Sutra 2.35: "The more considerate one is, the more one stimulates friendly feelings among all in one's presence" (Desikachar translation)
Yes – hear, hear!
But my experience also tells me that “stimulating friendly feelings cannot be my motive when being considerate”. The first time I read about these ideas I decided that from now on, I was going to change the world by thinking and acting in a positive way. But nobody changed around me, and I got really busy trying to make them be more positive :-) and my partner was just depressed and negative. I got the feeling that it doesn’t work.
This is why Desikachars focus in this sutra; to reflect upon ones motives, really helps me. If my motive for being considerate is to become a considerate jenni, giving room for consideration to unfold I my day, I get in contact to the source and power in me that have a considerate form. When I’m in contact with this source or power, I much more easy recognize consideration in others.
Part of me really wants to write the Iyengar translation down to this week: "When non-violence in speech, thought and action is established, one's aggressive nature is relinquished and others abandon hostility in one's presence." Partly because it’s a boost to be actually working with the text of AHIMSA !!! non-violence (childhood dream), but also because his words about seeking “peace in words, thoughts and deeds” gives me clear guidelines and connects this sutra with the earlier ones.
For my yogawork this week “peace in words, thoughts and deeds” and unfolding consideration :-)
Namasté
Jenni Saunte
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Through introspection comes end of pain and ignorance :-)
2.34 “Uncertain knowledge giving rise to violence, whether done directly or indirectly, or condoned, is caused by greed, anger or delusion in mild, moderate or intense degree. It results in endless pain and ignorance. Through introspection comes end of pain and ignorance.” (Iyengar translation) Today “uncertain knowledge” means jennis-ego-filters in between reality and me. When I relate more to my story of what’s going on than just be part of reality. "Ignorance" means being asleep, not awakened to reality.
Greed often sound like “I want…”, “I want more, there is not enough, I will feel better when there is some put aside for hard times” :-)
I know greed in all kinds of forms: never enough money, time, or never enough love or how about enough safety, security, energy, health, strength, flexibility, respect, love and so on… Even yoga :-) I want more… yoga. The ego-greed filter, that gives an uncertain knowledge of truth and distance to reality.
Anger affects my judgement, well to me this sentence says that when angry I tend to focus more to what I tell myself about a situation, than experiencing what is – gives uncertain knowledge.
Delusion is especially hard :-) no, that’s not true, they are all though and I agree they lead to endless pain all of them, but this night –delusion- just seems so hopeless, I’m really screwed here.. Haven’t you tried for example to “let go” of something you never had, like letting go of an ex lover – like you ever “had” him/her!!! Off course it’s hard to let go :-) or letting go of “controlling the future” how tomorrow’s work or tomorrow’s situations will turn out – that’s a tough task, to let go of the control I never had. Delusion makes it clear to me how much I need a greater power (to me reality), surrender, practice, guidelines and you, my fellow travellers :-) Because when I’m in delusion, I never know it, delusion: “implies an inability to distinguish between what is real and what only seems to be real, often as the result of a disordered state of mind” (Merriam Webster dictionary).
I can have this in my asana work, if I get greedy, to become good fast, or to be able to do more than what is healthy (put in to many asanas in my daily practice) my body starts to hurt.
If I get angry on my body for not doing what I want it to do, I often end up in pains, or if I’m angry when I do yoga, I don’t connect and it all becomes superficial, and only gives me uncertain knowledge – not real connection - if I don't fall and break something, just by being distracted. If I’m deluded about what I’m doing, I easily can get hurt; by repeatedly place my body in unhealthy positions.
Therefore it’s is so giving to do it together with you, to have one (or several) masters, teachers who follow me, and reminds me to connect and be aware when I stray. It helps to read the sutras and to be given guidelines, so that my delusion is put in perspective and not holding the steering wheel.
And to look in to me, into my experience and meassure :-) do inventory or self-examination.
To search for reality, no; to unfold reality through introspection, are my guideline for yoga classes and my week.
Namasté
Jenni
Greed often sound like “I want…”, “I want more, there is not enough, I will feel better when there is some put aside for hard times” :-)
I know greed in all kinds of forms: never enough money, time, or never enough love or how about enough safety, security, energy, health, strength, flexibility, respect, love and so on… Even yoga :-) I want more… yoga. The ego-greed filter, that gives an uncertain knowledge of truth and distance to reality.
Anger affects my judgement, well to me this sentence says that when angry I tend to focus more to what I tell myself about a situation, than experiencing what is – gives uncertain knowledge.
