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Octavio's Articles

Dharmic Lives Matter

By Octavio Salvado.

It’s time for us to renounce the lie, that somehow in the eyes of God, certain people are more privileged than others when it comes to finding happiness and success in life. This is the exact opposite of what the Yoga Tradition stands for.

To suggest that race, color, or economic class provide the upper hand when it comes to true liberation and freedom, as certain high-ups in the Yoga world are currently pushing, is a complete dishonoring and distorting of the Yoga Tradition and an indication of lack of loyalty to it.

If, on the other hand, what we are talking about here is a soulless, controlled, mediocre existence, then yes, I agree wholeheartedly. Certain demographics definitely have an advantage when it comes to achieving averageness.

Racism exists, as does sexism, fascism and many other ‘ism’s’. There is no denying it. Yet there is a broader reality governing humanity and all of life, called Dharmic Law, that when understood, obliterates all obstacles to greatness and all arguments regarding privilege.

This is a universal truth that applies to all. You will not be happy unless you achieve your Dharmic potential, which is the singular reason that you incarnated onto this planet. Dharma is the ONLY way to find lasting happiness in this world and there are no exceptions to this rule.

As the Bhagavad Gita states:

Life and Death are not nearly as important as ‘How’ we live. Only Dharma gives our lives meaning.

Please hear it again so it penetrates through the layers of indoctrination and conditioning: only Dharma, only Soul-aligned purpose brings happiness and success. No exceptions. No special privileges.

People who are selling the ‘poor me’ or ‘poor them’ narrative and still calling themselves Yogis, are hypocrites and are not helping people, or their students evolve, but perpetuating a limited view of what it means to be human and the gift that it is.

If you truly want to serve humanity, then teach people about Dharmic Law and lead by your own radiant example. Communicate and demonstrate that everyone can be a force of nature, no matter what their skin color or circumstances. Teach people that Life strives to assist those who strive to help themselves.

Personally, my role models have always been black or brown. As a kid and all through my high school years, I worshipped Michael Jordan. Now as an adult (and realizing that I probably won’t make it to the NBA) my focus has shifted.

Now, instead of Air Jordan posters on my wall, I have Pandit Rajmani Tigunait posters on my alter.

The common thread: Dharma

The common thread connecting both of these extraordinary men, apart from their skin color is Dharma. Both men came from relatively poor families, in relatively poor communities. No special privileges. Yet they heard the inner call, as we all do at one time or another and they committed to that mission uncompromisingly.

They endured the storms and hustled, each in their own way, harder than all the rest. More practice, more study, more failure, more growth. They rose above their circumstances.

Its time to evolve the narrative. If you are pushing the pity card for yourself or others, then you are trapped in a self-created, extremely flawed vision of reality that only leads to one place – suffering.

Let me spell it out for you. This is how you succeed in life and the only way you will be happy.

Get clear on what you love – figure out that one thing that lights you up more than anything else. Then ask yourself if by committing to that thing, you can serve the world and make it shine a little brighter.

Now, for the rest of your life, commit to that thing with the full force of your soul and with every ounce of energy that you have, indefinitely and without wavering.

Next, expect ridicule, criticism, failure, un-follows, set-backs and difficulties. Train yourself to be resilient. Train yourself to get up, time and time again, brush yourself off and keep going with increased tenacity towards your goal. Then train yourself to trust in life.

The result, 100% of the time, without fail, because this is Universal Law, will be that the forces of nature and the broader universal forces, such as those governing timing, opportunities and synchronicity will conspire to assist you in your Dharmic mission and provide you with everything that you need to succeed, or at least to get to the next step.

Will you be rich? Maybe. Will you be happy? Undoubtedly. This is true success.

If your path is the correct one and truly aligned to your grandest reasons for being here, then NOTHING can stop this process. It won’t be instantaneous and it won’t be without heartache, loss and sacrifice, but if you commit fully, it must come to fruition. This is the Law.

If you want proof, first look at nature and see how empowered every single creature is to do its allotted ‘work’. This power comes from alignment to the higher design. From this alignment, each aspect of nature is compelled to act with precision and power and life unfolds harmoniously and with immense beauty.

The reason human beings are not connected and empowered in the same way is largely because of free will, which is a gift or disaster depending on how it is used.

When we are not connected to the guiding principle of life, then free will moves us towards experiences of separation and lack. This will ultimately orchestrate our downfall via mediocrity, or self-initiated destruction and is exactly what we are seeing on a major scale across the planet right now.

The real global pandemic is lack of connection to God and to the forces of goodness that sustain all of creation.

If you want further proof of the laws of Dharma at work, research the vast number of ‘true’ success stories that have come from nothing, or very little. Those who have come from poverty, abuse and hardship, overcome the greatest of odds to achieve their own unique version of greatness.

Typically, these are the success stories that warm our hearts, because we sense the truth in them. All succeeded because either consciously, or unconsciously they understood and tapped into the Eternal Law, a law which is incorruptible.

Privilege can be a major obstacle to happiness.

The concept of ‘Privilege’, as it’s being pedaled today, can actually be a major obstacle to true happiness and success. Why? Because it usually goes hand in hand with money and education.

Education is not synonymous with intelligence. Academics are some of the dumbest people I know, because a lot of the time they lack the inner access to their intuition and God-given capacity to ‘feel’ into what is true. Too much time spent in the left brain analyzing things and being told what to think and HOW to think.

As a result, critical thinking and gut instinct are devoured by memory and book knowledge. Curious minds become submissive, left-brain robots bowing to every command, no matter how unjust or insane, coming from those who they deem ‘above them’ intellectually and higher up the food chain.

Being born into money is another potential obstacle to Dharma. Do you seriously think that money buys happiness? Look around you. Money not earned through hard work often corrupts the personality and makes it weak. Money can also pad us from the necessary blows from life that are meant to shape us.

Furthermore, those who offer the money, whether its parents, or a benefactor will likely have some pre-established agenda for the direction ‘they’ think we should take in life. At the first sniff of rebellion, they will bring the authoritarian hammer down, tell us to get back in line and threaten to withdraw the income flow.

Its time to evolve beyond this worn out idea of ‘privilege’. Its time to evolve beyond fundamental flaws in perception regarding core spiritual truths about life. Its time to evolve beyond hiding behind slogans that allow us to play small, or that keep others small.

We are ALL equal in the eyes of God. Every living Soul has the same potential to be happy and succeed. Therefore, let’s stop whining, complaining and blaming others. Our destiny is in our hands.

Get up. Be brave and go make something of your life.

Octavio is now delivering live-streamed weekly philosophy lectures on Wednesdays at 2pm Bali time. Book your spot online.

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Ellen's Articles

When the mind is still we see ourselves as we truly are

By Ellen Arthur.

Do you experience yourself being confused, conflicted, unsure or doubtful? Perhaps not all day every day, but often enough that it causes disruptions in your life? I was under the impression that once I started practicing yoga these distracted, dull thoughts of mine would disappear. Right?!

When we are in this state of dullness or confusion and we attempt to make decisions from that place, our own mind loses faith in its conviction and begins to turn on itself. Loss of faith in one’s own mind leaves us feeling mistrustful and defeated, and as a consequence we begin to lose faith in the world around us. This unfolds as thinking “the world is against me”, not wanting to socialise, fear of decision making, questioning why everything bad happens to us and forgetting our truest nature, which is one of sublime peace, ease, power and purpose. 

What the yoga tradition says about doubt is that it can single-handedly derail our pursuit of spiritual illumination. Doubt, confusion and uncertainty are some of our biggest hurdles on the path of self-discovery. These qualities arise out of a clouded, unstable mind. A mind that is easily distracted and pulled in whatever direction the senses, manas (reactive mind), the ahamkara (i-maker or ego) and citta (storehouse of memories) decide. 

How do we pull ourselves out of this predicament?

It is essential to learn how to still the fluctuations of the mind, to settle into a single-pointed focus so that clarity and clear vision (viveka) arise. Only once the mind is still, are we able to see its potential, and that is, to be used as an instrument for liberation (moska), connection back to source and remembering ones highest purpose (mahad).

Take the meditation Still lake of the mind, it gives us the clarity and the vision to peer into the still and tranquil nature of the mind. Once we taste that depth of mental ease and stillness, we begin to crave it (in a very positive way – creating positive samskaras). The more we access and rest in that space of stillness and silence, the more our mind merges with that state making it less likely that we dwell and ruminate in our fear and doubt. 

Abhyasa and Vairagya

Our practices act as a spotlight, a device we can use to illuminate parts of the mind that have for many years been steeped in darkness, habit and fear. Through consistent and intelligent practice (abhyasa) and a great amount of surrender/non-attachment (vairagya) we are able to see the tendencies of confusion, doubt and fear, see them for what they are, outdated mental constructs that cripple our momentum forward in life. Through compassion, practice and a desire to evolve we are able to liberate said constructs and turn that dormant energy into something positive. 

Ultimately where our practices have the ability to take us is into a space where even during hardship and challenge, doubt and fear, we can remember and access a still and stable mind. From that stability our mind becomes quiet, introspective, observant and peaceful.

We notice that our minds are in-fact pure consciousness itself, perfectly constructed instruments to guide us back home, back to source. 

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Keli's Articles

Why do I feel so sensitive?

By Keli Dierings

This is a conversation between Yoga and Sensitivity.

The more we practice Yoga, the more sensitive we become. We start to notice things with a greater level of detail, as if the present moment becomes more alive and vivid. Think as if we start to notice life and everything around us like we were watching it through a microscope – observing layers of multi-realities presented within the moments we are experiencing. Whether that be a physical sensation, a thought, an energy and vibration or moments fulfilled with ‘coincidences’, we are slowly open to feel more, see more and sense more.


Things that we can access initially often just in meditation, over time start to flood into our daily lives outside the Yoga mat. Watching nature, a smile, an eye gaze, etc… everything seems to be pulsating with a level of aliveness – it actually is! Tantra tells us there is a level of life force in everything! With Yoga, you become more attuned to that level.

Yet this greater level of awareness, as magical as it sounds, can also overload the senses, and make us overwhelmed with feelings. It is not a surprise that we or others start to go deep into Yoga practices, then at one point it feels like things are going crazier, as opposed to a more serene path. Sometimes, we question if this ‘Yoga thing’ is really working because instead of peace, we feel more overwhelmed. That is when we start to feel unable to handle suffering or life uncertainties…

As beautiful as this world is, we also must acknowledge that there is darkness in it: poverty, hunger, crime, violence. How can we live in this world, becoming more and more aware of the totality – and at the same time exist in a way that helps the healing of it, while also not becoming overburdened.

