Teaching

gave my first massage for money last night.
taught my first group yoga class this morning.

lessons:
- always get the money up front. no need to add stress post-event when everyone should be fully concentrating on bliss, relaxation, and breathing.
- always offer a passive alternative to a more agressive asana, thus embracing all levels at once.
- improvisation is key. have a general structure, a focus, and keenly observe your students; based on their body and verbal language, adjust the practice.
- feel the tempo, the peak... see the edge as you push your students, back off slightly, brief rest, and repeat.
- denouement: gentle
- pillows for savasana are a very nice touch.
- many guidelines, no rules.

moving into yin

3 minutes... 5 minutes... the third song began to play... 8 minutes... 11 minutes. Enlightenment was mine! Or so said the ancient sage: "The man who does headstand for 10 minutes a day will achieve enlightenment."

I have just begun reading Light on Yoga by the incomparable BKS Iyengar. To give you a feel for the flavor of the book, Appendix I suggests a detailed 300 week plan to hatha yoga mastery... 300 weeks! I thought, "what was the last time I checked out a book by a Western author suggesting that a self-improvement regimen be completed in a duration of longer than 6 months?!!?" Response: um... never!

All the poses list durations, like 2 minutes in plank, 3 minutes in paschimoto, 5 minutes in uttanasana... again, with most every class I've been in (Jivimukti being the singular exception), I can't remember ever having been asked to hold any single pose for more than 45 seconds.

So I followed the 11 minute headstand with a gentle 4 minute vrkasana (tree pose), and *boy* did that give me time to microalign the feet, the center of gravity, *and* to find a place of gentle stillness for breathing and meditation.

For the past 4 months (ever since Burning Man), I have been meditating on how to slow down... yin yoga is the perfect metaphor, and amazingly, I am very very happy with the results, in both life and yoga!

Tantra

excerpted from an article on aphrodisiacs (i.e., garlic, oysters):

As a tantrica, I feel that the most erotic and exciting aphrodisiacs are actually the most natural. Feeling healthy, eating a good diet, getting plenty of exercise and plenty of fresh air... these embodiments often make for the most attractive people...

A beautiful woman who is radiant, a man who is confident and has mastery over his sexual energy, a beautiful and sacred space to make love in, adornment of all kinds and, of course, sensual play and foreplay. All of these are aphrodisiacs that will entice, arouse, and excite your lover’s desire. As a practitioner of the Arts of Love, you become the aphrodisiac... and every gift that you bring to your lover can awaken their inner passions.

Amen. :)

Origins of the Universe

this story was gifted to me in 1986 by a 16 year old angel... and re-told to me, 23 years later, verbatim, by a beautiful yoga teacher with the voice of the goddess:

artwork by Android Jones

There is an old story from India about the God, Brahma. In the beginning, he was all alone. Nothing existed but Brahma, and he was completely bored. He decided to play a game... but there was no one to play with. So he created a beautiful goddess, Maya, just for the purpose of having fun. Once Maya existed and Brahma told her the purpose of her existence, she said:

"Okay, let's play the most wonderful game."

"Wonderful! What is it?" responded Brahma.

Maya replied "First, you have to promise to do exactly what I tell you to do."

Brahma agreed, and following Maya's instructions, he created the sun and the stars, the moon and the planets. Then he created life on earth, the animals, the oceans, the atmosphere, everything.

Maya said:

"How beautiful is this world of illusion you have created. Now I want you to create a kind of animal that is so intelligent and aware that it can appreciate your creation." 

So Brahma created Humans, and after he finished their creation, he told Maya:

"I have done as you asked. Now, when will the game start?"

"We will start right now," she replied.

Maya then took Brahma and proceeded to cut him up into thousands of teeny, tiny pieces. She then took little pieces of Brahma and placed one into each and every Human. Once that was done, she announced:

"Now the game begins! I am soon going to make you forget what you are. To win the game, your goal is to try and find yourself!"

