|
Will Doran Yoga Newsletter - March, 2008 "The Yoga Coach" ~ Helping people find their place and direction in life. ________________ <<< ☼ >>> ________________ Dear friends, Greetings to you all. Sorry for not getting a newsletter out last month. My life has been quite full of challenges and I had to focus my attention on higher priorities. These are the backdrop of my theme of embracing life’s challenges as opportunities to grind down our resistance to growth and polish the facets that reflect our inner light. In this issue: Yoga Philosophy: Grist for the Mill Applied Yoga: Light Work Notices:
____________________________________ Yoga Philosophy: Grist for the Mill There is nothing like the gritty details of life to reflect back how well you comprehend the deeper yogic teachings of steadfastness, compassion, and surrender. These are a few of the traits that a yoga practitioner cultivates to create balance, strength and flexibility both on and off of the mat. On-the-mat practice of being present and mindful takes you into a place of awareness of the depth of your being and your response to the challenge of the pose. When in this state of mindfulness –fully present and open to the moment– your practice takes you beyond judgment and into the clarity of observing what is. This is the gift of yogic practice for it is the development of this state of mind that transforms lives. Diligent practice yields a perception of openness and receptivity to the unknown that can be applied in the moment at any time, under any circumstance. The practice expands and deepens your awareness of emotions, feelings, physical sensations and thoughts, and as such, makes you more attuned to the circumstances of your life. With this skill you can make the most optimal choices that align you with your highest image of who you want to be. My life has recently given me opportunities to apply this concept and note my response to the challenges at hand. Caring for a teenage child with addiction issues and being present for my father-in-law’s death have given me ample chances to walk the talk. Although I wouldn’t want to wish my experiences on anyone I did get to observe in myself the power of centering and inner balance that my yoga practice has offered me. There are few things as painful as watching your child suffer and his gift to me was the chance to deepen my steadfastness and compassionately strengthen my dharma (role, duty) as loving father. Helping me in this challenging role is the addition of quietly chanting the mantra of Om Namah Shivaya sitting in my morning meditation. The loving gift of mala beads from a friend reminded me of the importance of this conscious statement of surrender to the presence and guidance of divine consciousness. I now feel even more grounded in the knowledge that even though I cannot control all the circumstances of life I can do the best I can and know that the Absolute is always guiding the flow of consciousness back towards unity. When I meditate on the saying "all rivers flow to the sea" I acknowledge that even rivers have rapids and perils. Sailing in calm waters is the time to prepare for focused attention and clear response to what shows up in the moment. To me, this is the definition of "flow." It does not mean that life will never present challenges once you reach a certain level of spiritual practice or insight. Rather, it means being able to stay calm and alert, centered in your knowledge that you can handle what is and not waste energy unnecessarily with wishful thinking or denial. With acceptance comes a cultivated mindset that looks for the meaning and learning in the experience. I may not desire the challenge before me –who consciously chooses pain?- but accept that circumstances have given me an opportunity for personal growth. My learning has taught me that being human has a definite rhyme and reason to it. Each of us carries a karmic charge as a response to the cause and effects of our thoughts, words and deeds; karma is the result of these made manifest. Our way of being either strengthens the life lessons we are working on or points out the area that still needs work. When I was able to stay calm and accept the challenges of my teen’s extreme behavior it struck me that the lessons I’ve focused on for so long have paid off. The gift he gave me was the ability to see that even under the most stressful of conditions I was able to stay centered in my heart and surrender to the highest potential in the situation at hand. I found myself calling in divine help and knowing that this is not just about me; there are wheels within wheels spinning in the cosmic scheme of things. As much as I didn’t want to be in the situations he put me I was aware that the optimal would be served by suspending judgment and simply being strong in my commitment to love and service. Working through this challenge I have found great comfort in sharing my experience with others. I have discovered a heart-warming sense of community as others have related their stories of parenting troubled children. Sharing our experiences builds a sense of commonality and unity for we all experience challenges of one sort or another. Our unity opens the heart to share and relate to each other fostering compassion and trans-personal awareness. When we live compassionately we transcend individual consciousness and open to the manifestation of the highest possibilities. In this light I have deepened my relationship with my wife, family and community by accepting that challenging experiences are opportunities; life is no mistake as it is, even with its heart-wrenching challenges. Each experience holds the seed of growth and understanding. As we apply the skills we practice on the mat towards mastering life’s challenges they become engrained in our way of being. With each step towards mastery the lessons diminish in one area and continue in others giving us the opportunity to grow in an upwardly ascending spiral of love and consciousness. As a student of life I have learned not to judge what shows up, but rather, to embrace it for the gift of understanding and spiritual growth that it contains.