It has happened to me! It has happened to many students that I know of!

On sensitivity

I remember a couple times being asked to not be so sensitive. Well, that is not possible.

Firstly, being more sensitive is part of the process. When we ‘switch on’ the light, we are not able to switch it off anymore.

How could we possibly choose to go back to ‘sleep’ and become unaware?

Then, if we choose numbing practices like smoking, alcohol, or when we abuse the senses with loud music or sounds all the time, and even with lifeless food – we create a filter of perception which clouds our sensory systems.

Yoga asks us to stop numbing and welcome the fullest spectrum of life and all its feelings.

Yoga suggests sitting with what arises, without looking for distractions or escapism. The goal is to be able to do this and remain calm, so that all the information does not send the mind into a spin.

Here is the million-dollar question… How? How can we remain calm, spacious, and mentally stable with all the new presented info?

As we become more powerful with our Yoga practices and thus more sensitive, it is necessary that we:

  • Welcome stillness: Stillness is the foundation to understand deeper layers of the mind and its tendencies.
  • Practice Yoga in a non-competitive way. Rather than a muscular workout, which is more superficial, we turn Yoga inwards as a practice of self-knowledge: with pranayama & meditation and Svadhyaya (self-study).
  • Choose a balanced lifestyle, where we can simultaneously connect with people, not hiding from the world. The key is to be able to enjoy life without the need of numbing experiences or looking for distraction.
  • Don’t rush into ‘spiritual awakening’ practices, let this be a gradual and slow process so that assimilation can happen.

Ultimately, we want to shine the light of awareness in everything in life. What initially might feel too much, or negative, can always be seen as information to be processed. We want to become more aware of the things that we previously could not notice, because that opens life to a richer and more meaningful experience. The key is to remember integration and time and space enough to re-adjust back to life.

It is like starting each day as if it were the first time you were to encounter it, with less judgements and more curiosity.

Practice with Keli online via The Practice Online.

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Adam's Articles

Practice!

By Adam Mahmoud

What I love about this Practice is its ability to create a shift in your state of being. You feel one way when starting a Practice and, in the end, you are completely transformed by it. I think everyone remembers the first time they had a Yoga class that woke them up to a feeling they’ve never experienced before.

However, the longer we practice the harder it can be to find the motivation to get on the mat or cushion. But at this time, it is essential to practice more. 

At this moment in time our world is changing, the foundation of society is potentially crumbling. Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, domestic abuse, businesses closing, corruption, riots in the streets, wildfires, and global warming to mention a few… we just need aliens to top things off!

The greed and wealth imbalance has hit an unbearable high! If you’d asked most people before all this happened ‘are you happy with the current global situation?’ most would have said no.

As a global society, we have been using, indulging and taking too much from the world without giving back. We all asked for major change and here it is whether you like it or not. Now it’s time for a radical transformation of our species.

Dealing with it all can seem to like an overwhelming task to bare or undertake but the solution is much closer to you than you think. If you want to create change in the world it must happen within you first, from the microcosm to the macrocosm. How? Through committed daily Practice.

Mastering your inner states of being

The lesson here is that once you master your inner states of being you will be able to remain cantered and grounded no matter what happens to you in life. You are able to go from reacting to responding, from judgment to compassion.

When they were nailing Jesus Christ to the cross he was not blaming, or screaming for his life, He said “forgive them, father, for they know not what they do”. That is the ultimate act of not letting your external world determine your internal state of being. Even at that moment, he was in such deep communion with the Purusha!

Remember we are all spiritual beings having a human experience

Whatever you are going through is an experience. Every day you experience millions of sounds and see countless colors. Be mindful of what you are consuming. Your news, social media, conversation, and who you spend time with… because all of these things become a part of you in some subtle way.

We don’t just practice for one or two hours a day and the rest of the time we are unconscious of our mental fluctuations. We are constantly practicing off the mat as well so that when we do enter on our practice it’s that much easier to meditate. Now is the time to take your Practice to the next level!  

Practice with Enthusiasm!  

Enthusiasm is intense enjoyment, interest, or approval. The word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by God.”

It is such a beautiful word, it has such an uplifting and passionate energy.

Being embodied is a gift!

Remember that life is short, we are only here for a brief moment in time. How about making the most of that time wisely! Master your energy, meditate at the heart, find your Dharma, and live your life to the fullest, in service to your teachers, the world, and humanity. Rod Stryker talks more about Dharma here. 

What I love most about this practice is its depth! You are never done, there is always something to learn and more to practice. It’s a ritual I perform every day to honor the divine within me all around me, to reconnect to the sacredness of all of life and her beauty. My goal as a yoga teacher is simple: to bring more love, kindness, and compassion into the world through sharing these teachings.

Take a life-transforming teacher training with The Practice in Bali in July to take your practice to the next level! Find out more about our 200hr YTT program here. 

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Ellen's Articles

Faith and Devotion

by Ellen Arthur.

I’ve always been very devoted. As a child I remember sitting in the church pews, head bowed in respect and honour, holy communion, eulogies, older people hugging and kissing you saying how much you had grown. We were a devoted family, to community, tradition and faith. Then came school and my friends, relationships and work, all with their own kind of devotion.

Throughout our lives faith is present, in many ways it is what binds one moment to the next, one thought to another. Faith and devotion are often spoken about together. With faith comes devotion, when we have faith, the devotion we need in order to commit to something is taken very seriously, our spiritual evolution depends upon our faith and devotion.

As soon as I was exposed to mantra I knew it was something worth exploring. I connected instantly and deeply with its purity and the way it somehow (magically) fulfilled me. It was as if I was being summoned, mantra was an elixir, a clear voice guiding me down a path I recognised, the path of devotion.

This path of yoga is called Bhakti Yoga and it comprises many different aspects of devotion from the gross to the subtle, from the outwardly expressive to the internal and silent. To western yogi’s, Bhakti yoga is synonymous with Kirtan, but it is so much more. This path is all about devoting oneself to seeing God everywhere, listening to scriptures, meditating upon and acting in service of God.

True Bhakti Yoga or true Bhaktas (those who practice Bhakti Yoga) see God as a personified form, something the devotee can relate to like a mother, a father, a sister. That way the devotion can be sent directly to God or to divine love.

Our true self can only find fulfilment once it has merged with divine love. How do we do this? It is said this union is made possible through the gateway of the heart. If practice is persistent and earnest the portal of the heart opens us to an all pervasive universe that connects us both physically, energetically and spiritually to an inner knowing, to the big idea of life, of dharma. Here the development of sweetness and devotion unfolds.

To invite this sweetness in, it is best to surround yourself with people who sing to God, pray to God and devote themselves to the divine, because naturally and overtime our own hearts begin to blossom. True devotees have hearts like flowers, they are constantly pointing their hearts and their devotion toward the sun, toward Source. This then, enriches and sustains their very lives. Increasing their level of faith and their ability to draw more and more abundance toward them and those around them.

Bhakti Yoga is said to be one of the most accessible forms of yoga due to its simple requirement of opening the heart to God. However this simplicity can be misleading. Throughout our lives we have developed many preferences, opinions and ideas about ourselves and the world. Which in turn begins to hardened the wall around our hearts making the journey toward that sacred place turbulent. Our ego can persist and deny our entry, our fears and doubts can halt our expedition. So the message is to go simply and to go sweetly. To remain the witness, the curious traveller. To honour emotion and any discomfort as new territory, new terrain for you to explore. Over time and very subtly our hard exterior begins to soften.

For some of us this softening takes months, for others years, and for most of us decades, even life times. Don’t let this deter you, we must remember that it is not the pace of our awakening that determines our “success” but our dedication and unwavering commitment to showing up for ourselves again and again. For the sake of clearing and cleaning the heart and living from that place of compassion and divine love. Let your prayers be simple and humble. May we pray that the grace of devotion touches our lives and purifies our hearts.

The heart is limitless and, because it has no form, it can contain totality.” – Ramana Maharshi

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Uncategorized

The Truth About Tantra

by Octavio Salvado.

What is Tantra?

To answer the question ‘what is Tantra?’ we would need a thousand years just to begin, so vast is the span of its constituents. Instead I will offer a few insights gleaned from my own personal Tantric sadhana and a few others that have infused themselves into my heart through proximity to my beloved teachers.

What I know for sure is that our bodies are living shrines sporting internal architecture adorned with luminous alters that exude beauty the likes of which outer eyes will never see. Tantric sadhana offers us the precise road map to pilgrimage deep inside of ourselves, plus instructions on the appropriate etiquette required to lay our flower-offerings at the feet of the Lord. As a result we become a light unto ourselves, and a light to others, learning along the way that we can only give to others that which we already have.

Tantra is the relentless inner pursuit to be with Her, that great Shakti who lives inside of us and the subsequent desire to bud open and share Her light with the world, which is an out-petalling of our own soul. Botanists claim that flowers open for selfish reasons; to attract insects and pollinate. Let the scientists have their morbid lists about how selfish nature is. We know the truth! Flowers bud and open for the pure joy of it. The blossoming is unconditional. A flower shares its beauty and aroma for no other reason than to give of itself, because sweetness and beauty are its nature.

Similarly, Tantric practice ultimately leads us to our own inner blossoming and to an understanding of that goodness and beauty within us and what it is here to offer the world. If a flower can share so much purposeful light and life with the world, imagine what we can do with our advanced nervous systems, dexterous limbs, spinning chakras and free will!

As a process, committed Tantric sadhana provides us the intelligence and empowerment to access the primordial pool of healing required to mend our inner scars from this life and all others, which is the highest service we can offer to this world. It is easy to get emotional over the trees, oceans and animals, but fixing one problem will simply cause another to spring up. Until we cut out the root, which is ignorance and fear, oppression and greed will live on.

To truly serve this world, which is the highest Tantric motivation, we must first overcome our own inner poverty. Then, effortlessly, like a blooming flower we will enrich the lives of all who enter our field.