Delusion is especially hard :-) no, that’s not true, they are all though and I agree they lead to endless pain all of them, but this night –delusion- just seems so hopeless, I’m really screwed here.. Haven’t you tried for example to “let go” of something you never had, like letting go of an ex lover – like you ever “had” him/her!!! Off course it’s hard to let go :-) or letting go of “controlling the future” how tomorrow’s work or tomorrow’s situations will turn out – that’s a tough task, to let go of the control I never had. Delusion makes it clear to me how much I need a greater power (to me reality), surrender, practice, guidelines and you, my fellow travellers :-) Because when I’m in delusion, I never know it, delusion: “implies an inability to distinguish between what is real and what only seems to be real, often as the result of a disordered state of mind” (Merriam Webster dictionary).
I can have this in my asana work, if I get greedy, to become good fast, or to be able to do more than what is healthy (put in to many asanas in my daily practice) my body starts to hurt.
If I get angry on my body for not doing what I want it to do, I often end up in pains, or if I’m angry when I do yoga, I don’t connect and it all becomes superficial, and only gives me uncertain knowledge – not real connection - if I don't fall and break something, just by being distracted. If I’m deluded about what I’m doing, I easily can get hurt; by repeatedly place my body in unhealthy positions.
Therefore it’s is so giving to do it together with you, to have one (or several) masters, teachers who follow me, and reminds me to connect and be aware when I stray. It helps to read the sutras and to be given guidelines, so that my delusion is put in perspective and not holding the steering wheel.
And to look in to me, into my experience and meassure :-) do inventory or self-examination.
To search for reality, no; to unfold reality through introspection, are my guideline for yoga classes and my week.
Namasté
Jenni
Saturday, March 13, 2010
to be present, aware and search for a centre
Sutra 2.33 answers the question of how we can examine our attitudes to us and others, yamas and niyamas… “When these attitudes are questioned, self reflection on the possible consequences of alternative attitudes may help” (Desikachar translation) Iyengar brings up the understanding many have of this sutras direction, as a focus on oppositions, when sad focus on happy and when fearful focus on trust and so on.. But I love that I read that this is ok, but maybe not the only way – instead of focusing on the opposing “sides” we can look into what is, here and now in “me” and by looking into me, instead of trying to change stuff (inside and around me) a neutrality, a centeredness will arise. I get this, this is my experience.
The fight is over, I don’t need to correct my bad feelings to some feelings I judge as good, I can just observe. Instead of trying to do the asana as the woman or man on the mat next to me, I can focus on the way it unfolds today through me and dig deeper into my experience of now and a balance and lightness will occur. One of my masters used to say; “measure”. I guess I connect his word to this sutra and Iyengars words of “knowledge of discrimination”, the wisdom to see the difference. When I measure what I do, or some other way relate to my living, self-examination – I interact and relate in a meditative awareness to my being. This brings about knowledge to see the difference. Reality gets my attention and guides me into the yamas and the niyamas.
The themes for my teaching this week: to be present, aware and search for a centre. And personally I also get to look a bit more on how daily practice of self-examination can bring about yamas and niyamas in my life.
Namasté
Jenni Saunte
The fight is over, I don’t need to correct my bad feelings to some feelings I judge as good, I can just observe. Instead of trying to do the asana as the woman or man on the mat next to me, I can focus on the way it unfolds today through me and dig deeper into my experience of now and a balance and lightness will occur. One of my masters used to say; “measure”. I guess I connect his word to this sutra and Iyengars words of “knowledge of discrimination”, the wisdom to see the difference. When I measure what I do, or some other way relate to my living, self-examination – I interact and relate in a meditative awareness to my being. This brings about knowledge to see the difference. Reality gets my attention and guides me into the yamas and the niyamas.
The themes for my teaching this week: to be present, aware and search for a centre. And personally I also get to look a bit more on how daily practice of self-examination can bring about yamas and niyamas in my life.
Namasté
Jenni Saunte
Thursday, March 11, 2010
HI
Somehow my daily practice suddenly had 5½ inversion, not planned by me – but what a gift from reality!! Inversions brings such new perspectives, a sense of playing and so much energy – I’m grateful
and this is not me ;-) but some nice inversions surely...
Somehow my daily practice suddenly had 5½ inversion, not planned by me – but what a gift from reality!! Inversions brings such new perspectives, a sense of playing and so much energy – I’m grateful
and this is not me ;-) but some nice inversions surely...
Saturday, March 06, 2010
sense of getting cleaned, and being the cleaning-person at the same time
Sutra 2.32
“Niyama comprises:
1. Cleanliness, or the keeping of our bodies and our surroundings neat and clean.
2. Contentment or the ability to be happy with what we have and do not crave what we do not have.
3. The removal of impurities in our physical and mental systems through the maintenance of correct habits such as sleep, exercise, nutrition, work and relaxation.
