Posts Tagged ‘yoga practitioners’

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT

What is Kshama? The meaning of the Sanskrit word “kshama” is forgiveness, forbearance, patience, or pardon. In Yoga, and in life, there is much “empty talk” about the values of kshama. The lack of conviction, concerning these values, stems from our previous lessons in life.

As we age, we usually become more patient, but we may be tainted by life experiences. One reason may be the constant absorption of unpleasant events. Every crime and scandal is instantly broadcasted around the world - thanks to modern technology. The burden of absorbing unpleasant events takes its toll on the young people of today.

Young people, who consistently absorb messages of sad events, tend to become somewhat narrow-minded in their viewpoints. These same qualities can be observed in adults who cannot forgive. During the course of life, we learn that none of us is perfect, but anger and jealousy will destroy us from within.

How can a Yoga practitioner learn to practice kshama? One can learn about the concept of kshama, but to practice it daily is a voluntary task on the Yogic path. One point to remember is that forgiveness “starts at home.” To begin, you must accept yourself, family members, friends, and co-workers for being human.

Kshama may seem simple, but how many people make a sincere effort to put forbearance into practice? Almost everyone wants someone else to forgive, or make the first move, toward reconciliation. Practicing kshama is accepting each person as unique, regardless of their differences in comparison to us.

Every philosophy, government, political belief, and religion has an extremist wing. In addition to this fact, people can be steered toward anger. Yet, we know the path of tolerance and moderation, in all matters, is the logical choice. It is only human to be swept up by dogma, but the path of tolerance has kept humanity intact up to this point.

Why should Yoga teachers point out the values of kshama? If you listen to the daily news, on any given day, people need to be reminded about forgiveness and reconciliation. To accept the path of moderation is freedom from the burdens of hate, anger, and jealousy.

To accept extremist viewpoints is to create your own prison of hate. Do we want our life’s work to be remembered for what we created, or what we destroyed? Forgiveness is humanity’s legacy, while intolerance has been our curse. Kshama is contagious – share it with others and it will proliferate. Sharing kshama with others is a mission for Yoga practitioners and humankind.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

How to Unsubscribe from Your Yoga Teacher Newsletter:

If you are a faithful reader, the following does not pertain to you. Your participation, support, and feedback is, and always has been, appreciated.

On the other hand, if you are not interested in the Yoga training information you receive by Email, you will be missed, but I understand if your interests have changed. At one time, we sent our Yoga teacher training newsletters out by postal mail.

Later, in the late 90’s, we started to manually send a text-based Email over the Internet. Your loyalty is appreciated, and this community of Yoga teachers and serious practitioners has grown.

Since 2005, Aura Wellness Center has overhauled the old text-based Email system. That same year, every reader went through a manual double submission process. We made sure we complied with all of the US Government Regulations for Email.

Among our many readers are enthusiastic Yoga practitioners, teachers, Swamis, and Gurus – from every part of the world. Over the years, we have made gradual improvements to our newsletters. We are thankful that so many of you are supportive of the latest newsletter format changes over this past summer.

Many newsletters make it difficult to unsubscribe. Our newsletter makes it very easy to unsubscribe. In each issue, we include three locations at the top, middle, and bottom, to unsubscribe or change your preferences. Yet, a few readers would rather report us as Spam. This makes it difficult to communicate with interns and teachers by Email.

AOL, Hotmail, and Yahoo Users

If you want to receive our newsletter, please make sure info@yoga-teacher-training.org  is on your friends list. If our newsletter is trapped in your Spam filter, and it is not retrieved, our newsletter is reported as Spam, and your address is removed from our mailing list.

Exams are Backlogged

Unfortunately, we are backlogged three weeks and have been all year. We are backlogged because we actually review each exam; not everyone passes the first time through. We receive 5 to 9 exams on an average day, and we answer over 200 legitimate Emails per day (not including spam). Please include all of your contact information when you submit your exams.