Knowing this, practice becomes service, a way to light our own lamp. Only when our own lamp is lit are we able to help light the lamp in the hearts of others. In luminosity, everything we do then becomes purposeful; all actions, thoughts and words express our inner essence, our sacred aroma, the beauty of our Soul. We walk in freedom and give others permission to do the same.

Tantra today – innocence robbed

Today, Tantra’s innocence is being robbed by charismatic perverts, fooling the masses that Sex is Tantra and sensuality can lead to enlightenment. Maha Maya in Her most dazzling cloak, even enveloping the remedy in poison. Such fun She has! Eventually we will come to understand that sex can be sacred, sex can be conscious and beautiful, but for us, it cannot be Tantric.

The ritualistic rigours of the Left-handed path are far beyond the reach and capacity of people like us. Dabbling in that façade will only increase our addictive tendencies and weaken the mind.

But let’s not dwell too long on dull discussions of delusion, there is only one Mother and She who conceals also reveals. All mothers let their kids play in the muck for a time.

True Tantra teaches us there is no substitute for ‘personal’ sadhana

Tantra, true Tantra, teaches that there is no substitute for ‘personal’ sadhana and there are no shortcuts to Samadhi. We must do the work ourselves. Tantra offers us the framework; a precise science that when practiced and understood, leads to a sacred life marked by spiritual and worldly joy and success.

What I know for sure is that your body is the living abode of the Divine. A vortex of Shaktis! To be born is freedom, if we choose to live in constant remembrance of this. All practices, arts, sciences, disciplines and human endeavours are an outgrowth of this desire to experience oneness with Her. Tantra then, is where the consummation of this desire is finally fulfilled.

Jai Maa.

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Ami's Articles

Changing Our Outlook, A Practice to See Things as They are

by Ami Effendy.

Yoga begins in the present moment, and the present moment begins in silence.  From that silence, words are born.  In the Yoga-Sutra attributed to Patanjali (third century B.C.E), considered to be one of the core text of yoga psychology, we begin with a simple sentence: “Atha yoganusasanam.”  This is translated as ‘in the present moment is the teaching of yoga. 

The first word in the Yoga-Sutra – atha- literally means ‘now’, ‘what is here in this moment.”  Yoga begins in the present moment.  Yoga is the present moment.  We could more concisely translate this opening line as: “Yoga begins now”.  The teachings of yoga orientate us towards this very moment, rendering the future invisible and the past no longer in reach.  Many scholars and practitioners translate yoga as a manifestation of the verb yuj – ‘to unite” – which turns yoga into something one does, a form of willful activity.  Yoga is the act of uniting one thing with another (breath with movement, body with mind, self with other). 

Yoga is a way of being and a mode of existing.  Existence is a play of interconnectedness, and the more we clarity our perception and ways of organizing our experiences, the more openness and compassion we bring to the profound and sometimes confusing undertaking of being in the world.  The authentic practice of yoga is an unremitting attention to present experience, weather in mind, body or heart, with a baby on the hip, preparing breakfast, or balancing the breath in a headstand.

According to yoga philosophy and psychology, the only place to begin an investigation of yoga – or of anything for that matter – is the present moment, because this is all that is actually occurring.  The future has not yet arisen, and the past is passed; the only thing there is to investigate and the only way to begin paying attention is within this very experience as it unfolds right now, right here.  That is why an investigation into the nature of reality and the true nature of the mind begins in this life, this body, and this moment.  The mind, with all its fantastic, distracted and creative potential, is so used to weaving conceptions and preferences all over the present moment that we are often relating not to what is actually occurring in life but reacting to life with our perception which is likes and dislikes.  That is why psychological inquires in the service of awakening begins with what is happening in the here and now – a form of present-centered attention with acceptance.

The mind has a hard time watching anything for very long, especially its own nature that is constantly moving, looking for something that is more interesting and challenging.  The mind has a hard time being present as the breath moves in the body, or as sensations arise and fall away in different yoga poses, and as a result, we are not often here most of the time, we are so easily distracted or interrupted.  This is true not just in relationship with our own bodies and emotions but interpersonally as well.  Other people interrupt our ideas about the way things are supposed to be.  This interruption is precisely what yoga is all about:  becoming flexible enough to have our preconceptions and our elaborative tendencies interrupted.  We usually discover a lot more in the silent space between thoughts and through all the interpretations, ideas, and views our minds generate.  Moments of psychological stillness remind us that there are ways of knowing other than intellectual or habitual.  Yoga practice, both on and off the mat, opens up the heart by revealing our patterns of grasping and inflexibility.  Through a disciplined and appropriately designed yoga practice, we not only see clearly our conditioned ways of living but we learn how to let go of those patterns so that our questions radically outnumber our answers, thats when we arrive in the present moments of life free to respond with an open and creative heart.

Yoga is an investigation into who we are and what we are.  We are looking into the nature of existence by starting with mind, breath, and body.  This requires the ability to be patient and accepting of what is occurring in our mind-body so we can see something clearly enough to study it. 

In yoga posture practice we dissolve the technique of moving the body into pure feeling and then dissolve the mind into that deep experience of feeling.  Then, that is all that is there.  In, chanting, as another example, we dissolve seed syllables into pure sound, and then sound into quite, and then quite into stillness, and then stillness becomes nothing other than a contented mind that is open and receptive, sharp and still.  When the mind returns to this natural state, anything can arise in mind, body and heart, and there is no pushing or pulling, just arising and dissolving, one form becoming, in turn, another. 

If our practice is creating flexibility over the body without a corresponding flexibility of the heart, we need to flag the way we conceive of and engage in practice.

Yoga begins with an honest meeting of our present experience, which means seeing as best we can all aspects of ourselves and our world, including what is most difficult or painful. How much suffering we have felt through our inability to tolerate and live in the midst of change?  How much difficulty do we experience from our reactions to the interactivity of feelings, thoughts, movements in the body, and memory?

In the Yoga-Sutra, Patanjali initiates the path of yoga with two first steps: practice (abhyasa) and letting go (vairagya).  Cultivating more wholesome intentions and actions of body, speech, and mind, and letting go of historical and ensnaring attitudes, is a constant throughout the entire path.  Cultivating positive qualities and letting go of negative factors in our psychophysical makeup gives us a clear starting point for our practice, without which we risk getting lost in the futility of undirected movement.

After a few years of consistent practicing contemporary yoga, I began asking questions.  Many of the classes I commonly found in Yoga Studios were not represented in ancient texts, with the absent of psychological understanding in yoga communities and the eventual vanity that comes on the heels of superficial practice.  I saw around me, people accomplishing great feats of flexibility and wonderful posture practices, but those same practices did not guarantee psychological or spiritual insight.

What do we aspire to in practice? What motivates our practice? What is the reason for practice? Some say we practice for no reason.  But human experience seems always constructed within the context of purpose or meaning.  How does one live a good life? What is enlightenment? Is yoga just about physical accomplishment, and if not, why are the ethical and psychological underpinnings of yoga so under spoken? Does one have to finally hold their own heels in back bends, practice arm balance in full lotus, or is there some other test for the liberative validity of practice? 

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Keli's Articles

From Addiction to Mission

by Keli Dierigns.

The opposite of addiction is connection– says the writer Johan Hari’s (author of “Lost of Connections: Why You Are Depressed and How to Find Hope”). Johan suggests that the reason people are depressed and turn towards unhelpful habits is because of loss of connection. Many studies have shown that depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain, but this is not necessarily what Johan suggests.  

It is my understanding that depression can show up in different layers, but his statement made me think much harder. He makes valid points when he mentions that life has moments of grief, uncertainty, confusion and if we understand those emotions better, we do not need to go under medications to numb those feelings. Johan Says in his book;

Now, if your baby dies at 10am, your doctor can diagnose you with a mental illness at 10.01am and start drugging you straight away.”

When I was seventeen years old my parents’ divorced and I had to see a doctor. After only two or three questions the doctor prescribed me anti-depressants. Thankfully, I was surrounded by people who advised against me taking them. It was a long road — often not easy — but I found joy in connecting with my body, exercising and working in fitness.

How can we understand these emotions better, without defaulting toward our diagnoses? By allowing ourselves to feel them.

Through meditation, silence and contemplation, we sit with the emotions rather than pushing them away or masking with distractions. This empowers us to make the clear choices of what is truly helpful to healing. 

Allowing ourselves acknowledgement and experience the emotions is the first step of healing… and… it is not comfortable. 

Stillness and the methodology of traditional Hatha Yoga helps us to understand non-reactivity, which supports us to not rush into unconscious choices.

Even with the rapid growth of information and widespread communication in our modern age, we do not know enough about mental health. As a collective humanity we are undereducated about mental health and our resources which makes it harder to understand how to support ourselves and society in a way that there is universal compassion. I became very curious about the state of human mind both because of my own struggles and as a Yoga teacher (because Yoga initially is about the mind). I wanted to know how I can understand myself and support humanity in more depth. I believe people are depressed for not feeling worthy or meaningful. It does not help that we live in a society and culture that displays happiness in form of material goods, looks, what it seems perfect relationships, etc.. but does happiness really comes from that? 

For so many people, the comparisons to these ‘supposed happiness’ actually leaves a feeling of not being good enough, of being unworthy. Why do we feel this way? How can we help ourselves and also the collective to feel more joy?

But first, what is taking our Joy away? — This is something Johan mentioned in a podcast with Joe Rogan and I loved: “One of the cruellest things of society is to take away what someone loves doing”. For example: to sing/ perform, dance, contact with nature; something that makes people feel alive and connected. Psychology often says that we are all a five year old little boys and girls with dreams and hopes. If society starts to take these experiences away from us and sell that happiness comes from external or superficial things, it will encourage creating a life that will be never enough and fulfilled. External happiness will never feel good enough and perfection is not something ‘achievable’.

This makes more sense to me after watching the movie Joker, which is my favourite movie of all times. I think it’s a masterpiece that reveals when a collective society is unhealed; it creates more traumas and pain (like a chain), one hurting another. I left the movies really touched by it and could not stop noticing ‘pieces of the Joker’ everywhere. It impacted me to reflect deeper on how am I adding to the healing or suffering to every single person that I interact with every day. We are all healing from something and must think how can we support people to keep working or believing in their dreams.

So…what makes us to FIND joy? In that same podcast Rohan says:

“Depression can be minimized by making other people happy”

He also added that many studies have being done in countries that support a culture where happiness is when we serve others. What do you think? I could not agree more! 

