June 2021 Tidbits
ASANA
sthira-sukham-āsanam
Asana is the third limb in the Eight Limbs of Yoga from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and it literally means “seat”—specifically the seat you take for meditation. The most important and in fact the only description of asana given in the Yoga Sutras is “sthira sukham asanam,” meaning that every asana should be “STEADY” and “COMFORTABLE”—STHIRA and SUKHA.
“Sthira” means steady or stable or grounded or strong and “Sukha” means comfortable or easy (or “easeful”) or peaceful. Whenever you practice yoga you’re trying to find that balance between these two aspects. Seeking this equilibrium is what it’s all about!
(source: https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/philosophy/understanding-asana)
You are practicing yoga when there’s a harmonious balance between ease and effort. Alternatively when your mind is distracted by leaning into the next moment, reminiscing about the past, bringing too much or too little effort on the mat then you’re not practicing yoga. It’s that simple (but hard)!
HEALTH
Banish the symptoms of seasonal allergies without relying on over-the counter remedies. First, minimize your exposure to allergens, especially when the pollen count is high. Second, add nasya oil to your morning routine. It can be a game changer!
How to do Nasya using Ayurvedic Nasya Oil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZXyde7Dh0Y
Seasonal allergies affected me for decades, especially during April and October until last year. That’s when I started using nasya oil recommended by Ayurveda practitioner Anisha Durve. What a sea change of a difference that made!
WISE ACTION(S)
It’s important not to go through life merely being enamored of the idea of being a meditator. Having the concept that you practice meditation or that you’re generally mindful or that you’re doing your best to be mindful isn’t the same as actually noticing thoughts and emotions arise and pass away, clearly. It isn’t the same as breaking the spell over and over again as you go about your day. You can’t fake this and you don’t get credit for trying. You don’t get credit for time spent meditating. It doesn’t matter that you meditated this morning or that you didn’t. The only point in space and time where you actually get to win this game is this one.
https://dynamic.wakingup.com/moment/SMB26B7
There is something paradoxical about mindfulness. It can be hard to say how or why it changes one’s life. It’s not a matter of directly changing experience or of blocking certain thoughts or emotions. And yet there can be a radical transformation of one’s life even while ordinary experiences persist. Consider by analogy the difference between drowning and swimming. The difference is extraordinary, but it is pretty subtle when you consider what a person is actually doing with his arms and legs. It is a bit of a mystery why furiously kicking and grabbing at the water isn’t sufficient to keep a drowning person afloat, especially when it’s possible to tread water or swim in a very relaxed way. In the same way there is a difference in just experiencing your experience and truly recognizing it, free of distraction. It’s a very subtle shift, but it makes all the difference.
New Meditation Available
Break Glass in Case of Emergency
At some point, each of us will have to confront the worst day of our life—whether it's the death of a loved one, a heartbreaking medical diagnosis, or some other destabilizing encounter with reality. This is an unfortunate fact.
But no matter what we experience, there will always be a difference between what is actually happening and what our thoughts say is happening. Understanding this distinction is the key to surviving hardship.
Break Glass in Case of Emergency is a guided meditation for those difficult times when we need access to our most rational and compassionate selves.
QUOTE
STORY
The Woodcutter
A very strong woodcutter started a new job for a timber company. The pay was good and so were the working conditions. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he is to work.
The first day, the woodcutter cut eighteen trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”
Very motivated by the boss's words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but could only cut fifteen trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only cut ten trees. Day after day he was cutting fewer and fewer trees.
“I must be losing my strength," the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.
“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.
“Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…”
Author Unknown
POEM
THANKING A MONKEY
There’s a monkey in my mind
swinging on a trapeze,
reaching back to the past
or leaning into the future,
never standing still.
Sometimes I want to kill
that monkey, shoot it square
between the eyes so I won’t
have to think anymore
or feel the pain of worry.
But today I thanked her
and she jumped down
straight into my lap,
trapeze still swinging
as we sat still.
Kaveri Patel
Thoughts are inevitable because the mind secretes them; that’s just what the mind does. However having thoughts about thoughts or inviting them to tea is optional. Completely cover any thought that arises with awareness and watch it dissolve.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Wisdom Seeds by Augusta Kantra
“Augusta Kantra has written a series of essays that invite us to meet and hold life with courage, compassion, and wisdom. Her story, woven throughout these essays beautifully illustrates what happens when you bring your spiritual practice into your everyday life.”
Rolf Gates, author of Meditations from the Mat