Yoga Tastes Good

Svagatom! Welcome to 2013, my thought for the year this year is going to be 'Yoga Tastes good!'  After talking to practitioners during a philosophy class on the 5 points of yoga and the 4 main paths of yoga and discovering what yoga is to different people I decided on this moto for the year.  For all of us we may have different reasons for our practice, but it is very apparent that for all of us, yoga makes us feel good, it brings more balance back into our lives, more confidence and space to breath.  The benefits to our practice are endless and are also a personal thing.  Through our five senses we gain knowledge of the world, when you hear about a beautiful place, you want to go there, well through our practice of yoga you can reach a very beautiful place, full of joy, peace and stillness.  So make this year a year of feeling good, tasting the effects of the beautiful practice of yoga, be you more a karma, bhakti, raja or jnana yogi or yogini, take time to really dive into the joy that is there for the whole of humanity and in return share it with as many others as you can.  It is our duty to help others on their journey towards endless happiness however we need to be happy first ourselves to do this, how can we spread peace if we don't know peace ourselves.  So embark on a year or better still a lifetime of practice and share all those wonderful benefits that you are receiving.  YOGA TASTES GOOD!  I leave you with a quote from Swami Tattvarupananda one of my guiding lights who has taught me much, here is what he says:

'Yoga is more personal than public.  A yogi should be able to focus more about his or her growth.  Practice should be able to give him or her more confidence.  It is not really about standing on your head, we should be able to learn to handle our mind and emotions.  It may look difficult in the beginning, but if there is a sincere effort anybody can reach there.  What we want in life should be clear, with the help of prayer and self effort we will be able to reach the goal.  Be sincere in our practice, that is enough, the rest he will take care of.'

looking forward to seeing you all on the mat for a bit of feeling good!

om om shanti om

mangala / nicky

thank you!

Om Namah Sivaya

Namaste Everyone, hope everyone is well and happy and enjoying the festive season.  I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for allowing me to continue to share my passion of yoga with you on our journeys together.  I am far from perfect in my practice and everyday is a continuation of learning and discovery and with every lesson I teach an opportunity, not only to work for healthier bodies and minds for ourselves but also to allow that vibration out into the world, in hope of making a more peaceful world.  I truly from my heart thank you all for that. 

So here I am looking forward to our journeys continuing into 2013 with fresh creativity on and off the mat and inspirations for a year full of joy, peace, love and illumination. 

Dates for your diaries:

Wednesday 2^nd Jan, classes start back as normal.  Class schedule is as normal unless otherwise stated.  For the month of January my free posture clinic that I run after the class at pranamaya yoga – Moksh will change to a half an hour theory class.  We will look at the four major paths of yoga, Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Raja yoga and Jnana yoga with an overview of all four on the last Wednesday of the month.  These sessions are free and I suggest you bring a note pad and pen.

Tuesday 8^th Jan, The class normally held at The British School, 4.45-6.15pm will for this week only be held at the yoga mangala studio.  I have 3 places left, first come first served so book in by email and if you need a map to the studio let me know.

Thursday 10^th Jan 5pm-6pm Feature class of the month – Yoga Nidra to be held at the Yoga mangala studio, 4 places available. RPS450

Come and immerse yourselves in a full hour of complete relaxation, a great way to make a gentle affirmation to yourself and start of the New Year being kind to your body and mind.  The whole class is held in savasana our relaxation pose and you will be guided how to completely relax both mentally and physically.  Sounds good to me!

Tuesday 15^th Jan  Classes resume at The British School as normal, 4.45-6.15pm.  Please do bring a blanket with you and as the mats now are rather worn at the school I do suggest you bring your own.  I will bring a flask of hot lemon for a little warming before the class starts.

Saturday 2^nd Feb marks our third Satsang at Pranamaya Yoga studio, Moksh.  Satsang means truth in company as we come together as part of the sanga (community) and share our energy uplifting one another.  It is a chance to be together and become one using meditation and sound as a tool.  Chanting Kirtan (devotional songs) is way to connect back with yourself and find your inner joy and can be a very powerful experience, people have been chanting these songs in the same way for thousands of years, so come and enjoy the experience.

Dates for future retreats at Neydo Monastery, Pharping and days out at Sri Aurobindo Ashram to be confirmed. 

Any other enquiries please don’t hesitate to contact me, although I will be out of Internet contact from the 22^nd Dec until the 2^nd Jan

For now be the light that you are

Om shanti  Mangala / nicky.

Om Lokha Somasta Sukinho Bhavantu

May all living entities find harmony, balance and peace

www.yogamangala.blogspot.com

Mangala / Nicky

Be The Master of Your Own Destiny

In Swami Sivananda’s teaching about being the master of your own destiny, he tells us that bliss is our right; happiness is our heritage not sorrow, peace not restlessness, health not disease.  True everlasting ecstasy belongs to us; Immortality is thy birthright, but not mortality.  Strength not weakness.  Pain, sorrow and ignorance are illusory.  Bliss, joy and knowledge are true and they cannot die.  He tells us that we are the architects of our own fate and that we are the masters of our own destiny, that destiny is our own creation.  So where do we look for this everlasting happiness and bliss, where do we find it how do we create our own destiny?