___________________________________ Applied Yoga: Light Work "The nature of mind is clear light" Dalai Lama Yoga is breaking down barriers, moving into the heart, partnering with the divine. This work creates a sense of union between the different facets of your being, your community and sense of belonging within the sea of divine consciousness. I find the practice of yoga to be most beneficial when it is approached as a progressive process. It is a lot to ask of someone to understand their connection to absolute consciousness when they may still have a problem connecting to their emotions or causes for physical discomfort. The perception of the grander scheme of things comes only through diligent training of the mind to be aware of subtle sensations. Then you can move into the awareness of what I call growing your light body. By this I mean moving deeper into the awareness that our true self identity is not body and ego but our spiritual nature. A paradox exists in the human condition in that our body and ego do exist for a short while– and though they are transitory they are designed as one of our most powerful learning tools for comprehending our more etheric nature. Integrating the energy of our physical and spiritual natures is the process of doing our light work; it is blending heaven and earth while still in our corporeal form. To do this work requires a great deal of steadfastness, compassion, and surrender to a process that is as old as humanity itself. Life’s lessons gained from experience and facing challenge are meant to transform us from the adolescent mindset of self-serving ego to a higher consciousness of transpersonal awareness. Being able to see and feel the interconnectivity of all things is to know that all that is has had its origin in Source and as such shares a commonality with every other thing in existence. For higher intelligence beings such as humans it means we have much more common ground than differences; it means our thoughts are connected and influence each other. Reaching this state of awareness requires a sensitivity to the flowing force of energy that moves through us and empowers our thoughts and actions. Whether you call it Shakti, prana, chi, or Holy Spirit it is the animating force of creation that brings substance and life into being. Connecting to the presence of this force is the key to self-mastery and the understanding of why our human condition is what it is and the opportunity that lies in our trials and tribulations. To help comprehend this I would like to address the nature of that energetic force and how it is an integral part of our physical, emotional and spiritual being. First, we must know that all that exists is, in one form or the other, vibrating energy. Science shows us that there is a wide spectrum of energy spanning from the ultraviolet to the inferred and even goes into more and more subtle vibrations beyond our capacity to detect it. Likewise, there is the periodic table of elements that shows the building blocks of the physical world we know. This too is an aspects of vibrating degrees of matter that is interwoven into the tapestry we call life and nature. In understanding how all this has anything to do with our comprehension of creating unity with divine consciousness I have found it most useful to study the chakra system. This is the presence of swirling wheels of energies in the body which vibrate in an increasingly higher gradation of density to lightness. Like the split light of a prism our body contains the spectrum of light which produces our physical form (red), awareness of relationship to others (orange), our sense of empowerment and creativity (yellow), our ability to be loving beings (green), empowerment to communicate our truth (light blue), to sense our subtle connection with the unseen (indigo), and the awareness of our spiritual nature (violet). As we develop our ability to integrate these energetic qualities into our way of being we can see them as an energetic roadmap to integration and wholeness. In time we can learn to see that all aspects of our being, from the most gut-wrenching experiences to the sublime states of bliss, serve to root us into both our humanity and our divinity, all as one integrated package. Our unique life lessons are centered around these seven chakra qualities and how we can come to accept our physicality and our higher nature. In relationship to others we learn that our bodies are like magnets drawing us towards each other in a compelling way that accelerates our learning potential. Through relationships we learn to ground into our being and balance our desires with those around whom we live. Our individual creativity becomes a partnership with the divine Creator and our expanding capacity to love brings us into service to others which moves us beyond our ego-based isolation. Through this process we empower ourselves to sense the presence of a power much greater than ourselves and we come to know it as an infinite expression of the One. In metaphysical terminology this is the blending of our diversified spectrum of light energy into one radiant vibration of unified consciousness; our disparate parts become radiant in their unity. In much more simple terminology we learn to live from our hearts and compassion and empathy guide our choices. To facilitate this process we can practice formulating a perspective of unity and integrate a sense of the presence of divine grace within us. Meditation is key in this process for it helps us to practice watching what feelings and sensations show up and how we respond to them. It helps us to deepen a sense of focus in the present moment and turn off our mental and emotional auto pilot. With practice we move into conscious choice regarding our thoughts and actions and we harmonize the emotional body with the lighter aspects of our mind and feelings. Self awareness moves us deeper into the skill of dissipating strong negative emotions. Observing how we have developed self-defense mechanisms we can discern what is denser ego-based reaction versus union-consciousness service to others. Paramount to achieving this level of sensitivity is the process of strengthening the pranic body, the life force energy within. Deepening awareness of feelings and their local in the physical body facilitates its ability to be rejuvenated after we deplete it through intense emotions and trauma. Mastering our response to life’s circumstances (respons-ibility) leads us deeper into the skills of choosing the higher emotions of compassion, empathy, patience, acceptance, honesty, and unconditional love and acceptance. All this takes practice. It requires acceptance of our responsibility to seek out our life lessons and embrace them for they are the catalyst for our growth into ever-higher spirals of love and light. Invite in grace and wisdom and begin to see the world with new eyes, an open heart and a mind that is receptive to the unseen and disguised gifts that are unfolding before us.
___________________________________ Notices:
Monday: 12:00 noon to 1:15 pm at Olympic Athletic Club in Ballard Tuesday 10:00 – 11:15 am 7-week pre-registered series in my home Space Available for drop-ins ($12 per visit or $60 for 7 classes) Thursday 7:30 to 9:00 pm 7-week pre-registered series in my home.
Friday: 12:00 noon to 1:15 pm at Olympic Athletic Club Saturday: 10:00 – 11:15 am at Phinney Center on <<Phinney>> and 65th Sunday: 11:15 – 12:30 pm at Olympic Athletic Club in Ballard Note: I will be traveling out of the country from March 24th
through April 27th and will have subs for all my classes at
this time. Home yoga and Phinney Community Center classes will be
cancelled during this time. Private Yoga Instruction: I also teach privately out of my home for students who want undivided instruction and guidance. These sessions are customized to each individual’s needs. Private classes are $35 for an hour when a commitment to ten classes is made, or $45 for a single session.
As a professionally trained Life Coach I work on a deep level with individuals to help them journey into the richness of their life and make the choices that bring peace, happiness and fulfillment. I can help you find your inner wisdom to do what needs to be done and take yourself into new realms of fulfillment and a sense of self-guided direction. If you would like my support and guidance please give me a call to discuss your wishes. I can be reached at (206) 789-2321, or you can go online to www.TheYogaCoach.com for more information.
May your days be filled with peace, joy and light. Namaste, Will PS. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends. ____________________________________________
If you wish to be removed from this list send a blank message with the word "REMOVE" in the subject line
to wjddoran@comcast.net .
|
|
|
|
|