We might think…What about myself? I should fix my depression first before helping others? Not really. The act of supporting a community, giving and participating will leave a sense of worthiness, and difference that brings joy to the heart! Serving others is how you find purpose in life and when you find purpose, you find more meaning in it. Yes it requires effort…but it could be something simple. Take friends for coffee and listen to them, bake muffins to someone, clean up the beach, help to rescue a puppy, plant a tree, drive kids to school, help someone to move home, create a simple piece of art and give to someone… truly, we never know where this could lead us. Starting something small can make a world difference, in your world and someone’s else.

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Ellen's Articles

The Source of Your Fear

by Ellen Arthur.

The river of spirituality must have love and devotion woven into its flow. Without this inner experience of reverence and sweetness our practices become fruitless and we lose interest. Practice wholeheartedly, unattached to the outcome is something to be done on a daily basis. What I know to be true is that no one else can work with our mind for us, no teacher or therapist can clean our mind of confusion and make it one-pointed. Even the scriptures say “light your own lamp, no one else can give you enlightenment”. This implies that we are our own guides, our own teachers.

As I practice, both my physical teacher and my inner teacher ask that I dive deeper, into the realms of mind and habit. What I am continuously coming up against are my insecurities and doubts. Some days they are little ripples upon a quiet lake, other days they are all consuming waves of emotion which overwhelm my ability to see clearly. Within these emotions, whether they create large waves or small ripples is fear. Fear is what stifles our growth, keeps us living small and is the source of all our pain and suffering.

This is where yoga steeped in knowledge and Tradition comes in. The intention of the practices are to aid in deep healing and inner transformation. It asks us very specifically to analyse the source of our fear. The judgements, anxieties and resentments and get to the root of them. Only once we acknowledge the source of our fears are we able to liberate them.

Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, says that we should contemplate two main themes. The first is to be careful of fear and doubt. These qualities are like an army of termites chewing away at our foundation and causing the entire structure of spirituality to collapse. The second theme centres around ego. Our greatest enemy. It is in charge of emotions such as anger, hatred, jealousy, greed and the desire for revenge. Every one of these emotional enemies cause great destruction both internally and externally

In my analysis I have come up with this question, why do patterns repeat themselves? Patterns of self sabotage, unworthiness and confusion. Until recently I never knew to ask these questions or realise that they had remedies. Now that my current practices are informed by contemplation and self analysis. I am beginning to notice incremental shifts through practices such as mantra japa, emphasis on self compassion, self love and also techniques that guide us toward releasing negativity. I can viscerally and mentally feel the transformation talking place within my consciousness. I am less reactive, less driven by egotistical desires and more interested in moving toward things, people and places that inspire, excite and enable me to grow in happiness and unconditional love.

Not wanting to diminish the challenges faced coming up against the lower mind. I try to remember that what I am going through is a process of healing. Of moving away from fear and guiding myself toward love. A process that requires trust, compassion and the permission to heal. To acknowledge our negative and harmful traits and have the tools and support to gracefully move beyond them.

Blessed are we with the grace of the inner teacher, to be able to move through life in this human form, with a mind that is able to discern, decide and act. However, the great Yogis realised it’s not enough. It is important that we expose ourselves to the other three forms of grace.
Grace from the scriptures, revealed knowledge, The Grace of God,
and the sweet, nurturing Grace of the Guru.

With these four forms of Grace, really nothing can stand in the way of our liberation, our desire to evolve and meet the higher Self, the all knowing one, where we are reunited with our Soul.

All we can do is practice in an informed and honest way. To be easeful in our approach to our own wounds and desire to heal. To remember that the source of our fear is the very thing that CAN liberate us from all ignorance and suffering.

All blessings,
Elle

Categories
Octavio's Articles

Believe That Both are Possible

by Octavio Salvado.

Where have all the role models gone? Where are the radiant examples of individuals showing us that success in the inner world does not have to obliterate success in the outer world, or vice versa? Tantra’s message is Simple. Both are possible.

Tantra is two things, a life affirming philosophy that views the world as a living expression of the sacred, plus a potent set of methods providing the exact means to experience this philosophy. The ultimate goal of Tantra is to live an extraordinary life, inner and outer both.

According to the tradition, this is achieved through the skillful and willful integration of three separate yet interconnected ideas: Bhoga (Fulfillment), Apavarga (Freedom) and Bhukti (Accomplishment).

In other words, to fulfill our ultimate potential as human beings we must delight in our human lives in a way that’s connected to our highest self and from that place breathe life into meaningful ideas that serve the world.

Bhoga is often defined as the desire for material, or worldly fulfillment. It speaks to the inherent desire to feel pleasure and enjoyment. There are many paths that deny this and try to suppress it.

Tantra sees it as an inescapable part of being human. It states that by meeting this desire with self-awareness, the glory of the soul can be experienced in daily life adding much richness and meaning to it.

Tantra does not support reckless or indulgent behavior. It does not support promiscuous sex, open-relationships, or recreational drug use. This is something we in the West have made up to give ourselves permission to sanctify our general lack of inner resolve. It is much easier to stay engaged in our lower tendencies when we pretend those tendencies are somehow ‘Yogic’.

For this reason, Tantra can be described as a kind of razor’s edge. Many Yogis fall from that edge, or slice themselves in the dance. The number of sexual lawsuits against ‘Gurus’ and international Yoga teachers is a sad and disgusting example of this.

Tantra invites us to enjoy the body and delight in the world from a place of unwavering spiritual discrimination. We should always be asking ourselves ‘who is driving the bus in this moment?’, because the soul will never steer us wrong. When we celebrate life in this way, we give credibility to Yoga, instead of dragging its name through the mud.

Desire, when well informed, is also a powerful tool for spiritual evolution. In fact, without a borderline obsessive desire to evolve beyond our limiting patterns, we simply won’t. The shakti, or power held within those limitations will continue to restrict our forward momentum like a riptide pulling us out to sea.

Apavarga means liberation from these lower tendencies and a subsequent anchorage to the higher Self. Although Tantra invites us to delight in the human world, it also provides an exact set of methods for transcending the limitations of the body and mind allowing us to experience absorption into that which transcends both.

Tantra does not view Bhoga and Apavarga as being in conflict with one another. Instead it views them as major aspects of living an integrated and extraordinary life. The weaving of our human ability to thrive in the world and our spiritual ability to live in constant remembrance of who we are represent two thirds of the tapestry. Yet there is one more crucial thread to living an exalted life – Bhukti.

Bhukti translates to ‘accomplishment’. Tantra does not support shying away from worldly success in the name of spirituality. When Krishna demands that Arjuna rise from the floor of his chariot and pick up his bow to fight, this is Bhukti.

Understanding our soul’s grandest vision and bringing that vision to life is at the core of Tantra? What is your hidden gift? And will achieving that goal bring more light, more healing, more meaning, knowledge and joy to the world? If the answer is yes, then you have a spiritual obligation to exhaust every last resource you have until that dream is a manifested reality. The Gita again reminds us, “Life and death are not nearly as important as HOW we live. In the end, only Dharma gives our lives meaning.”

Tantra is not for the fickle or faint of heart, it demands that we utilize all of our intrinsic power and self-knowledge to overcome struggle and undoubtedly the ambush of inner and outer criticism to accomplish great things in the world. In this way we both serve the world and honor our soul’s innate glory and magnificence.

Believe that both are possible; inner and outer success. If we are not experiencing this, then either we have misunderstood the teachings, our methodology is inadequate, or we are not investing enough effort into our study and practice. Either way, our destiny is where it has always been – in our own very capable hands.

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Ami's Articles

The Art of The Innate Joy and Self Contentment

by Ami Effendy.

Like the ability to learn a language or love another human being, the ability to feel joy is something we are all born with. We are born happy; we are born free.

However the human being has to face the facet of changes, our conditioning. Everything is changing, the season is changing, the day is changing, and our body is changing. More importantly our mind is also always changing, our mood is changing, and the world is changing. All that changes creates a certain level of uncertainty, in deeper level even fear. The other change that we rather think about is mortality.

Many of us still believe that joy isn’t innate – that is only comes with possessing a specific item or achieving a particular outcome. So we keep searching for joy through objects, relationship, and experiences, which prevents us from realizing that this essential emotion is already within us, patiently waiting to be experienced.

Unfortunately, when you resist or deny feelings of joy, your life and relationships can lose their meaning and value. For instance, when you feel you’re not living life fully, or when you’re feeling bitter or jealous about that which others have and you don’t, these feelings can overshadow your ability to feel your innate joy.

Research shows that regularly experiencing joy—whether in the form of laughter or of activities that promote happiness and well-being, can produce healthy changes throughout your body. Joy can strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish your perception of pain, anxiety, and depression, protect you from the damaging effects of stress, increase your ability to sleep restfully through the night, and more. And the best thing is that you can access feelings of joy at any time through meditation.

Another practices for welcoming joy is to spend time experiencing gratitude moments—welcoming feelings of gratitude and joy into body and mind. You do this by taking time to recall that which you’re thankful for. Research shows that people who regularly practice gratitude moments are more joyful and experience less depression than those who don’t.

Heart – Brain Connection According to Science

Many believe that conscious awareness originates in the brain alone. Recent scientific research suggests that consciousness actually emerges from the brain and body acting together. A growing body of evidence suggests that the heart plays a particularly significant role in this process.

The human heart has always been a symbol love and romance. In reality, however, it is an organ that pumps blood around our bodies, or there is something more?

Where has this emotional connection to love come from?

No other organ in the human body has this connection with an emotion, so could there be something behind the literature and poetry, and if so, could science provide an explanation?

There are neurons in your heart.

Many people assume that the brain is controlling our emotions, but Professor David Paterson, Ph.D. at Oxford University, disputes this. He says that the brain is not the only organ that produces emotions. This is because the heart actually contains neurons similar to those in the brain, and these fire in conjunction with the brain. The heart and the brain are therefore connected:
When your heart receives signals from the brain via the sympathetic nerves, it pumps faster. And when it receives signals through the parasympathetic nerves, it slows down, says Professor Paterson.

In 1991, a scientific discovery published in the journal Neurocardiology put to rest any lingering doubt that the human heart is more than a pump. The name of the journal gives us a clue to the discovery of a powerful relationship between the heart and the brain that went unrecognized in the past.