4. Study and the necessity to review our progress.
5. Actions done more in the spirit of service than for personal gain.” (Desikachar translation)
Ok. So this is our attitude towards ourselves. Here is my "check in": 1. yes, Cleaning as an act, is very present in my life :-) two kids, 6 and 10 years – makes it very urgent to keep on cleaning – not to get It done, once and for all, but to be in the process. It is kind of a creative act (am I too weird now?) to organize and to play that I know where stuff should be, in relation to other stuff :-) creating jennis-universe through cleaning – ha. But it sometimes also brings me the position as the servant, number 5. Because I can tell that my kids loves their rooms and our place more when the surface of the table is visible and the dog is to be found. 2. contentment is a gift, and I love the thought of us – always being content, underneath :-) some five or ten years ago I was a supporter of the idea, that if I ever got mad or sad, I’ve probably always was mad or sad, but just not in touch with (suppressing) my tru depressing feelings. Well a wise person told me – it might as well be the other way around. Maybe I’m always content and happy, and sometimes I forget it in the turbulence of my ego or life’s overwhelming richness. But there is an ease and a peace of mind, in contentment that reminds me of “were the piece of the puzzle fits”. This makes it attractive to me.
3. When I sleep well and there has been a feeling of healthy food and moving of my body, I guess I feel pure – and the opposite is also true, I feel impure or like “a mess” when I slept bad or eat really only sugar and fat and didn’t move at all :-) yea that happens !
4. I love that work and study are mentioned in 4 and 5, because I feel so passionate about these aspects of my life. They melt together, but is also a true sound position for me to be in. The months after graduation before I got a job, I renamed my job-applications to “my job”. I couldn’t relate to being without job, fine lets call my new job “hired as unemployed” but the idea of: "without job"… too weird for me. My daily and weekly practice of self-inquiry or self-examination and study of yoga, is a lifeline, my beloved oxygen mask. And it reveals me to me, again and again depths of realization, patterns and brings me to bottoming out in non-functional patterns and bringing me through vague, uncertain periods into new grounds, new positions. It brings me perspective and proportion.
In my yoga practice and in the asana, it gives me: sense of getting cleaned, and being the cleaning-person at the same time. The asana gives me (most of the time) contentment. It brings me exercise and a good nights sleep. It is both my work and my study :-) and it often gives me the position to be serving a crowd of yoga-lovers <3 This little relation practice tells me that; doing the niyamas, is the same as doing my personal practice – fantastic!
Namasté
Jenni Saunte
“Niyama comprises:
1. Cleanliness, or the keeping of our bodies and our surroundings neat and clean.
2. Contentment or the ability to be happy with what we have and do not crave what we do not have.
3. The removal of impurities in our physical and mental systems through the maintenance of correct habits such as sleep, exercise, nutrition, work and relaxation.
4. Study and the necessity to review our progress.
5. Actions done more in the spirit of service than for personal gain.” (Desikachar translation)
Ok. So this is our attitude towards ourselves. Here is my "check in": 1. yes, Cleaning as an act, is very present in my life :-) two kids, 6 and 10 years – makes it very urgent to keep on cleaning – not to get It done, once and for all, but to be in the process. It is kind of a creative act (am I too weird now?) to organize and to play that I know where stuff should be, in relation to other stuff :-) creating jennis-universe through cleaning – ha. But it sometimes also brings me the position as the servant, number 5. Because I can tell that my kids loves their rooms and our place more when the surface of the table is visible and the dog is to be found. 2. contentment is a gift, and I love the thought of us – always being content, underneath :-) some five or ten years ago I was a supporter of the idea, that if I ever got mad or sad, I’ve probably always was mad or sad, but just not in touch with (suppressing) my tru depressing feelings. Well a wise person told me – it might as well be the other way around. Maybe I’m always content and happy, and sometimes I forget it in the turbulence of my ego or life’s overwhelming richness. But there is an ease and a peace of mind, in contentment that reminds me of “were the piece of the puzzle fits”. This makes it attractive to me.
3. When I sleep well and there has been a feeling of healthy food and moving of my body, I guess I feel pure – and the opposite is also true, I feel impure or like “a mess” when I slept bad or eat really only sugar and fat and didn’t move at all :-) yea that happens !
4. I love that work and study are mentioned in 4 and 5, because I feel so passionate about these aspects of my life. They melt together, but is also a true sound position for me to be in. The months after graduation before I got a job, I renamed my job-applications to “my job”. I couldn’t relate to being without job, fine lets call my new job “hired as unemployed” but the idea of: "without job"… too weird for me. My daily and weekly practice of self-inquiry or self-examination and study of yoga, is a lifeline, my beloved oxygen mask. And it reveals me to me, again and again depths of realization, patterns and brings me to bottoming out in non-functional patterns and bringing me through vague, uncertain periods into new grounds, new positions. It brings me perspective and proportion.
In my yoga practice and in the asana, it gives me: sense of getting cleaned, and being the cleaning-person at the same time. The asana gives me (most of the time) contentment. It brings me exercise and a good nights sleep. It is both my work and my study :-) and it often gives me the position to be serving a crowd of yoga-lovers <3 This little relation practice tells me that; doing the niyamas, is the same as doing my personal practice – fantastic!
Namasté
Jenni Saunte
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