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

If you participate in a Yoga practice, you hear terms related to negative or positive energy. Negative energy is most commonly seen as worry, anxiety, pains, aches, pessimism, and doubt. Negative energy prevents progress and can bring your life to a standstill.

Positive energy is an arousal within the mind that causes action and creativity. Sometimes, problem-solving skills are enhanced, due to a surge in positive energy. Religious theologians, of all faiths, call positive energy divine guidance. Positive energy has been the driving force behind creativity, positive action, art, music, and writing.

During a Hatha Yoga training session, we can feel the difference between negative and positive energy within the body. Do you feel muscles and joints that are stiff? This is an area that needs work – in the form of massage, asana, and pranayama techniques.

Muscular tension, inside the body, creates excessive tension on the joints. It may cause a delicate joint to be pulled out of alignment. Some of us get a massage, visit a chiropractor, or participate in a Yoga class, with a clear intention of purging negative energy and bringing the body into balance.

Yet, how often is the mind forgotten? The mind may be the source of all the physical tension. Granted, there are other factors that cause physical tension, such as the body alignment during sleep, genetics, lifestyle, illness, and trauma. These factors can play a major role in throwing the body off balance. These factors can also wear on the mind.

This is why an optimist has a better chance at a quicker recovery, when he, or she, is struck by illness or trauma. A balanced state of mind is often taken for granted by many of us. Those who suffer various degrees of mental illness are all too familiar with an unbalanced state of mind.

In Yoga, the easiest way to cultivate positive energy may be through pranayama (Yogic breathing) practice. From the outside looking in, pranayama may look quite easy; but after ten minutes, one learns a state of humility. Most Yoga practitioners experience the mind / body connection during pranayama practice.

This mind and body connection creates a state, where we are living in the moment, while competition is put aside. We may think clearly, during or after pranayama practice, because we are able to control the flow of positive and negative energy. Yet, this is only the gateway to a Yogic lifestyle filled with many rewards.

© Copyright 2009 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles).  Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

If one is in search of spiritual enlightenment, should he or she avoid success in all other matters? How many Yoga practitioners think that success is a bad thing? Abundance, success, and achievement are shunned by many Gurus. There is a logical reason for this, but there is also a drawback for all of humankind.

One of many reasons, for embracing poverty, is to practice Aparigraha (non- possessiveness). Yet, those who tell others to enjoy poverty, give this advice to keep greed “in check.” It is true that greed can make slaves of all of us. Chasing power and material wealth can be a never ending struggle.

Those who become consumed by covetousness are never happy – no matter how many possessions they have or how much power they hold. On the other hand, the fear of succeeding holds our entire species back. If all of us refused to advance ourselves, we would still be drawing on the walls of caves.

It is one of humanity’s greatest qualities – to explore, create, and become innovators. At this time, no other species on this planet can be so constructive or destructive. We have the ability to create the world of our dreams or our nightmares. It is up to us whether we succeed or fail.

The problem stems from one undeniable fact: Humanity will not sit still. If you look at our history, you could debate the crimes, wars, and injustice against humanity by human beings. The desire to progress, and the desire to suppress, has been in conflict since our humble beginnings. What logical method can we practice to train the mind and solve conflicts?

In a word, it is “Yoga” that has managed to cross every boundary of race, religion, gender, nationality, and social status.  Some fundamentalists will disagree, but not one of them wishes to create a world of peace, tranquility, or bliss.

They use race, religion, gender, nationality, and social status as dividing points to create anger and hatred. A fundamentalist is a person, of any religion, who rigidly embraces extreme political, philosophical, and social viewpoints.

The objective of all fundamentalist thought is to divide humanity into hostile warring groups. Yogic philosophy is the opposite of fundamentalist thought.

Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj,” which means to join, unite, or attach. The deeper meaning of Yoga is important because most of us want spiritual growth. The rewards of self-realization and truth, through concentration of mind, cannot be understated.