A team of scientists led by J. Andrew Armour, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Montreal, which was studying this intimate relationship between the two, found that about 40,000 specialized neurons, or sensory neurites, form a communication network within the heart.

In each moment of every day, a conversation is taking place inside us. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most vital communications we will ever find ourselves engaged in. It’s the silent, often subconscious, and never-ending conversation of emotion-based signals between our hearts and our brains, also known as the heart brain connection.

The reason this conversation is so important is because the quality of the emotional signal our hearts sends to our brains determines what kind of chemicals our brains release into our bodies.

When we feel what we would typically call negative emotions, for instance, anger, hate, jealousy, and rage, our hearts send a signal to our brains that mirrors our feelings. Such emotions are irregular and chaotic, and this is precisely what the signal they send to the brain looks like. If you can envision a chart of the ups and downs of the stock market on a wild and volatile day, you’ll have an idea of the kind of signals we create in our hearts in times of chaos.

The human body interprets this kind of signal as stress, and triggers the mechanisms to help us respond appropriately. The stress from negative emotions increases the levels of cortisol and adrenaline—often called stress hormones, which prepare us for a quick and powerful reaction to whatever is causing us stress—in our bloodstreams. This is our instinctive fight-or-flight response.

The research has shown that when we create rejuvenating emotions, such as appreciation, care, gratitude, and compassion, the signal from heart to brain becomes more harmonized to reflect the quality of the emotions. In the presence of a harmonized signal, there is no need for the fight-or-flight response. The stress hormones decrease, allowing the heart and brain to shift and produce the chemistry that supports stronger immune response, healing properties and greater amounts of DHEA, the precursor to all other hormones in the body.

Whether it’s based in emotions from stress or harmony, the conversation and connection between heart and brain—specifically, between the sensory neurites in our hearts and those that make up our brains—is constantly occurring as a dialogue of very low frequencies.

Heart – Brain Connection According to Yoga Tradition

This is one of those places where science and spirituality overlap beautifully. While the science describes the electrical relationship and connection between the heart and the brain, ancient spiritual practices and techniques have helped people apply the relationship in their lives—and do so without a scientific explanation.

As with any technique that’s passed from teacher to student, however, the steps for creating heart-brain connection and coherence are best experienced with a seasoned practitioner to facilitate the process.

This heart-brain connection according to the Tantra is called “Pran Vayu”. The word Pran is taken from “Prana” which commonly known as energy, breath or lifeforce. The Pran Vayu is one of the five primarily Vayus.

However, the translation of word “Prana” is falls well short than the actual meaning of the words. The words “Prana” infers to a quality of alivenes, which also speak towards our emotions and feelings.

The Pran Vayu is the upward and inward subtle energy movement within the body that is responsible for recharging the mind and the body, that is located in the heart primarily (lungs and chest) and the head, related to the inhalation which is our ability to take the “life in”.

The Pran is associated with emotional Intelligence, heart intelligence. It’s constant. We can trust it. It’s important to acknowledge this, because it means that the wisdom of our heart—the answers to the deepest and most mysterious questions of life that no one else can answer—already exists within us.

Rather than something that needs to be built or created before it can be used, the link between our heart and the place that holds the answers is already established. It’s been with us since the time we were born and has never left us. It’s up to us as to when we choose to access that link as a “hotline” to the deepest truths of our life. It’s also up to us as to how we apply the wisdom of our heart in the reality of our everyday life.

This is where discernment comes in. While our heart’s wisdom may be true for us, it may not always be true for someone else. Our friends, children, siblings, life partners, and families all have their own heart wisdom.

Few simple steps to create heart-brain connection. Each steps sends a signal to the body that a specific shifts has been put into motion. Combined, the steps create an experience that takes us back to a natural harmony that existed in our bodies earlier in life, before we began to separate our heart-brain network through our conditioning.

Step 1
Settle into a comfortable sitting position with supported prop (blanket, pillow, or block) so that your lower back is fully supported, as you sit up high positioned the crown of your head over the based of your spine.

Step 2
Take one or two deep breath to ensure freedom, both in the spine and in the breath. Just relax and be aware the sensation on the breath, without trying to make anything happened.

Step 3
Continue to watch the breath, remaining completely effortless, you adsorb your body breathing. Notice if there is any tension and stress on the breath, if there is, just relax a bit more. Let go.

Step 4
Bring your awareness to the space between your brain and skull. Just relax and be aware. One of the thing you might notice is that in that space, the general area of the brain is highly sensitive to light, to presence. There is definitely a feeling of openness and spaciousness there. As you deep into your relaxation, you start to notice that there is an innate goodness or delight or ease in that space. Kind of presence of inner joy, while you stay mindful of that feeling, or of that presence, notice your body breathing again.

Step 5
Now, as you breath out, sense that light of presence, to descend to the heart, as your body breath in allow that presence to rise back up to the space between the brain and the skull. Each time you breath out, there is the descend to that heart, each time you inhale there is ascend back to the space between the brain and the skull. Continue to direct the mind to move on into the flow of the breath. Gradually the mind becomes absorb to this movement, if it wonder or drift re-direct the mind to follow the flow of the breath. To descend and ascend, the experiences of goodness, a spaciousness and joy.

Step 6
As you continuously, effortlessly to ascend and descend. As the mind increasingly absorbed on the technique, you noticed that this presence, inner delight, inner joy, contentment begins to collect in heart.

Finally in this last stage, simply rest in the heart.
Be aware that you have gain access to this inner domain of unconditioned joy and peace. As you rest in that space, there is timeles experience of oneness, and wholeness. You are no longer rising and falling through the spine, you open the door to your heart.
Where you experience a complete oneness and unconditioned joy. Rest here for as long as you desire.

Join the complete version of this Meditation including Pranayama with me at The Practice Online “Pranayama & Meditation” on August 2019’s issue.

Infinite love and Gratitude,

Ami Effendy

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Keli's Articles

So Hum: “I Am-ness”

by Keli Dierings, artwork by Alex Ruiz,

Your self-worth cannot be defined by what you do or accomplish. These are temporary, while who you are is infinite. When you identify who you are with what you do, you set yourself up for disappointment and heartbreak sooner or later. If we think “I, and what I do, are not enough,” we can end up doing more and more to always be chasing a sense of temporary worthiness. And then what happens if one day you cannot complete a task or goal for some reason? Do you then think that who you are is a failure? The reality is, the things that you do won’t always be a success, and sometimes you won’t be able to accomplish them all or in a way that you initially wanted. This will never mean that you are not worthy, or not enough.

SO HUM is a Sanskrit word meaning “I AM – I am that/he.” I am that which is eternal, that which is one with the Source. When we embody So Hum, we begin to understand that our bodies, minds, careers, tasks, and accomplishments are just temporary in this human life and constantly changing. It becomes crucial to choose carefully the word we put after “I AM” because it becomes our identity, our reality. If we attach to or identify with something that we can’t always control, we can end up creating for ourselves an enormous amount of pain. We as infinite, divine, and luminous beings limit ourselves when we our identify ourselves to the things that are finite and temporary. Of course we can have goals, do things, and follow our passions for thriving! But we must remember that these things are parts of our lives, yet not who we are as beings.

When we experience ‘negative’ emotions such as anger, insecurity or jealousy, we tend to tell ourselves “I am an angry person” or “I am a jealous girlfriend”, rather than saying “I am experiencing the emotion of anger, or jealousy”, which is temporary. We tend also to have thought patterns like “I feel worthless, therefore I must be worthless.” When we learn from society that there is no separation between doing bad and being bad, it leaves us with the feeling of shame, and we may tend to compare ourselves with others or identify with others’ opinions and reactions that we can’t control. We might think that if you don’t do certain thing, you are not worthy of others love and appreciation.

So how should we start to identify with the divine beings we are?

Begin the journey of self-knowing. Meditate! Meditation is the key for self-knowledge, and self-knowledge is the key for finding growth and freedom. You come to own your growth, and understand too that the journey is not perfect all the time. In the tradition of Tantric Hatha, SO HUM is one of the most potent Mantras to meditate on for self-realization.

Practice contemplation of all the reasons you ARE enough. If you focus on lack and insecurities, you get more of it. But if you focus on the things in your life that you feel good about, this will shift into thoughts of appreciation for yourself. For example: I value myself because I care about others, humanity, or I value myself because I am loyal.

Speak to yourself with love! Give yourself words, advice, and guidance that you would give to a dear friend. When we can show ourselves kindness and compassion, we rewire the brain and our patterns of self-talk, self-love and self-worth.

And attune to being in gratitude by searching for appreciation in your experiences. Begin to see that being defines you more than doing and being goes way beyond anything that is subject to change in this life. The essence of who you truly are it is beautiful, wonderful and even beyond your experiences.

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Ellen's Articles

Practice as Seva

by Ellen Arthur.

Why do we practice? What keeps us coming back? The reason we practice anything, whether its yoga, a language, a sport, is so that our knowledge of that thing deepens. Our thirst for understanding propels our desire to practice.

These questions were never something I considered when I first met the mat. It wasn’t so much of a conscious decision to return to practice as it was a deep visceral desire to feel good and to evolve. To feel that through practice I was able to connect to something beyond the bazaar world my mind usually dwelled in. The mind (my mind, your mind) is a tool. We can use it to enhance the way we view the world (Worldview – Santali) or we can use it to destroy and destruct. For a long time I didn’t know I had a choice, I just resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be at the mercy of the mind forever!!

It is an assumption to say, but for the most part, we practice firstly for ourselves. To make ourselves feel more energetically rich, strong, healthy and attuned to the environment around us, making us more connected and conscious of our actions. In order to progress along any path, this step is essential. To feel good within our own skin, to find love for ourselves first.

Then something magical happens. The lens of our practice starts to shift. We begin to realise that by healing ourselves we inadvertently begin to heal those around us. Our devotion, our discipline, our capacity to feel and engaged from a deeper pool of emotions has a ripple affect. After all… isn’t that why we are here? To be of service to each other and therefore to be of service to the world?

In Yoga we have a word that embodies this concept. This word in Sanskrit is Seva; having an interest in the well-being of others as well as oneself. Service gives us the opportunity to lose the concept of “self” that we have programmed/created so that we can offer our time selflessly to others.