Maya then created the Dream, and still, even today, Brahma is trying to remember who he is. Brahma is there inside you, and Maya is stopping you from remembering who you are.

When you awake from the Dream, you become Brahma again, and reclaim your divinity. Then if Brahma inside you says, "Okay, I am awake; what about the rest of me?" you know the trick of Maya, and you can share the truth with others who are going to wake up too. Two people who are sober in the party can have more fun. Three people who are sober is even better. Begin with you. Then others will start to change, until the whole dream, the whole party is sober... and awake... and real... and Free.... and all, all at once, remembering who you are. For you are Gods, each and every one of you, here on Playground Earth.

Live it.
G

Flying on the Wings of Yoga

Vairagya (detachment) and Abhyasa (practice) are oft cited as the "wings of yoga."

They act as complementary forces in our lives. Let's say we are trying to accomplish a goal, such as wishing to be able to touch our toes in a forward bend. Or perhaps we have a loftier goal, like learning to fly. The wings of yoga instruct us to:

a) determine to make a daily abhyasa (practice) to move us gently and solidly towards our goal, and

b) embody a state of vairagya (detachment) so that we release all concerns about ever achieving the goal, accepting whatever gifts we find along the path and embracing the present moment.

Humans who are too fixated on accomplishing a task inherently damage the result by being too dependent upon it. At the same time, like the tortoise and the hare, it is the solid and consistent dedication, one day at a time, that eventually brings us to the destination which we have envisioned.

So, in your goal setting, be determined and disciplined, and hold yourself accountable to move yourself some small amount in your intended direction every day. At the same time, detach yourself from all neediness and obsession with actually achieving your goal. Accept the natural flow of life, breath, and take joy in the gifts of the journey.

Namaste. Namaskar. Smiles :)

of Thai Metta & Flying Dogs

I've been doing a tremendous amount of work recently with my children's dogs, specifically a little Beagle Rescue puppy who was severely abused as a puppy. She is almost always submissive in the presence of other dogs, yet when cornered transforms into a fierce creature all claws and teeth. She was punished for defecating as a puppy, and so when on walks she finds the most ultimately private spot, either deep in ivy or behind a bush, to do her business. Then she comes home and might pee on the floor.

A few times recently I've realised that she is literally shivering from head to toe when she comes to me. That feeling is fear. And as I learned so long ago while doing entheogens with my older dog, Link, dog whispering can and does work. So today I took in a shivering and fearful beagle, and simply held her gently and lovingly for a long eternity, consciously focusing Metta (Thai for "loving touch") through my fingertips, just as I was taught in Thai Massage.

As I did this, I made sure to have a straight spine. And then the most amazing thing happened. Belle started slowly, cautiously, elongating her spine, gently climbing up my legs, knees, and torso until her head was even with mine. Only then did the shivering pause, and I got a big doggy lick kiss on my serene face.

In my studies of dog behaviour, I've realised it is almost 100% about the "alpha game," that is, who is the dominant and who is the submissive in any given interaction (eating, playing, walking, crossing thresholds, etc.). A key role in the alpha game is physical elevation of the eyes / head, where humans have a distinct advantage. This is one reason we keep dogs off of couches and beds. In elevating her head up to mine, Belle was cautiously asking if it was OK to say hello eye-to-eye.

Immediately my base/flyer eye contact play / trust came to mind, and I wondered with amusement, could I fly a dog? If I could fly a jiggly, squirmy child, then certainly I could fly a dog... and maybe the hyper-elevated head position would be just what the doctor ordered. Was it possible? Yoda's wisdom echoed in my head: "No try, only do."

In the next second, my hands firmly gripped Belle's humerii, and I gently placed my feet either side of her abdomen, and pushed. Boom! Beagle in Flight! She was amazingly stable and calm, presumably enjoying a vantage point of the room that few dogs have ever experienced. And... lo and behold... not a single shake! I kept her up there for a while, feeling out the possibility space, and then slowly let her down, where I got another sloppy face lick.

Who'da thunk it? We'll have to try cats next... :)