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Greetings!
Aadil and Mirra in Hawaii, Feb 2010
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Having just returned from the Purna Yoga Retreat in Hawaii, Mirra and I are so filled with gratitude for these amazing teachings, and that so many of you share that gratitude with us. May this quote inspire your week:
"Happiness is as contagious as gloom - and nothing can be more useful than to pass on to people the contagion of a true and deep happiness." -The Mother, Pondicherry, India
With our love and gratitude,
Aadil and Mirra |
| The Secret to Freedom |
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 Self knowledge, through self-examination and observation, is the foundation of our practice. Without knowledge of the Self, I must depend on other people to tell me who I am. When I depend on others to tell me who I am, I have given up control over who I truly am and can never be truly free.
As a student of yoga I must be constantly aware that I am responsible for everything that happens to me. As yoga teachers, we must cultivate this quality of responsibility. Whether I get rear-ended in my car or am a child born with a problem, I have to remember that I chose this - which can be really tough! However, this is the only way we can be free, because it is the only way we are in control of our life. When I blame somebody else for something, or complain about something, automatically I am diminishing my ability to control the context. If I say, "You are at fault," what I am really saying is that I have nothing to do with it, I cannot effect any change, and that I am out of control.
Accept responsibility yet discard judgment. Judgment is a trap. For example, if I start to diminish myself by saying "I am bad" or "I caused this and now my life is a mess," or if I start to justify through a process of logical reasoning, there is no way that I can progress. The mind will rationalize anything you do and will justify every action you make. Because someone else is at fault, I think I am now safe, when in truth, I have given up my ability to be safe, for I have given up my ability to control my life.
Instead, we learn discernment. Discernment is the process I use to make decisions based on my perception of reality. We learn from the past, live in the present, and move towards the future. "I understand why I did that; I didn't pay attention. I take responsibility for it and I will correct it." We can't ignore the past or ignore the future. We can't say, "Oh, it's all fine," or "It was meant to be." That's nonsense and disempowerment. If I created it, I can create something else. Only when we are responsible are we not victims. Yoga is about accepting responsibility for our ability to control our life. It is the way we find true and lasting freedom. |
| Bright Happy Clothing |
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Whether you are aware of it or not, how you dress for the day is quite influential. Usually, our mood dictates what we end up wearing. Many people wear dark colors because they think they are easy and flattering. However, to our body, heart, and nervous system, dark colors are neither easy not flattering.
It's a myth that dark colors are flattering. In reality, they actually can make you look and feel older than you really are. There is a reason baby clothes never come in dark colors. When a new baby comes into the world, we want to encourage its growth and happiness in all ways, hence we dress them in soft light pretty fabrics. There is a reason that spring colors are always bright and happy. It's a time of blossoming. A freshly planted flower is given every opportunity for growth because of the joy its color gives us when it blooms. Bright cheery colors and happiness go hand in hand.
To the mind, dark colors may seem easier and appear to hold power. However, the heart has a very different experience, and the more we develop our sensitivity, the more we will begin to notice how the colors we wear affect our mood. As you go deeper into the Heart Center, you will find that dark colors enable the shadow and ego layers to hide out and block light from entering your body. Since the main reason we do yoga is to bring light into the body, it is counterproductive to do yoga while wearing dark colors. Our shadow loves to hide out in dark colors, and on the flip side, our "white shadow" (the part of us that wants to do good so we look good) loves to hide out when we wear all white or light beige, saying "See how pure I am." (Please note, this information on color does not pertain to skin color, since skin is alive and can radiate light, no matter its color.)
Bright happy colors open your heart, feeding and calming your nervous system. Just like we need a variety in the foods we eat, our body needs us to wear a variety of colors.
Here are some other considerations:
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If you work around people who wear black, immediately try to find a happy color to look at to replace the picture of dark colors in your mind.
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At night, wear soft light colors to help your nervous system calm down and smooth it out, preparing yourself for sleep.
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Refrain from dressing children in dark colors and rough fabrics because their nervous systems are just beginning to feel. Dark colors and rough fabrics like denim undo this delicate growth process.
Experiment for yourself. Dress in all dark colors and notice how they feel on your body - but don't feel with your mind. Close your eyes and touch the Heart Chakra and feel. Then, look at yourself in the mirror and notice how you respond while seeing the color. Then change into light, bright happy colors, and repeat this. Close your eyes and touch the Heart Chakra. Notice the difference you feel.
Spring is around the corner. For bright colors, consider Land's End or Fresh Produce brands. Experiment with new bright colors in a top or shirt to start. Feel the difference it makes in your level of happiness. Enjoy this exploration! I would love to hear what you learn. Email your comments to y oga@purnayoga.com.
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| Integrity in Practice |
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| From the acclaimed book, Fire of Love,
by Aadil Palkhivala
Integrity in asana practice was once clearly illustrated to me by Guruji (Iyengar). We were working on Urdhva Dhanurasana (inverted bow pose). As Guruji demonstrated the pose, he was obviously working very hard, but I saw that the students clustered around him were not impressed.
After his demonstration was over, he came down and looked around at the lackluster gaze in his students' eyes. He asked for two volunteers to do the same pose. They performed what, to the untrained eye, were spectacular poses, their chests puffing out dramatically, their knees almost straight. Guruji wryly remarked, "These poses lack integrity."
He then demonstrated the pose again, this time straightening his legs and puffing out his chest, making his pose look ten times as magnificent as the volunteers'. While still in the pose, he exclaimed, "Look! I can do that, too!" He then came out of the pose and said, "So what? I am not educating my body by doing the pose this way. I am simply falling into the body's weakness so that I can look impressive. Now I will do the pose again, but this time with integrity."
Repeating the pose, he unpuffed his chest and proceeded to do the pose working every muscle and every joint. The trained eye could now clearly see the difference between an asana done to impress others and an asana done to develop self-awareness, the difference between vanity and integrity.
Asana allows you to develop your sense of integrity because you are working with the physical, visible body. Both you and your teacher can see what is actually happening - you have a shared reference. As you start to move beyond the purely physical and deal with subtle energies and inner actions, there is a far greater likelihood of self-deception.
Integrity is crucial for any development in yoga, particularly the yoga beyond asana. You may come to believe that you are doing an action when you are not, simply because the reference is not visible. In subtle matters, what you think is happening may be merely wishful imagination. Therefore, integrity in asana is a necessary stepping-stone, a way to practice integrity. Then you can safely reach into the deeper levels of yoga, those levels that probe the connection with Spirit.
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