Serving others is considered a great siddhi, a great power. In order to serve others we must confront very real and impressionable thoughts and ideas that we have about ourselves and the world. Service asks us to renounce our own selfish desires and needs. This can be quite a hurdle to overcome. Through the practice of Seva we are able to see quite clearly where our patterns and conditions arise from. Ultimately the things that we unconsciously repeat, whether they are thoughts, actions or addictions, are the very things that keep us stuck and habitual.

Karma Yoga, meaning deed or action, refers to the law of cause and effect. The idea is that every action leads to a reasonable result – and that everything that happens can be traced back to something done in the past. Actions determine destiny, this is the basis of Karma Yoga. We reap what we sow.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that we must work not for our own sake but for the welfare of all. Pointing out that this is the basic law underlying all of creation. That each being must do their part in the grand scheme of life.

Krishna tells Arjuna, “we must perform our duties without attachment to their fruit or outcome. We must act in a selfless spirit, without ego-involvement and without getting entangled in whether things work out the way we want; only then will we not fall into the terrible net of Karma”.

Arjuna asks Krishna, what powers bind us to our selfish ways? Even when we want to act rightly, often we do the wrong thing. What power moves us?
Krishna replies… “Anger and selfish desire are our greatest enemies. They are the destructive powers that can compel us to wander away from our purpose, to end up in self delusion and despair”.

So as you can see, this is not an easy task to undertake when we are confronted by our biggest hurdles and demons in the process of serving others. This is why our practice and what we practice is so essential. Practices that amplify our demons, struggles and our ego will obviously take us further and further down the path of self destruction. Whereas practices that soften us, humble us, connect us to our hearts and challenge us mentally give us strength to walk the path of purpose, the path of Dharma.

To be of service is to ask the questions… When I do something, why do I expect something in return? Why do I think the world owes me? What am I trying to gain by giving to others? What am I trying to fulfil or suppress?

Practice brings self inquiry, and through this we are able to ask the harder, deeper questions. Our capacity to look at our darkness, our greed, without judgement or reaction based on habit, is what allows us to progress and overcome selfish tendencies.

When was the last time you really considered the impact your practice is having on you and the world around you? When was the last time you did something without attachment to individual gain? What would that look like for you? How would that feel? I encourage you to use the science of yoga as a way to deeply connect with your truest nature so that in turn you are able to share and be of service to the world and those around you.

I will leave you with this from Krishna…

“Fulfil all your duties; action is better than inaction. Even to maintain your body Arjuna you are obliged to act. Selfish action imprisons the world. Act selflessly without any thought of personal gain”.

Many blessings to you,
Namaste,
Elle

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Octavio's Articles

The Unlikable Road to Freedom

by Octavio Salvado.

Imagine a yoga world where people automatically assumed that when you go to a ‘yoga’ class you will also practice meditation. Imagine a yoga world that taught classes without music, recognizing that silence and single pointedness of mind are the pre-requisite for the deeper inner experiences that yoga promises. Imagine a yoga world that valued tradition and ancient wisdom over innovation and creative sequencing. This is the yoga world that I dream of, and it is coming.

The new paradigm starts with us, the teachers. There is no point us complaining that students these days lack the desire to go deeper. If there is a lack of desire in students, then it is merely a reflection of something lacking in those that are sharing it.

Nowadays I feel that teachers are afraid to lose students, or disappoint them. We would prefer to be liked, followed and paid more than respected and as a result, we seek to entertain students rather than educate them. Class numbers and big followings do not make a great teacher. A great teacher, in my opinion, is forged in the fires of tradition, discipline, loyalty, obedience, failure and humility, shaped over decades of relentless study and practice… and scrubbing toilets.

We live in a yoga culture weakened by entitlement, impatience and a general dislike for hard, unsexy, behind the scenes work. If we can’t post about it, it doesn’t exist and it certainly doesn’t matter. Teachers want name and fame without realizing that there are no shortcuts in the yoga world. Peripheral, quick popularity is an illusion and an obstacle on the path to real progress as a teacher. If you’re a newer teacher, avoid it like the plague. The Masters of the tradition see everything and in the end, it is them pulling the strings from behind the veil and them pulling the rug out from under our feet when we get ahead of ourselves. Their timing is usually exquisite.

There is a wonderful term that addresses this, called ‘Adhikara’, often translated as ‘studentship’. However, the literal meaning is ‘the right to know’. It speaks to the idea that each of us earns the right to receive the teachings based on our own genuine dedication to practice and study. In truth, the age old axiom isn’t ‘when the student is ready, the teachings will appear’, more accurately, its when the student is prepared. In the end, only time, effort and reverence can properly prepare us to move beyond the periphery and share something truly meaningful as teachers.

Furthermore, this progression should be total. Its insufficient to merely evolve our practice and study and discount the importance of simultaneously evolving our relationships, our mental steadiness, our patience, our parenting, and our professional life. To truly earn the right to know and call ourselves yoga teachers, we must courageously seek out constant progress in all areas of life. Then and only then do we become more capable of receiving, assimilating and ultimately sharing the deeper and more profound practices and teachings of yoga.

Maturity, both on and off the mat takes time. I am very familiar with immaturity in both of these areas and believe me, it comes with a lot of karma, so don’t rush. Don’t be in a hurry to be somebody, or to be a visionary, develop a yoga style, or start a movement. If that is your destiny, then the Masters will organize it. Just keep on practicing, dedicate your whole self, your efforts and devotion in a straight, unwavering line along a singular path and don’t deviate from it. Earn your stripes over years and decades, not months and fearlessly commit to improving all dimensions of your life and being.

If we want to see changes in the yoga world and in our students, then as teachers we must be willing to make a stand and make the hard, unglamorous choices, sacrificing fun, insta-fame and numbers to do the right thing. Turn off the stereo and practice at home in silence. Meditate everyday without fail, regardless of whether you ’feel like it’. Remain grateful and open in the wake of one-star reviews. Teach a class of two students with as much passion as you’d teach a class of one hundred. Give zero shits about being popular. Relate to your yoga on the inside.

We all know what the right thing to do is. We just need to stand down from our pedestals and do it and trust that the tradition will support us and that the merits of our own hard-earned efforts will keep us afloat in the chaos that inevitably comes with regeneration and the glorious cycle of death and rebirth.

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Ellen's Articles

Remembering Mantra

by Ellen Arthur.

Mantra is unique, as in, unlike anything else.. and I couldn’t think of a better way of describing the magic that is mantra, chanting and kirtan. All of these three definitions express different ways of using mantra in order to heal, inspire or awaken dormant energies within our very own bodies and mind.

For me, it all began in a modest little yoga shala, in Canggu, Bali years ago, where my teacher (Octavio) lead us through a mantra that would, unbeknownst to me at the time, change my life forever. That mantra was Om Asatoma. A peace mantra that takes us away from the false, illusion filled patterns of life and leads us toward our truth, moves us from the misunderstanding of our “darkness” and guides us to our light, and lastly transforms us from our fear of death and allows us to perceive ourselves as immortal, as beings who never die. Ultimately asking us to become the most embodied and empowered version of ourselves possible. To say that this Yoga Teacher Training changed my life is an understatement.

It took me at least a year to remember that time in Bali when I was exposed to Mantra, and once I remembered, I haven’t stopped chanting, sharing and singing since. I believe that the practice of mantra and self-discovery shows up when you need it the most, when you are ready for a transformative shift to take place. Be warned, that a committed mantra practice will, without a doubt revolutionise the way you perceive not only yourself, but the very world that you are a part of.
At that time, I wasn’t ready for my life to change, there were still a few weeds that needed to be removed and a few past experiences that needed to be revisited so that I could make peace with them. Hence why it took a solid year for me to recall the power of mantra, and specifically Om Asatoma. (Let me be clear, I still have a lot of weeds and overgrown terrain that I am constantly working on, but each day the garden of my life looks a little tidier and somewhat less chaotic.)

As a daily practice along with asana, mediation and pranayama, I would utilise the momentum (the momentum is the fact that these mantras have been used and chanted for thousands of years, in ceremonial practices, so that alone amplifies its impact and its magnetic pull) and the power of this mantra to help relieve my suffering, my ignorance and my self sabotage. After some time marinating in my own mantra practice, the need to share was overwhelming. I began to share mantra with my students in classes and also sharing through regular community kirtans.
Kirtan is typically accompanied with narrating or story telling and then chanting mantra melodically, usually in a call and response manner. I have been lucky enough to be able to see first hand the beauty and the reach of mantra. My students and community would often say to me that mantra feels familiar, like an old friend, even if you’re new to the practice. Technically as a species we have been singing, celebrating and purging our troubles through ceremony, dance and ritual since the beginning of time. So no wonder mantra feels nostalgic and sentimental.

Through Mantra in the Hindu and Buddhism traditions we chant to the gods, deities, figure heads and higher beings with the belief and the understanding that these Gods and Goddesses aren’t outside of ourselves. In fact they represent the very nature of our being, showcasing our vast array of human qualities and emotions. These qualities include, strength, will power, determination, compassion, unconditional love and having the courage to over come our many hurdles/obstacles/heartbreaks. Always changing and evolving, our nature can sometimes be loving and passive, and in some circumstances we need to be more assertive and direct. In these times of shift and transformation mantra can be used as a tool to keep our two feet firmly planted on the ground, to bind us to the infinite possibilities within the present moment. We were designed to awaken, to thrive and to understand that beyond the rollercoaster of everyday life and emotion, there is a part of ourselves that is calm and at peace. Mantra speaks to that very part of ourselves that is beyond form, religion, gender, political views and social construct. When we chant we are liberated, and the heart is directly pierced and touched ever so sweetly.
For me, it’s a real sense of relief knowing that there is mantra, and where there is mantra there is a deity to call upon in times of need. In these times of despair, mantra becomes an incredible ally. Over time and dedicated repetition, mantra helps guide us away from negativity or uncertainty and points us in the direction of rebuilding our inner reservoir of contentment that comes from self-fulfilment, not from an external source, but right within your own heart.

I can happily say that asana is a big part of my daily practice but it is through daily repetitions of the names, that has bought about the biggest transformations in my life. The commitment to a practice that enables me to connect to something bigger than “I”, bigger than “me” has given “me” great perspective on my life, my purpose and overall happiness. I see myself as a fully formed reflection of the divine… I am and you are perfect, nothing needs to be fixed or manipulated, we are enough exactly as we are. Asana (as incredible as it is) can only take us so far along this winding road that is the spiritual path. It wasn’t until mantra and sharing mantra through Kirtan – community Satsang – that my yoga/my life truly started to shine.