Therefore, success is a by-product of Yoga practice. Your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, will improve with practice. There is no need to fear achievement because it cannot be prevented, when one lives a Yogic lifestyle.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Yoga Teacher Certification. FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.” http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

On-Site or Online Yoga Teacher Training Courses

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Can Hatha Yoga create inspiration? How often have you wondered, “Why don’t I just quit?” Yet, you continue to practice, study, and live life. We have no choice but to continue – whether we practice Yoga, or not. Life is a journey, and we might as well become inspired with every step.

How can Yoga and inspiration become two of your most valuable assets? The power you can develop, by practicing Yoga and developing inspiration, is unlimited. Inspiration is pure direction. If you meet a person, who is completely inspired, that person clearly sees his or her path in life.

This is much similar to the Yogi who discovers self-realization. Such a person is not deterred by life’s set backs. From the day we were born, we should realize that the journey of life is not always the straightest path. If we want to accomplish something, it may take work, determination, and self-motivation.

Some obstacles are so massive, that it is easy to become discouraged. In regard to freedom, Mohandas Gandhi once said, “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” Mohandas Gandhi lived long enough to see his dream of an independent India.

On the other hand, Martin Luther King, Jr. did not live long enough to see his dream fulfilled. Yet, he started the path to end racial discrimination through non-violence in the United States. Both of these men realized their life missions were works in progress, but they never gave up.

With that said – what lessons can Yoga practitioners take and apply toward daily life? We must find our true purpose in life. For some of us it may be to become a good husband, wife, parent, friend, or something else. The best treasure in life might be your family. Raising children, responsibly, is no small task. The same can be said for maintaining any relationship over an extended period of time.

If we have no vision of the future, we are lacking purpose in life. In this case, it is time to set an intention for Yoga or meditation practice. People often say, “I have to find myself,” but how many know what it means? They are empty words until we understand we must have a life purpose.

A true and noble purpose will inspire you for life. You do not have to travel to the other side of the earth, or to the highest mountain, to find yourself. You can achieve self-realization anywhere. You can practice Yoga in an ashram, a studio, or in your home. The answers to all of life’s riddles have always been within your grasp.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Yoga Teacher Certification. FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

On-Site or Online Yoga Teacher Training Courses

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

In some Yogic circles, the word “success” is considered selfish. On top of that, the concept of manifesting success could create the type of personality that is only concerned with itself, and taking advantage of situations, to the exclusion of others.

Knowing this – why should Yoga practitioners be interested in the manifestation of success? Think about this: The polar opposite of success is failure. Should Yogis be interested in the manifestation of failure? Absolutely not; therefore, a Yoga practitioner should know how to avoid the manifestation of failure.

Within each of us is the power to envision and shape the world we live in. The power to create happiness is within you. Happiness is absolute success. Those, who inherently fear success, have chosen to manifest misery into their lives.

In life, we may find ourselves in situations, which we did not choose. At this time, humankind does not have the power to prevent natural disasters. A case could also be made that a more powerful vision, such as a collectively created war, can override our independent dreams of hope, success, and happiness.

Yet, we should never give up on making the world a better place. In Yoga classes, or in religious centers, we can manifest hope, success, and happiness in collective groups, as well. We can create healthy relationships with our families, friends, and associates.

There seems to be a misconception that success equals money. Pity those who believe it, because your most valuable assets are your relationships, your health, your intelligence, and the power to pray. If a person, in a position of power, worries about people becoming financially successful, what does that tell you?

In a nutshell, some world leaders are consumed with the fear of losing their power, which is most likely based upon money. They view the world as a “pie,” and they want the largest possible slice. They cannot see outside, or beyond, their vision of a limited slice of pie. This is an example of limited thinking.

In fact, the universe is full of unlimited opportunities. Our only problem is opening our eyes to see them. Sharing with others opens doors of kindness and unlimited opportunity. Yet, some people will do anything to avoid sharing. They see sharing as lost profit.

To avoid sharing with others is a loss of humanity. Within Yoga, there is one particular precept of social discipline (Yama), which we know as Aparigraha. The basis of Aparigraha is that we do not need to acquire more than we can use.

With that said, Yoga teaches us that the true manifestation of success is in the act of sharing.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul
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