We maybe think if I could have a bicycle my life would be easier, then I would be happy.  If I could get a promotion at work I would feel more important, then I would be happy.  If I eat that chocolate and that delicious piece of cake, I will definitely be happy.  If I go to Paris or this country or that country I will see so many wonderful things, I will be happy.  We seem to always be looking on the outside for our happiness, to external objects and places or events.  But this happiness is not lasting it is impermanent and fleeting.  It binds us and brings us added desires that lead again to pain and sorrow.  Once we get the bicycle we see a scooter and oh how much easier that would be, but with it brings added stress as we have to maintain it, buy petrol and what happens when we see the car!  We get the promotion at work, then we have added pressure and no time to relax and see our families, definitely more stress is coming with the promotion.  We eat the chocolate and the cake and what happens when it is gone?  It was a fleeting moment of happiness then we feel sad we don’t have the chocolate anymore plus we weigh half a kilo more and we have polluted our body and mind.  Moving country to country, yes there are so many wonderful things in Paris, but if real happiness resides in Paris why are not all Parisians happy?

These things bring an unlasting happiness.  Everything around us is constantly changing, the world, our bodies our emotions, who we are, one minute we are the mother, then a wife, then a daughter, a yoga teacher, it is constantly different in relation to whom we are speaking.  So if this is all fleeting and unreal, where do we find what is not changing and real?

To find this we have to look into our hearts, which is an easy thing to say but how do we actually look into our heart?  Swami Sivananda says that to do this we have to exert ourselves in our practice, to clear the dust from a dirty mirror to see our true nature and find our inner well of joy and bliss.  We have to still the chatter of our mind to be able to see clearly into our hearts.  And to do that you must practice practice practice!  Do your pranayama, your asanas and your meditation and then do it more!  Swami Sivananda tells us to have courage to stand up like a lion and self exert look inward not outward, have faith and control your destiny, choose differently, make a change, self exert and you will find your happiness and your well of peace; which is your birthright.  So roar like a lion and do your practice!  

Om shanti

mangala / nicky

Foods that Heal.

Our world is a treasure trove of herbs with therapeutic properties.  Ayurveda came from the sages of beginning less time, the seers, the wanderers and tribals, who through intuition and observation discovered the many properties of plants and their products.  So often it is the case today that when one has a problem from a headache to something more dramatic such as depression, we are reaching for the packet of little pills with a ‘quick fix’ solution, without giving thought to what Mother Nature can do for us.  These boxes of little multicoloured sweeties can in fact be doing us more harm than good, being completely manufactured.  As Yogis we like to stay as close to nature as we can, keeping a pure diet as much as possible turning to the fruits of the Earth to nurture us.  Auryveda holds these secrets of health, that in knowing allow us to still the pattern of the chattering mind and see our true nature, bringing the up most bliss and ecstasy.  Because we may be feeling sad, reaching for that bar of chocolate or box of popcorn is no solution, in fact it is making matters worse.  Once the chocolate has gone, then what?  We feel sad because it has gone and also we have filled our bodies with pollutants that effect those mind waves in a disturbing way and also can bring pain to the body, bringing further sorrow.  So what to do?  Stay as natural as you can, eat organic produce and enjoy the food your are eating by taking time over it.  We can have wonderful treats too that are perfectly natural and good for us at the same time.  Here are a few ideas for common ailments and a tasty treats too! So enjoy.

The common cold:  mix ½ teaspoon of turmeric with fresh ginger, lemongrass, ground black pepper and fresh basil leaves, in boiling water and drink like tea without straining.

Soar Throat: mix fennel greek seeds with salt water and gargle.

Headache: drink 1 teaspoon of honey in warm water daily in the morning time.

Cough: drink fresh apple juice mixed with a ½ teaspoon of jaggery (natural sugar)  eating grapes also provides strength to the lungs but avoid drinking water straight after.  Sucking on a piece of cinnamon helps to control a cough.

Insomnia:  massaging the soles of the feet with mustard oil provides calmness and a good sleep.

No Chocolate but Yoghurt!  For a sweet treat tries not reaching for those chocolate bars and cakes etc and go for organic natural yoghurt mixed with natural honey with some fruit or muesli, it’s delicious.

Alternative to Hot Chocolate: mix ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder with a teaspoon of honey, into boiling water.  A bit of ground black pepper goes down a treat too!

Stay healthy and happy everyone, just breath and let the universe take care of everything else!

Om Om Shanti Om

mangala / nicky

The Breath of God.