It has been through sitting in contemplating and reverie, and using mantra as the metaphorical gateway, that has offered me this beautiful uncovering of self and the constant discovery of how magnificent life truly is.

Namaste,
Elle

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Keli's Articles

Taste of Joy

by Keli Dierings.

Recently I have done an immersion training with my teacher Rod Stryker, it was five days immersion in Tantra and five days in Yoga Nidra. Again, it changed my life. It made me to remember why I started and how Yoga always up level the way I chose to live my life on every moment and day by day or year by year.

It bought me back to think how important is to go deep into something that you want, to emerge yourself, to learn, to experience, to feel the challenge, to overcome it and understand it deeper.

My teacher mentioned that he never spent a lot of time with his teachers, but he would visit them around every six months. I understand we don’t need to “live” with our teachers to go deep into our practices so that we can change our lives. We can simply spend some time with them, experience the depth of their teachings and then be committed to continue the work as we carry on with life. Because in fact, Yoga is not an escape from our reality, Yoga is a tool to deal with reality and in a skilful way that we can be more happy and fulfilled on every day.

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Keli's Articles

Dissolving Illusion

by Keli Dierings.

“The most common ego identifications have to do with possessions, the work you do, social status and recognition, knowledge and education, physical appearance, special ability, relationships, personal and family history, belief system and often nationalistic, racial, religious and other collective identifications. None of these is you.” – says Eckhart Tolle……. Ouch! A fundamental rule of Quantum Mechanics states that there is a difference between what the world is and what we see when we look at the world. Most people think what they see with their eyes is the only reality that really exists, and by default, identify themselves with this material reality. It is also common for people to identify with the roles and judgments placed upon them by others, letting others perceptions form their reality.

Many of us have heard of the saying that “Life is an illusion.” Especially at this age the sentence “Let it go” has become one of the most used phrases in Yoga classes. If everything is an illusion, we are faced with a dilemma. If we are to constantly let go of the ego’s attachments referring to the examples of Eckhart Tolle’s quote that I mentioned above. Well, what does it mean to be human then? What remains? Do our experiences really exist? Or are we creating a delusional story in based of our brains ability to process what is the truth? Sometimes it can feel that the goal is to detach ourselves from the human experience. If that is the truth, why do we even need to focus on self-development to thrive in this human life? What is the point?

According to the Yoga traditions we all have one main purpose in this life, which the ancient Vedic teachings calls it Dharma. Dharma translates it back to “the longing for purpose and to fulfil our unique destiny”. Dharma is an invisible universal intelligence that sustains and organizes all forms of life. This purpose is not to create only our own happiness, but yes to contribute to the greater good and ultimately serve the entire fabric that intertwines us all. Give up yourself interest, be selfless. Rod Stryker says on the book The Four Desires “We are each a single cell in the greater body of this world, with a unique role to play in the service of sustaining and advancing the whole of which we are part.” There is a very unique purpose in every single one of us and that is why your Soul is experiencing itself in this temporary human body. We are here to serve each other. Your long term happiness is to fulfil your personal dharma, so you can serve the world and only you can do that! Now, if we are living a life that doesn’t support our Dharma, than that is living an illusion.

Most Illusions are a by-product of the suffering created by not being in balance with the invisible universal intelligence, in another words, not being in harmony with life purpose. Suffering is caused by remaining attached to the ego and the ego is a fascinating thing that will try to convince you that you are separated from the whole. Individuality is an illusion. Illusion is learned and then passed on. If I believe that my happiness come from the external fulfilments that ego holds on to, what happens if suddenly one of those things is ‘taken away from me’? Would I suffer for not having a career anymore, or a house, or a partner/family? The suffering that burdens us comes from separation to those things or people we once thought that were parts of ourselves or our stories. To be clear pain and suffering are different from each other. While pain is inevitable, we will get a little hurt time to time, but is the holding onto pain for too long that becomes suffering. Learn to rest your awareness as the one who observe the situation, process the experience and evolve from it. This is a mind game.

We could blame society for feeding our ego, forcing us to remain insecure about who we are, or blame the government for feeding our fears that keep us blinded under the rules and operating on survival mode. But it’s time to evolve, and the real change starts within, not without. By changing what see about who we are and how we see life, we change our world and that might inspire the change in other people too.

One, if not the main goal in Yoga is to awaken the brain. The knowledgeable spiritual teacher Swami Satyananda Saraswati says “we can say the brain has ten compartments, and of these, nine are dormant and one is active. Why are these other compartments inactive? Because there is no energy.” What that means? That we are actually just using that small percentage of our brain capacity, to survive in this world. But remember we are not here just to survive, that is an illusion. We are here to awake to the most magnificent version of ourselves so we can serve our dharma and support the entire Universe. By doing the correct Ancient traditional practices of Yoga (which by the way has a lot more to do with pranayama and meditation than fancy acrobatic yoga poses) we begin to switch on the brain and send energy to the parts that are inactive. That’s how we expand our consciousness and by doing that we remove the veils or layers of mental conditions creating more clarity to understand our dharma, which is the total reason why we are here.

All our experiences are perceived in the mind. So is it true that all the human psychological suffering (or Illusion) could be ended by simply shifting perception? YES! We came into this world absolutely perfect as we are. You are God, God is within you and in everything else, and in this level all things are perfect. Even through the life of inevitable painful losses, heartbreaks and conflicts, believe it or not, it’s God manifesting itself as a lesson to endure to teach us about something that we did not know before. Once we shift this perception, everything is then sacred and the unconditional consciousness becomes the presence of God. There is nothing scary about life, if you are not attached to results.

If the conscious state you are in this moment is the same thing as we call the Divine state, that means you know and recognize God, if you do anything to make it different, might show that you don’t understand it so. Most people struggle to see, but this is the real deal, you are enough! You don’t need external validations or obtain more. What most spiritual traditions tell us is that despite the majority of humans spend their lives looking for outside fulfilment and answers, it all exits inside us. Everybody is looking for something they already have. Our job is to reconnect to that thing and remember who we are before society told us who we should be, and then bring true meaning to this human experience. There is a truth that exist inside your heart that can only be known by a still mind.

The following fable from the Vedic tradition serves as a beautiful reminder of something essential that is all too easily forgotten in our reality “Let the wisdom and love in your heart show you what and who you really are, then let it guide you. Present your heart with a vision of what you know it longs for and it will help you fulfil the aspirations that have been in it all along. Make these steps your life’s practice. In time, you will be richly rewarded and discover that for every step you have taken toward fulfilling your dream, your dreams have taken a step towards you.”

Sourcesc of Inspirations:
Paragraph 1: Eckhart Tolle Quote – The Power of Now
Paragraph 3: Rod Stryker – The Four Desires
Paragraph 6: Swami Satyananda Saraswati – Kundalini Tantra
Paragraph 7 and 8 : Allan Watts – Online video lectures
Paragraph 9: Rod Stryker – The Four Desires

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Octavio's Articles

It Was Never About The Bones

by Octavio Salvado.

When Ice Cube rapped “Better check yo-self before you wreck yo-self” he wasn’t speaking to modern Yogis, although he may as well have been. Because unless every traditional text on Hatha Yoga, including Swatmarama’s quintessential expose on the ancient science, the ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika’ are wrong, Yoga has never been about the body. It was never about the bones.

To begin with, bones don’t even exist. Not really. As soon as we take an electron microscope to a bone and dial in a few clicks, an intricate web of neatly ordered, vibrating, crystalline molecular strings appear. These, upon closer inspection transform into clusters of atoms sweeping back and forth, dancing in unison to a silent melody like a green ocean of grass blades in the wind. If we then zoom in again, the seemingly solid electrons dissolve revealing a vacuum of space supporting a tiny nucleus that upon even further magnification, similarly dissolves into what could best be described as an oscillating field of energy.

The reality is that bones definitely do not exist, at least not as we typically understand them, and neither does anything else. So why would an ancient culture spend thousands of years developing a science to study a non-reality? Exactly. They didn’t. The ancient Yogis understood that life is the intelligent dance of interlocking, pulsating fields of energy occupying the vast infinity of space, simply giving off the illusion of substance via the bonds created by resonant frequencies interacting with one another. They called this field the ‘Nāda’, the ocean of silent sounds. Meditative absorption into it, Swatmarama suggests, is the very purpose of Hatha Yoga. Not surprisingly, the chapter on Asana is way back in the beginning and the syllabus of postures is slim and primarily seated.

Asana certainly plays a role in Yoga, if and when its done well, which currently it isn’t. The great Yogi Krishnamacharya, the grandfather of modern postural Yoga, never intended for adults to practice Vinyasa the way it is taught today, as it runs counter to the fundamentals of Ayurveda and therefore, Yoga. There are exceptions of course. For example, if a student’s primary constitution is Kapha, or if they are in the Kapha years of their life (between birth and age twenty) or if a Kapha imbalance needs treating, then a dynamic, heating practice could be a beneficial strategy to address the inherent qualities of Kapha.

What’s frighteningly obvious today however, is that the integrated knowledge that truly empowers practice, such as the non-negotiable connection between Yoga and Ayurveda is not there. One glance across the sweaty sea of bright lycra reveals a distinct absence of the Kapha constitution. One or two (God bless their souls) will show up and do the honest work perfectly suited to them and the rest, being a mix of intense Pittas and up in the clouds Vatas will both suffer in different ways the wrath of heated rooms, perfuse sweating, loud music, lack of space between poses, competitive environments and unscientific sequencing. The result? A culture of Yogis burning through Ojas like cheap incense sticks. Yogis destroying their immune systems, disturbing their sleep cycles, destabilizing their digestion and sabotaging any real chance of ever achieving deep states of meditation. Instead, the coating covering the nerves keeps getting thinner and thinner until the 40 year-old Yogi’s personality reverts back to one of an over-reactive teenager. Yes, I said it. Sometimes Yoga can take us backwards.

The complimentary issue is that to an imbalanced system, an imbalanced practice will feel healthy, in the same way that a drink will feel relieving to an alcoholic, but just because it feels good it doesn’t mean its good for us. Raw food and our modern obsession with smoothie bowls are other examples of this insanity. Interestingly, these seemingly separate issues tend to show up in the same circles. Both go completely against the fundamental teachings that Yoga has been trying to get through our skulls for several millennia – that in order to thrive, we need inner fire. If we put cold, wet things into our digestive system, the digestive flame will fizzle out, lose its power to process and assimilate food and in many cases, completely extinguish. And to be clear, inner fire, Agni is not generated by turning up the thermostat or by increasing the intensity or complexity of practice.

Again, there are certain constitutions that manage raw food and cold, wet piles of pink and purple mud more efficiently, however generally speaking they suppress the digestive fire which, digestive issues aside and perhaps most importantly, results in a dimming of our mental fire. We become less able to process information, extract nourishment from our experiences and convert it into wisdom. We become less mentally bright.

Do the Traditional texts speak about lightening our intake of food? Yes, in terms of quantity, definitely they do. Existing on nuts and berries on the other hand only applies if we are forest-dwelling ascetics who have the liberty of sitting in ashrams and under banyan trees meditating for 12 hours a day. We are house-holders, mothers, fathers, business owners, students, life-livers and the reality is that to live an extraordinary life, we need the inner fire burning brightly. So check yo-self before you wreck yo-self because smoothie bowls ain’t good for your health, and for the most part neither are hot, sweaty practices, even if they feel good. As a superior yardstick for balance, check your immune system, check the genuine depth of your meditations, check your digestion, check your sleep patterns and check the way you show up in emotionally charged situations. These are the measures that matter.

Its time for Yoga to return to Yoga and ditch the addiction to feel good, flip your dog and flow Yoga. Sweat til you drop, twenty-day Yoga-shred Yoga. Tone your muscles and not your mind kinda Yoga. People ask, ‘Isn’t all Yoga, good Yoga?’ But this is the same as asking ‘isn’t all sex, good sex?’ And we all know the answer to that. Transcendental experiences, whether on the mat or in the bedroom require a serious slowing down, flavored with love, care, patience, presence and in my opinion, no soundtrack. If what we are seeking are the subtle, inner frequency-rivers of the Nāda that connect us to the electro-magnetic ocean comprising all things, then a human playlist becomes a deadweight, anchoring us to a mundane experience of an illusory, peripheral reality.

Yoga’s future depends on the past. A return Tradition, starting with balancing the food-body with a constitutionally sound diet that for the most part, you guessed it, will not include smoothie bowls. Supporting smart food choices will be intelligent Asana practices that don’t over-heat the body or agitate the mind. Practices with space, stillness, silence and slowness built into them, fleshed out with deep seated twists and folds, belly-down backbends and the occasional elbows thrown in the abdomen. Medicine for the modern mind. These are the game changers for the majority of modern Pitta and Vata dominant Yogis. Not hand-standing, not grand-standing, not hollow back anything. Asana is there to pave the way for Meditation by clearing energetic blockages that tend to coalesce in the area between the navel and the pelvic floor, again, the home of Agni, the abdominal fire. When the navel is free, the mind is free. Then we can we evolve the presently backwards moving Yoga dialogue to include the more advanced methods that pulse at the heart of the tradition.

Kriya Yoga and Raja Yoga are two such suggested methods that speak to Swatmarama’s opening verse regarding Yoga’s intended trajectory. The author begins with his praise to the original Yogi, Lord Shiva, who he then tells us instructed his wife, Parvatti in the teachings of Hatha Yoga, considered the ultimate stairway for those who wish to ascend to the highest state of Yoga, Meditation. Hatha Yoga, including Asana, Pranayama, Bandha and Mudra are merely a stairway guiding the mind towards absorption into the vibrating waves of the Nāda, the ocean of primordial sound-currents.

Kriya Yoga as a higher octave of Hatha Yoga, involves the consolidation of Hatha’s Prana-driven practices. It is considered the ideal form of Yoga for modern Yogis who genuinely aspire to advance towards the sublime heights of meditation. For Sattvic minds, namely those people who don’t have jobs, homes, families, partners, pets, parents and worldly lives to attend to, Raja Yoga is the suggested road. The Raja path is not for people like us. Our minds are too Rajasic, too busy, they are constantly moving because our lives are full of activities and responsibilities. Therefore, we must meet our minds where they’re at and skillfully guide consciousness towards the Nāda through the systematic manipulation of energy.

Kriya is a dynamic form of meditation designed for active minds. It appropriately opts to bypass working on the mind directly at the risk of splitting it open even further into duality and instead uses simple, accessible postures with inner visualizations and mantras to guide energy into the spine and upwards to awaken the latent areas of the brain. In doing so, through consistent effort, a refined sense of self arises and a corresponding expanded understanding of a non-solid reality.

Our constant obsessing over the body, putting the bones into increasingly more complicated shapes, shredding the body, sculpting it, flipping it, popping it and ignoring the subtle body is no longer serving us, or humanity. ‘Meditate. Meditate. Meditate’. This is the mantra of the future of Yoga. Same as it was in the beginning. The time has come to evolve the conversation and move beneath the periphery and beyond the shallows. The Masters are calling us from the deep and only in stillness will we hear their call. So pause, be still and listen, because in the silence, we truly can hear the entire universe.

Octavio and the team at The Practice deliver weekly Kriya and Nidra meditations on a Tuesday and Thursday at 3pm. Plus at The Practice Online you can get to experience Kriya and Yoga Nidra classes with Octavio and The Practice Teachers.

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Keli's Articles

Hatha Yoga Basics with Keli Dierings

Not only is this presentation about Hatha Yoga Basics, it is even more about what it means to PRACTICE the philosophies of yoga, moment to moment and day to day.

Keli starts her presentation – her first that she has delivered at The Practice and was nervous about – by saying that, “Today (because of a personal situation) was perhaps the worst days she has experienced in 10 years.”

She then went on to deliver a very heart-felt, raw, informative, engaging and even humorous presentation on the basics of hatha yoga, but even more so on how to use yoga as a tool to navigate your way through life, and its trials and tribulations, with as much ease and grace as possible.

For those of us there that witnessed this; it was a moving experience and as vulnerability expert Brene Brown talks about, Keli’s vulnerability in the face of heartfelt pain, was a sign of pure COURAGE. Thank you for showing us how Keli.

Keli fully encapsulates what The Practice is all about. Using conscious traditional yoga as a way to evolve into an even better human being.

Please enjoy.

Love from The (very proud) Practice Team

Below are some of the visuals from the presentation. We think you will understand when they come up in the presentation. ?

Or download the complete presentation slides by clicking here.

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Octavio's Articles

Let Us Be Respectful and Intelligent Also

by Octavio Salvado.

Modern Yogis have been handed the keys to the kingdom and instead of using them to unlock the door to higher consciousness, we’ve made them into flimsy, plastic replica keys, fashion accessories. We’ve mass-produced them and attached them to strings of cheap mala-beads that will never see the light of real Sadhana. Some people say that all Yoga is good Yoga. I don’t hang out with those people.

When my beloved Sat Guru, Paramahansa Yogananda addressed the American crowds gathered to hear him speak in the 1920’s, his message was clear, “God is in your Spine. Yoga is the science of realizing this truth. Do not fail to take full advantage of what I am telling you.” Yet here we are, a century later and Yoga has been watered down so much that it is barely recognizable as the Royal path it once was. We have taken something sacred and precise and made it mundane and chaotic.

Imagine taking the traditional ceremonial practices of the Indigenous Australians and making sixty-minute fitness classes out them. THURSDAY NIGHT ‘HOT’ CORROBOREE PRACTICE or LEVEL 3 DREAMTIME CORE FLOW CLASS, with live DJ and a real-life didgeridoo player!

It would be a fucking outrage. A concept so outrageous and obviously inappropriate that undoubtedly every major newspaper countrywide would plaster it over their pages and without hesitation, rip it to pieces, and rightly so. Yet this is exactly what we have done. We have taken an ancient culture’s spiritual practices and transformed them into a trendy, commercially driven exercise cult. Yoga is about God. It always was and always will be.

It is estimated that 90% of human cultures have ritualized ways of achieving higher states of consciousness. A clear indication that innately we sense there is more to life than this depressing story of birth, going to school, getting a job, starting a family, old age, sickness and death. Deep inside we know there is more.

As a white Australian male from an agnostic white Australian family I was never taught rituals to help me connect with the divine part of myself, so like most kids, sensing I was being lied to at some fundamental level, I turned to drugs and alcohol to achieve altered states. The correct intention was there, but the correct means were not, so instead of switching on dormant areas of the brain, which is the intention of Yoga, I destroyed brain cells. Rather than increase serotonin levels, amplifying my motivation, inspiration and ability to deal with stress, I intoxicated myself and achieved the opposite.

This is my culture, well intended but method-poor. Somehow however, through fluke or divine providence, the scientific map of God-realization landed right in our laps. So, my friends let us not fail to take full advantage of this blessing. It is time we put aside misguided and disrespectful notions about Yoga and started taking the gift of this life a little more seriously.

Even from the vantage point of Darwinian evolution, the purpose of life is clear. The bodies of Earth-bound organisms are getting smaller, yet brain size seems to be increasing. We are not here to get fit, flexible and accrue followers. We are here for one reason, to evolve our consciousness.

The other side of the argument for re-routing Yoga’s current peripheral trajectory is more self-serving. As long as we are practicing Yoga as a body-based system, the results of our practice will never pierce the subtler layers of our being, make lasting changes to the state of our minds, let alone positively impact our destiny.

The Worldview that birthed these practices was a spiritual worldview, therefore, if our own personal way of seeing the world is not spiritually oriented, any positive affects will simply rise for a few brief moments before fading back into the ethers, lacking a resonant belief structure to bond with.

Practicing a spiritual discipline in a non-spiritual way is like trying to run new software on an outdated operating system. It won’t work. The old system won’t allow it. This is why many practitioners will be positively impacted by their Yoga in the immediate short term after a session, however at the first sign of post-practice conflict or confusion, be it an unfavorable text message or getting cut off in traffic, the old and well established belief programs will kick back in. The result is a short-circuiting of the newfound, short lived altered state.

Whether we look at things from the perspective of respecting an ancient culture’s spiritual practices or just maximizing our own returns, using Yoga as a fitness modality, or worse, a fashion accessory is not ok.

Not all Yoga is good Yoga. So let us be respectful, and for our own sake, intelligent also. Let us grow some spine for this science that enlivens our own.