In February, we began our study of the original yoga knowledge, and building a bridge to our JudeoChristian traditions. The 196 yoga sutras, or little lessons, were compiled some 500-800 years before Christ. You can find many translations and interpretations on the Internet for free if you'd like to follow along. Sanskrit is hard to translate into English. However, I enjoy these two translations as the commentators often set the lessons in a Christian context. Here are my picks for the best two:

 

In our yoga study book, we are in the section about various methods to calm the mind through concentration, the step which must be mastered before turning into the deeper concentration called meditation. I recall my first forays into concentration 15 years ago when I began my daily practice of prayer, scripture & meditation. If you can learn to flush all the "stuff" out of your mind--the nagging worries, the anxiety, the stray thoughts that run down rabbit holes--and concentrate on the sacred, then you will discover something wonderful. Some might call it a heightened sense of intuition. I discovered random bursts of insight so rewarding that it certainly did encourage me to persevere.

 

Ravindra (book left) discusses what happens when we use our powers of concentration as we practice yoga movements. "Paying attention to and staying with finer and finer sensations within the body is one of the surest ways to steady the wandering mind. The mind has a tendency to wander, but connecting the mind to the body through sensation helps steady it and assist it in remaining present in the here and the now." I believe that is one reason why we emerge so mentally refreshed after a challenging hour of hatha yoga practice. It's impossible to tick through your To-Do List while trying to balance and relax into Dancer, for example. Next time you tackle a particularly challenging pose, don't just go through the motions. Take inventory of every muscle as you move through the pose. Concentrate on achieving the "knife's edge" in the pose--where you are really pushing yourself to your physical limit, but not to the point of pain.

 

Bible Study: 2 Peter 1  (from BibleGateway.com)

I never get tired of this opening chapter in 2 Peter. Our yoga lesson today suggests that glimpses of godliness we find through concentration give us the motivation we need to persevere.

 

 

From hints he gives us in this epistle, Peter wrote this letter late in his life. Clearly, he had a deep understanding of the rewards of perseverance in the Lord. May the morning star rise in your heart today as you concentrate on Peter's message:

 

I LOVE this pose! For beginners, start with a simple one-legged balance and pull your right foot into your right buttock for a great quad stretch. After you master that with ease, then you are ready to push your foot back away from the glute into your hand and extend into Dancer. You may want a counter or chair in front of you just in case. The trick to extending into the full pose is really pushing that foot into the hand--it steadies you. Plus, it helps avoid the newbie mistake of keeping the foot too close to the body making it impossible to stretch out. Watch yourself in a mirror. Success comes when you can see your toes above your head. Below is the regal-looking student Denise Heath-Gay.