We all are suffering with the three afflictions; fear of being ignorant, we all want knowledge, fear of death, and fear of sorrow, we all want to be happy.  So how do we work toward this so-called happiness or limitlessness, how do we transcend ourselves?  We can transcend this suffering by learning our true nature by understanding the reality about ourselves, to become free from our limitations and by following one of the four main paths of yoga; Jnana yoga, we need to look at and study the philosophy of Vedanta.  Vedanta teaches us how to be completely content with ourselves.  Veda is the scriptures or knowledge and anta means highest, so from the Veda’s comes the highest knowledge, the truth.  We are all coming and going continually in our births, death and rebirths, but the truth never undergoes any change, Vedanta teaches us to recognise that I am that.  That the divine is within us, our individuality is false it is just the ego that is this ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ but ultimately we are all one.  Vedanta also teaches truth about the Universe, stars, planets and the milky ways and that we are just visiting in these temporary vehicles called our bodies.  It teaches us the relationship between God, the Universe and ourselves and that out of these three only one is real.  So what is the benefit of the study of Vedanta, well to lesson the misery in the Universe, not just for us but for all living entities.  When we become happy the world around us becomes happier. 

Vedanta comes from the Veda’s of which there are four; Rik Veda which is more like poetry, Yajur Veda more like prose, Sama Veda covers music, the kirtan we chant and Atharva looks at the rituals like puja’s etc.  Each Veda contains the Upanishads, the ultimate truth, like a summery of the whole.  They weren’t written as such; they have always been, with no beginning and no end, like gravity has always been Einstein didn’t invent it.  Sages in meditation received the mantras because of their purity of mind; they saw the knowledge that was already there.  The medium was in Sanskrit and was passed down verbally through generation to generation and people are still chanting today in the same way as of 1000’s of years ago.  In the beginning there was only one Veda but a sage called Badarayana thought it would be too difficult to preserve like this so split it into four.  They all exhaust themselves in teaching us about our true nature, that we are happiness, we are truth, existence and bliss, that all the happiness that we are searching for is actually within us already. 

As Yogis there are three main scriptures we should look at, the Upanishads; the breath of God, the Bagavad Gita from the mind, and the Brahma Sutra’s, which thread the two together and clear the contradictions between the two.  When all these are looked into with humility and patience, then the knowledge will come, when we shed our ignorance like an onion skin, you will find the knowledge and well of happiness is already there within you. 

So dive into the breath of God, dive into yourself.

Hari Om Tat Sat

mangala / nicky

Happy Deepavali

"I love my friends neither with my heart

nor with my mind

Just in case my heart might stop

mind can forget

I love them with my soul

Soul never stops or forgets"

Rumi

Be the beautiful light that you are

Hari Om Tat Sat

A dedication to our dear SwamiJi

Our dear Swami Visnudevananda left his physical body on November 9^th 1993.  He dedicated the majority of his life to tirelessly giving teachings on the vast science of yoga and working toward world peace.  I dedicate this blog post to him, although I have never met him in the flesh, he has had a vast impact on my life.  It was Swami Sivananda that sent him off ‘to the West’ with ten rupees in his pocket, telling him that people were waiting.  Swami Visnu or SwamiJi as he was lovingly known arrived eventually in America and finally founded the Sivananda schools of yoga through Canada, America and back in India, where he began the teacher training courses, without which I wouldn’t be sitting here in the same place as I am now.  He had a great sense of humour and was loved so much by his students.  He offers solace, hope and guidance and above all joy and love to all who listen to him and stays with us always in our hearts and within the many books and recordings he made. 

After class at Pranamaya yoga centre Kathmandu, Friday 9^th Nov 2012, we will have half an hour silent meditation session to honour him, finishing with a chant for peace.  Class begins at 6.00pm until 7.15pm, meditation will start at 7.30-8pm, please come and join me.  For now I will leave you with an extract from the book Vishnudevananda Upadesa, teachings of Swami Vishnudevanda, available from the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre.  Om Shanti.

“Yoga means union.  It shows us how to unite all our life-forces by directing them inward.  The goal is happiness and happiness lies within.  You can go anywhere in the world, to nightclubs and restaurants, to London or Paris and still not find happiness.  If happiness were to be found in Paris, then all Parisians would be happy.  If happiness is at home with the family, then you must all be happy – but are you?  Happiness does not exist outwardly, even here.  Happiness, the kingdom of heaven, lies within.”  Swami Visnudevanda

“Whatever we see, whatever we hear, whatever we smell and taste we accept as real, not illusion.  In daily life, we think that what we perceive is real.  Only when you begin to discriminate do you understand that perception is not real.  You can have televisions, video games and all the modern conveniences.  But really there is nothing there.  It is all empty like a shadow, it is a mirage.  Most people today behave like a man running after a mirage in the desert – he thinks he will find water but instead he dies of dehydration.  So don’t run after a mirage.  God is the only reality, the only true thing is God.”  Swami Visnudevananda.

Have a blessed day and hope to see you on the mat,

Mangala / nicky