Archive for May 21st, 2008

Written By Grant Stevenson

We seem to live in an age of small souls, where greatness is equated with the thinnest pastiche of media representation and the ephemeral accumulation of tokens to bribe unfortunates doing tasks below our station. Occasionally we need to look back to take the measure of a man who recalls the standards to which we could aspire. Swami Vivekananda is one such figure, still revered by his followers globally, but less well known among the general populace.

Born 1863 in Calcutta, India, Swami Vivekananda travelled to America in 1893 for the World Parliament on Religions a few months after the Chicago World Fair. Vivekananda’s goal in visiting America was teaching Americans the spiritual lessons of Hinduism to save them from the “sharp claws of the monster of materialism,” while exporting a better understanding of America’s technological and economic prowess to raise India’s starving masses from their suffering.

Over one-hundred years later, it seems that Vivekananda’s mission to raise India up, now one of the world’s fastest growing economies, has been more successful than saving America from materialism. Unfortunately, the global recalibration of middle-class wage rates is driving many families in America away from any hope of materialism and straight into poverty.

Vivekananda always described himself as a common street beggar, although he was one of the first great yoga teachers to influence Americans on a mass scale and remains one of the strongest intellectual forces in the world of yoga as evidenced in the 9 volumes of his collected works. As “modern” consumers of Yoga we need to be careful that we do not confuse the intellectually rich Yoga originally brought to America with the dumbed-down, hyped-up hatha yoga now in vogue. We should keep in mind that the Yoga taught by Vivekananda is to Bikram Choudhrey’s “hot” yoga as the spicy tofu at Buddakhan is to plastic chew toys.

One quote from the Gita, one quote from Choudhrey and one quote from Vivekananda should provide a material contrast. As the Bhagavad Gita, one of Yoga’s ancient texts states the matter, “No matter what conditions you encounter in life, your right is only to the works–not to the fruits thereof.” Compare the multi-multi-millionaire “inventor” of hot yoga’s modern restatement of the Gita, “Bikram yoga is so big-this is a bathroom slipper you buy for $2 in Kmart. But you put ‘Bikram’ on it, it’ll sell for $35 in a second.” Now let’s try on Swami Vivekananda for size, “Just as the law of gravitation existed before its discovery, and would continue to exist even if all humanity forgot it, so do the laws that govern the spiritual world exist independently of our knowledge of them.” Hhhhmmmm, do we sense the presence of greatness in one or two of these comments? Of have our sensibilities shrunk so far down into our shoes that worms look like giants to ants?

Let’s enjoy one more comment from Vivekananda and raise our sights to meet his gaze, there may be a higher goal if we are able to imagine a more distant horizon. Speaking to a group that questioned the state of India’s culture, Vivekananda tossed the question back to his interlocutors, “When we are fanatical, we torture ourselves, we throw ourselves under huge cars, we cut our throats, or lie on spiked beds; but when you are fanatical you cut other people’s throats, you torture them by fire, and put them on spiked beds!”

Let us reconsider the possibility that self-interest can be redefined in our modern age to extend a few meters past the end of our loafers. We may find the path wider, longer, harder, but more to our liking; and the end of the journey a more welcome place to rest.

Copyright 2008, Lotus Pond Media

Mr. Stevenson works as a research assistant at Neural Genesis, LLC with responsibility for test marketing publications associated with emerging business segments. Mr. Stevenson also develops ersatz historical documents designed for examination in future settings to alter widely held, but apocryphal, views of the past. Prior to his work at Neural Genesis Mr. Stevenson worked as an author and illustrator of corporate presentations, technical manuals and children’s books.

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Do you want to develop successful students? Of course you do. Every Yoga teacher is proud of their students. The student who overcomes a disability, and the student, who changes his or her life for the best, are stories which make all of us feel satisfied that we became Yoga teachers.

How do we point students toward self-development? When a student takes responsibility for his, or her, own practice, this is the beginning of empowerment. It is wise to inspire your students to, at least, perform a short practice at home.

We have all had a phone call from a potential student who can only come to class once a week. This is fine, if the student takes the practice home. What about the student, who tells you he or she cannot meditate alone? What about the student who has no time?

Your answer might make them laugh. Here it is: Do you have three minutes per day to spare for Yoga? If that is not possible, their problem is time management or procrastination. In reality, who cannot spare three minutes in the morning or evening?

Next, ask your students to try one minute of meditation, at home, per day, in the morning or evening. Ask them to observe only and not to judge. Breath awareness is fine for new students, because it is easy for home Yoga practice. Keeping their eyes open, or closed, does not matter, but they should try both methods.

The next student task for home is pranayama (Yogic breathing). Anyone can find one minute to spare for pranayama practice. Let’s be honest, our students breathe all day, but some self-discipline is required to breath with rhythm for only one minute.

Any method will do, but Bastrika, Brahmari, Ujjayi, Udgeeth, Nadi Shodana, Dirgha, or Kapalabhati pranayama are good choices. Obviously, it would be best for students to choose one or two methods for a one minute session.

Now, you can guide your students toward a one minute asana home practice session. This would be two postures, which are counter-poses of each other.

However, I often suggest they try seated pelvic circles, which are practiced in many Hatha classes, but you see them, most commonly, in Kundalini Yoga practice. This practice massages the vital organs, eliminates toxins, is good for skeletal health, and stimulates internal energy.

Students can sit in Sukasana (Easy Pose) or on a chair. Then they slowly rotate the torso 360 degrees, in slow and gradual circles. The spine should be straight, as possible, the entire time. After 30 seconds, they should rotate in the opposite direction.

So, now you have it: A three minute Yoga session. You will discover that some students have a procrastination issue, but most of your students will tell you they continued to practice Yoga for many more minutes. Between us, three minutes for Yoga is better than none at all, but the true purpose is to create a “spark.”

It is up to our students to “keep the fire going.” Yoga at home will improve their lives, but they have to get a taste of it, in order to realize the deeper joy of the practice.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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