on the river and the effort required to get into position in order to catch and move into the current of the river.  Positioning the boat, often times working hard, fast and steady; just enough effort to avoid getting stuck in an eddie or on a rock or being overturned by a wave… important measures to moving downstream safely and enjoyably. This analogy invites deeper thought and a ripple of related and meaningful ideas to contemplate such as, the Self-inquiry below…

A Gift for You~ Self-Inquiry Exercise for Abhyasa:

What activities do I do on a regular basis to help sustain my health and well-being? What do I do consistently to honor the indwelling spirit? What activities or practices express a natural reverence for this embodied divine life? For example, being in nature, moving the body and keeping it fit, eating and sleeping well, practicing healthy life rhythms.

A regular practice of meditation and being mindful is also Abhyasa. Being present and familiar with a moment-to-moment inquiry cultivates an inner stable tranquility (sthitau) amidst the dysfunctional mental conditioning within us and the chaos of life.

A Gift for You~ Self-Inquiry Exercise for Vairagya:

In any given moment can I inquire, “is there ease here?” Can I allow and let be what life is flowing through me in this moment? Does Yoga support relaxing and letting go of habits and patterns that are perpetuating fear, anxiety and confusion?

Having a bigger view takes some of the personal preferences out of whatever may be happening or when moving through a difficult life situation or emotion and allows for more relaxation, positive feelings and experiences. True freedom and deep reverence grow out of Vairagya.

Enjoy your journey!

–Amy

This past June I received my certification as a Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Some of the first teaching moments I remember from the 1980’s were of offering yoga one-on-one to friends and family members. These were sweet moments when something as simple as sharing a useful yoga pose, or a touch of my hand, or a reminder to breathe and that the body mattered, had a perceivable beneficial affect.  Along with a physical assist, an opening would occur within the heart of the person I was with, within myself as well as between the two of us! I have experienced many of these moments in wonder about the divine partnership that unfolds between us which is a by-product of the benefit to the individual student coming for healing.

After 36 years of teaching yoga I continue to see that real yoga is healthful and therapeutic. Yoga Therapy has been an evolving field in itself in which the focus within the yoga process explicitly offers curative and remedial benefits to meet the needs of an individual in a one-on-one setting. With this said, the role of a Yoga Teacher is not to cure but rather to support some kind of positive transformation
in the human being; a Yoga Teacher helps students renew for themselves ways of being that facilitate change.

Yoga Therapy is the application of the ancient practice of yoga to be a catalyst for health and well-being on the physical body, to balance and integrate the body, mind and emotions as well as to awaken and realize the spiritual dimension of Being. Ultimately what makes yoga therapeutic is that it addresses the needs of each individual in the present moment regarding their age, culture, religion, seasonal influence and current physical condition in order to promote optimal balance and healing for body, mind and heart.

From yoga’s philosophical, psychological and spiritual perspective, the root of illness arises out of a lack or weakness in connection with the spiritual aspect of one’s Self. From the view of yoga as a healing art, it promotes a movement away from separation and towards wholeness and unity; the connection with community, with nature and with ones true essence as the means to integration, health and wellness.

In regards to your current life and/or body balance, consider having a private lesson or a series of private sessions to focus more definitively on what you would like to see happen for yourself! Click here: http://shastayogainstitute.com/classes/yoga-therapy/ to see details and contact me at shastayogacenter@gmail.com to make an appointment.
I can help you help yourself with:

• Home practice sequences
• Back care
• Psoas health
• Joint pain
• Scoliosis
• Arthritis
• Stress related issues
• Immune function
• Hormone balancing
• Breathing difficulties
• Energy balancing

   Blessings on your well-being,
                                 Amy Cooper

“…Yoga must always be adapted to an individual’s changing needs in order to derive the maximum
therapeutic benefit…” -Yoga Master, T. Krishnamacharya

A Definition of Yoga Therapy from International Association of Yoga Therapists

“Yoga therapy is the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and wellbeing
through the application of the teachings and practices of yoga. The yoga tradition views each
human being as a multidimensional system that includes numerous aspects—including body, breath,
and mind (intellect and emotions)—and their mutual interaction. Yoga therapy is founded on the
basic principle that intelligent practice can positively influence the direction of change within these
human dimensions, which are distinct from an individual’s unchanging nature or spirit. The goals of
yoga therapy include eliminating, reducing, and/or managing symptoms that cause suffering; improving
function; helping to prevent the occurrence or re-occurrence of underlying causes of illness; and
moving toward improved health and well-being.” – from the IAYT website on Scope of Practice

Life is the Teacher  ~ The Principle of Svadharma

The heart of yoga’s teachings invite us into the depth of our being and into an inquiry about the truth of who we are. Knowing the principle of Svadharma can offer us a refuge amidst societal pressures and an unknown world. 

“Svadharma” means one’s own true path, true calling or organic design. “Sva” means self (identity in the world). “Dharma” means truth or way (of the individual in the world).

Our yoga practice brings our attention inward to a wider and deeper view of who we are in relationship to life. It points us inward to be true to our own heart and attend to what mythologist Joseph Campbell referred to as, “follow your bliss…” (full quote below)

Although we play many roles in life- in family, community, society and the world, we can flow more freely through these different roles if we honor and respect our unique calling; how we serve and are a part of a harmonious whole is also an aspect of Svadharma. 

Through following our Svadharma, we learn to work with our natural being and grace rather than against it. Svadharma can be uncovered by observing what gives us a deep sense of joy and satisfaction… follow your bliss!

“Follow your bliss.

If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.

When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.

I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn’t know they were going to be.

If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”

     –Joseph Campbell

Do you love yoga and how you feel from “doing” yoga? Do you want yoga to be an integral part of your life, to deepen your knowledge and gather tools to support less suffering and more ease? Come be deeply satisfied and supported by the awesome journey of your own yoga path!

Perhaps the inspiration and education gained from immersing in a Yoga Teacher Training will connect you more often with the place from which you live yoga. This means when your mind is peaceful and you can see the world and reality as it is- through a lens of wisdom and compassion. This is when you increasingly view the body, mind and heart as unified and with a reverence for the divine within the unified body, mind and heart.

Through the 7 weekend VajraPani Yoga Yoga Teacher Training, a community of YTT students and teachers offers a support for each participant to transform the experience of “doing” practice into “being” yoga. The spacious class sessions and training days cultivate self-knowledge, self-inquiry and self compassion; this is intended to be brought on and off the mat and in this way have a positive affect on your life and on those who’s lives you touch. After completing a YTT program, life is never the same!

It has been true that some in-coming YTT students expecting to teach realize through the training that they are momentarily more interested to go deepen into their study. While others who attend not expecting to teach develop a strong desire to share and educate. This is a wonder to witness…

Contemplating the above, perhaps you will join me in a Shasta Yoga Institute Training:
September-December, 2017 OR February-May, 2018?

Namaste,

            Amy Cooper

 

 

Considering a Yoga Teacher Training program or Advancing Your Yoga Studies? The VajraPani Yoga Teacher Training at the Shasta Yoga Institute starts in September, 2015. For dates see http://shastayogainstitute.com/teacher-training/about/
As many graduates can attest, taking a Yoga Teacher Training can profoundly increase their knowledge and broaden their view on the deeper and wider context in which their Asana practice sits. Through the course of committing to one’s home practice, and bringing one’s attention fully to the topics offered in the training, both an external knowledge develops about the Yoga tradition as well as an unfolding internal knowledge about one’s unique Yogic journey. Both of which support teaching yoga and bringing yoga to Life. Listen to what some of the graduates have to say: