to get fit for focusing... and daily practice..

Soo, a regular pranayama-practice reduces obstacles to clear perception "And the mind is now prepared for the process of direction towards a chosen goal." sutra 2.53,
(Desikachar translation)
Iyengar: "the mind becomes fit for concentration" sutra 2.53

I get some poetry this week as well, that talking about pranayama seems to bring about. Iyengar writes: "Once the new light of knowledge has dawned through the practice of pranayama, the mind is fit and competent to move on towards the realization of the soul"
I really want this. I can tell that some people use 2-3 hours a day to be in meetings with other people on the same path, some people can have a daily practice of 3 hours yoga asana-pranayama-meditation.
This is not me.
Sometime I think that having an enormous posture-practice or being in 2-3 meetings with others a day is the only way and I'm just doomed... but
Here I am.

Reality keeps sending me messengers that tell me that my everyday is my ashram, my work and caring for my kids is my yoga practice, my listening to the negative persons is a gift for my development in staying centered. My guru is the random next person on my path every day, ever-changing.
I have as much time as anyone. Right.
The best yoga-practice is to be. With this. Do the next thing.
God or yoga or universe haven't told me to leave my kids and go into a monastery. One strong sense of direction I get is to experience the promises of Patanjali come alive in my everyday.
I get to experience it here and now, I don't have to change my whole life (other than it has been changed for me). I just have to engage in today.
I found the courage to tell my teacher and guide that I have 30 minutes for yoga posture practice a day, that off course there were days every week where I could do more, but 30 minutes was the continuous possibility. “I”(the inner jock) felt so much shame, there is a very strict jock in me - that think no less than 3 hours a day can do it.

The fact is my regular practice often takes 3-4 hours a day, but as you can tell yoga posture practice is only a 4th of my regular practice. I haven't chosen how much time should be spent on prayer/meditation/study/inventory/posture practice. Life and what keeps me alive and in sanity have formed my daily practice.
Today it is more important to have continuity, than to be able to fulfill my inner jocks need to brag about loads of training time :-)
To have a reasonable goal like 30 minutes is something that takes me on the mat.

Some days I'm not still while doing yoga - oh-oh!!! bad jenni :-) but it is true. Sometimes while standing in adhomukha svanasana my kids come and show me drawings - and they turn the picture upside down - well those are the days where I know I'm too tired to do the practice when they sleep, so I do it in the kitchen with them, often they join me for a while.
Some days my ego is the only thing that brings me to the mat - oh-oh!! bad jenni :-) but it is true.. why not, it makes so much mess, let it use some pride (I do it every day!) to bring me into what works for me.

What really makes my daily practice a possibility is reality, it just brings practice into my life. Reality have brought a group of women that also have a daily practice to me. So that I can talk to them and we can share about having this practice and the efforts and effortlessness the gifts and the obstacles on the path.

Iyengar also writes that the practitioner of yoga, "who had to struggle initially to cultivate a yogic way of life by self-discipline and study, now finds her efforts transformed into a natural zeal" Here my ego could jump in and say that this transformation and zeal is to serve ego and make me more important than others but Iyengar passes down the goal for this transformation; we are transformed in order: "to proceed in her sadhana (practice)". I just love that the goal for the process is to keep on being in the process. It makes so much sense for me.

ok - so I got off on an tangent, I obviously have to share about having a daily practice... again. Maybe because it makes my life full of purpose and freedom or maybe I just have a weird brain - thank you for reading!!!
Namasté
Jenni Saunte

dreamy and poetic - 1.38

Well, I’ve had some pretty vivid dreams this week, also this night. In my academic work, I meditate on the concepts “poetic” and “dreamy” to name a quality of experience, play and creativity. A challenging differentiation, but I just keep waiting and listening, cause in my experience, the answer is always clear, easy (and already there). This quality points towards another (4.) dimension, where “knowing” is something completely else.
For me, this quality is the one that makes the hobbyhorse fun to ride – it’s like a magic wand.
And today I read sutra 1.38 “Enquiry into dreams and sleep and our experiences during and around these states can help clarify some of our problems”, nidra (yogic sleep) off course reminds me to make some extra work on the endings off my classes, maybe go dynamic during class, and than use some extra minutes to be in the this dreamy – poetic state.
I also love that Bouanchaud reminds me of drastar, inner being. If I connect this, with what I work on academically, than I conclude (haha) that in every asana – inner truth or being is available, through – dreamy – poetic - qualities of experience. Let’s make the “hobbyhorse asanas fun to ride” hahaha oh, that just sounds weird.
There is a salutation I love – which Rossella Baroncini thought me – I do the rising and lowering of the arms (start of sun salutation) and while lowering-
I say to the sound “aaa” while turning face to the east and honouring the state of being awake –
Than turning to the south I say “ååå” when lowering the arms, honouring the state of conscious dreaming while asleep –
To the west I say “uuu” while lowering the arms, honouring the state of deep sleep (resting in trust, inner being, gods hands) –
And to the north I say “aum” honouring the state that includes the three former and transcends them :-)
I love that salutation.
Read a bit more about 1.38 at Dharmayogas...
So an aum salutation to all you beautiful connecting people
Jenni Saunte

let go of the detail, focus on experiencing 1.36

1.36
“When we inquire to what life is and what keeps us alive, we may find some solace for our mental distractions.” (Desikachar)
Again, a suggestion to solve my mental disturbances. In my world I call this treasure hunting. It doesn’t have to be inquiries to life, God or good. It can be… just participating in reality – sensing it, instead of living my opinion, my evaluation.
In life I can get mentally disturbed by getting rejected.
I just received a work related letter, which could be read as a rejection of my ideas, my self gets hurt (attachment to my ideas) and I can go into fight mode (who has the right reality:-).
If I live my evaluation of this situation, I can argue until tomorrow, why I’m right and they are wrong.
In my mind I can construct thousands of answers, were I crush them with my wit and sharp words and arguments :-) but than again, what do I get out of this? A night with mental disturbance and little sleep.
Sutras 1.36 suggest some perspective, my treasure hunt.
If I, instead of looking into the fight, choose to look at the possibility that it is “just an e-mail”, it is “just another human being” and I really doesn’t have to do anything with it (right now). Than it’s just not threatening.
My disturbance gets smaller – I love and adore the word “just” -it’s great.
Thanks to this act of faith, I can get to re-read the letter and see if there, possibly, is anything I can use!
Is there something I don’t have to defend myself (yes – self…) against, and when I trust love, to be a solid foundation – unfolded in this letter, maybe I actually can get some treasure out of this mail.
What’s in it for me?!
(and if this fails I have a backup to trust – “rejection is protection” – which is my experience)

Consideration of things greater than jennis selves helps put jenni in perspective.

Perspective of something greater than me, is my truth, I get to practice being “part of” which is true identity for me. I guess that’s why it’s so calming to focus on a greater perspective – it’s simply true, for body, mind and spirit. I get to be whole by being part of – integrity is a grand present.

In asana work, I want to let go of the detail, focus on the experiencing the sensation of life. I also want to try out some of the pranayama, from the workshop I attended this week – pass it on.
Namasté and serene minds – no disturbances whatsoever to all of you :-)
Jenni Saunte

Repetition is the mother of learning

I grew up with this saying. It had a double meaning, since I grew up at a theatre and sat quietly in the salon, looking at the actors rehearsal (in Swedish, rehearsal is called “repetition”), repeating the same thing over and over, until they reached the essence and art was created. Beautiful. Pure process.
Sutra 1.28 suggests the same thing to me; “repeating the sacred syllable and pondering its meaning leads to its understanding”. Bouanchaud explains his understanding of “om”.
I know several different explanations of this syllable, and since I’ve studied ancient languages; I’m used to plurality of understanding of these words today.
When I read Desikachars translation of this sutra, the regularity, the perseverance of the repetition stands out for me. This is my experience as well.
By conscious repetition and reflection on something good, this becomes me.
If I walk around in my everyday looking for the good in every situation, this is what I will have found, when I come home at night…
Therefore, it doesn’t give any meaning to do it mechanically, than what fills me is mechanicality :-) probably can’t say that but I trust you get it…
And by doing things regularly, I get to practice; “keep coming back”. Sometimes that is the essence of meditation for me. It is a nice, including practice, where my human limitedness is embraced, by ok… I forgot, I didn’t want to, I resented… But when I kept coming back I got centred again, I got in balance and harmony again… And slowly by repetition, a long time practice evolved.
On a practical level I want to explore this by working dynamic asanas and perhaps also with mantra. By prioritize my daily practice (even though I have guests in my house) and by repeating the ideas (filling me up) that I feel good about.
Let’s see…

the yoga state

This week, I’m at sutra 18. Here my texts differ. Usually when they differ I either choose the one that I can relate to immediately or I focus on how the enrich each other. At this sutra I can only say; ok!? Let’s go with Desikachar, as I understand the text, he translates this sutra as a view; into what the yoga state looks like. “The usual mental disturbances are absent. However, memories of the past continue”. It’s a great promise for me that memories can live peacefully in me, I don’t have to shut the door on the past, to not get disturbed by it, and I actually can lean into my past experience in the day to day world. I’m also grateful that Bouanchaud brings in the concept of “kaivalya” to describe what the yoga state points towards. I love that kaivalya means both serenity and freedom, how true that is.
In my teaching I want to bring the focus on serenity and recognizing past experiences with poses and that we still can be new today in the pose.
I have some experience with loving and including disturbances and recognizing that, when “they” are nothing else than me, than “they” don’t disturb any longer – maybe I can work with inclusion to… I’m not in a slow place so it’s probably a really good thing for me, to use easy and slow movements.
Let’s see…
Namasté
Jenni Saunte

consciousness and thinking and sutra 1.4

The 1.4 yogasutra tells me that unless “I” rest in this “seeing entity” I will easily identify with the activities of my mind.
It’s been the greatest awakening for me to discover that I’m more than my intellect, my thoughts, feelings, opinions and even more than my physical appearance. I love my body and it often is a shortcut for me into the meditative state that is yoga.
Kitaro Nishida gave me the words if this in his book “An inquire into the good”. In my understanding he describes how the intellect, the analytical skills we have is a separating power which allow us to classify and recognize maybe also remember (don’t exactly remember… :), it separates us from an object. And our consciousness is a unifying power, when we experience the world with our consciousness we are one, there is no object. He also describes how both intellect (I think he calls it thinking) and consciousness can evolve.
I’m so grateful to him for these words!
Get back on track jenni! Well I guess this sutra just deepens the need to explore my true identity, as the seeing entity, and minding even more my own work in the here (my mat) and now. Today’s class will continue on what we started last Saturday and I guess so will Sunday and Monday, but for me there is a meditation on staying in me, here and now not comparing me to others and exploring to have emotions, feelings and opinions not being them.
Instead of playing the role of “wanting”, “judging” or “needing” –
Loving what is!!
Namasté
Jenni Saunte

The yogasutras

With inspiration from T.K.V. Desikachar and Bouanchaud I’ve decided (for today-I’m so limited) that my yoga classes will be an exploration of the sutras, one at a time. My spiritual path is the most practical and most grounded experience I’ve ever had. I always thought that it would be the big “out of body” or “burning bush” experience, I’ve had some of these as well, but what I love is what shows up and is in my every day.
So that’s why I take a sutra and unfold it into my yoga class asanas, letting go of the idea, that I have to go to India and become mahatmajenni before I can start to even touch these, for me spiritual principles, sutras.
The first sutra has two consequences for my class, partly I want to get in touch with “why am I here” my prayer for this class (I am living prayer) landing in the here and now, which is my second consequence for the class, I have to stay on my mat, minding my practice and I have to be in constant connection with now. It is, for me, practicing the principle of “shtira” being aware, alert and steady. I love that both Desikachar and Bouchaud gives me that I start in God. I’m not the source of the experience my students have of yoga, I’m just a tool, that’s sane perspective to me.
My own meditation is not controlled by me, I let go and to my surprise, my meditation this week have mainly been on limitedness of human form, which is somehow soothing and amending to myself.
Serenity and love jenni

Integrity

I think it was two years ago, when I first got to know Desikachar, I started to make a big deal about doing things in your own tempo, it grew into “doing things in the tempo of your own breath”. Now I see the fruits of this in my yogis, when I look at their bodies it's like looking at integrity. More and more trust in the moment and respect of one self. I feel it affect me. I need to respect our diversity, not lead, not change - just trust.
Something else is that I’ve fallen in love in the fact that I’m aloud to say “I don’t know” and “I was wrong” nothing is so liberating and filling me with innocents as these two statements (today).
So my classes have been about integrity and being whole this weekend. Sometimes I’m surprised that they do what I say! I forget that in this game we have different roles. I feel so privileged to learn from watching them work on the mat. Have you ever tried to look at someone’s feet and than said the wrong word, like; “lift your feet to the heart”, instead of the hand? I do that, and it just makes my day, I love what comes out, I love to laugh and so does my yogis. We just really enjoy ourselves.
Happy Easter holidays.
Namasté

Desikachar 1.Yoga: concept and meaning s.5-7

Yoga er en del af et livssyn, som kaldes for ”darsana” med oprindelse i vedaerne, de ældste indiske tekster. Han præsenterer nogle forskellige fortolkninger af ordet yoga, at forene, at samle sindets forskellige ”strands” tråde, eller at have nærvær i ethvert nu, i enhver handling, at forene sig med vores højere magt, uanset dennes navn, at opnå det der tidligere var uopnåeligt, enhver forandring uanset hvis det er ved hjælp af læsning, fysisk arbejde eller meditere. Uanset hvad du starter med, så er ideen at du skal styrke dig på alle områder i dit liv, du skal leve fuldt og helt både fysisk, mentalt og spirituelt.
2 skønne ting jeg sætter pris på han fremhæver: der er ingen forudsætninger for at gøre yoga som at stoppe med at ryge eller være vegetar og du kan sagtens være troende kristen eller ateist.

“The Heart of Yoga” s. XV-XXVIII

Et Jenni – eksempel
Dette er det første jeg læser af Desikachar og det som slår mig med en gang er ydmygheden og kærligheden, som er i alt hvad han siger. Her er to vigtige ting der med en gang falder på plads for mig som yogalærer, det ene er at jeg får ord på den følelse af at der ikke er én måde man skal undervise i yoga på, det andet er at jeg ikke kan undervise alle mennesker på én måde. Jeg elsker det, elsker mangfoldigheden og de mange måder yoga kan være på.
”attending to each individual and to his or her uniqueness”
Yoga skal ikke lave om på dig, men laves om til at passe dig. Dette har en konsekvens for mig, med en gang, også som yogalærer :)

Desikachar

Den tekst som jeg er igang med lige nu, hedder "The heart of yoga" og er skrevet af T.K.V. Desikachar. Mere udfyldende start bliver det hvis vi ellers skal gå igang. Jenni