Cheryl Thomas, RYT
www.cherylthomas.com
yoga@cherylthomas.com
415-308-3377
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1:33
John 3:16 is
always showing up-- bumper stickers, billboards, political speeches. Legend has it that George Bush referred to it
as John 16:3: "And they will do this
because they have not known the Father nor Me." Oops. Evidently, no one in the
Bush camp noticed that the speech writers got a few numbers mixed up.(1)
The verse I want to offer is not from the
Bible, but from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.The Sutras are condensed phrases that give us the essence of yoga
philosophy.They are short, sweet and to
the point because they had to be easily memorized and passed orally by advanced
students and teachers. They offer us a road
map to taking our restless and sometimes nutty mind to a state of calm and
peace.
I was first
introduced to 1:33 by my teacher, Ann Austin, who leads a sutra chanting class
on Monday nights. She has a deft way of weaving the sutras into our asana
class. Sutra or Aphorism 1:33 states:
"To Preserve
openness of heart and calmness of mind, nurture these attitudes: Kindness
to those who are happy, Compassion for those who are less fortunate, Honor for
those who embody noble qualities, Equanimity to those whose actions oppose your
values."(2)
1. Love,
kindness or friendliness for the happy - Seems simple enough, right? Yes, it seems so, but have you ever noticed a
tinge of envy when someone seems to have it all. What was your first reaction when someone got
the job you wanted? Your close friend
just got engaged to a great guy. We must
learn to find giddy pleasure in a friend's good fortune and happiness.
2. Compassion
for the suffering or those who are less fortunate - Again, seems pretty straight forward. Of course, we all want to feel compassion for
those that are in pain. But this
practice becomes more difficult when a small, usually hidden thought creeps
nastily into our minds--maybe this person brought on their own suffering. Try practicing compassion with drug
addicts, smokers with lung disease, your ex-lovers.
3. Delight in
the virtuous of those who embody noble qualities - Hum. Do you notice that sometimes really virtuous people can annoy you? The Catholic priests and Ted Haggards have contributed
toward these feelings of mistrust. Dang, even Mother Teresa has detractors.(4) The
virtue of other can sometimes cause us to see our shortcomings. The work, and I mean work, is to delight in
the virtues of others and take it as an inspiration to do better.
4. Equanimity
or indifference to those whose actions we oppose (the non-virtuous or wicked) - It's easy to get all worked up, frustrated,
angry with those responsible for the oil-spill, nazi sympathizers, Dick Cheney,
your sister's abusive husband, or your boss's lesbian jokes. Hateful, ignorant, insensitive, and mean people are
unexcusable. So, is this sutra saying we're supposed to be "indifferent?" How? I
like how Swami Nirmalananda Giri(3) suggests not ignoring them as people, but not being affected by their
negativity, not accepting their wrongdoing as right,
but not allowing ourselves to have any emotional reaction to their character/actions. He goes so far as to suggesst that "sitting around fuming over the foolishness and evil of
others will only create an affinity between us and them and eventually make us
like them." Yikes!
So, that's 1:33. I'm going to
try, I really am, to incorporate it into my life. Will you join me?
(1)
To
be fair, if it even happened, this error has also been attributed to Messrs. Kerry,
Gore, and Obama.
(2)
As
translated by Nischala Joy Devi, The Secret Power of Yoga.
(3) http://blog.atmajyoti.org/2010/05/7-ways-to-purify-the-mind
(4)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa
Want to read some of my past emails? Just click
here and you'll be taken to my newsletter archive page. Enjoy
and as always, please let me know your thoughts!
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Week of July 11, 2010
Monday
9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class)
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Intermediate
5:30 - 6:55 (Ann Austin's Class)
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
All Levels
Tuesday
9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class)
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Beginning
Noon - 1:00 Yoga on Center, Healdsburg Slow Flow - All Levels Wednesday9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class)
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Intermediate
5:30 - 6:55 p.m. Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol Vinyasa Flow + Restorative - All Levels Thursday 9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class + Graton's Yoga Class) Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol All Levels Noon - 1:00 Yoga On Center, Healdsburg Gentle Yoga 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Yoga on Center, Healdsburg Slow Flow Friday9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class) Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol Intermediate
Week of July 25, 2010
Sunday
11:00 - 12:30
Yoga on Center, Healdsburg
Slow Flow
Monday
9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class)
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Intermediate
5:30 - 6:55 (Ann Austin's Class)
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
All Levels
Tuesday
9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class)
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Beginning
Noon - 1:00 Yoga on Center, Healdsburg Slow Flow - All Levels
Wednesday9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class)
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Intermediate
5:30 - 6:55 p.m. Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol Vinyasa Flow + Restorative - All Levels Thursday 9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class + Graton's Yoga Class) Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol All Levels 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Yoga on Center, Healdsburg Slow Flow Friday9:15 - 10:45 (Ann Austin's Class) Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol Intermediate
STUDIO WEBSITESYoga on Center: www.yogaoncenter.comYoga Studio Ganesha: www.yogastudioganesha.comWestside Yoga Studio: http://www.westsideyogastudio.net |
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Hope to see you soon!
Namaste,
Cheryl
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Bulletin Board
What? Affordable Yoga? Yep. $7 will buy you an hour noontime yoga at Yoga on Center. Buy a 10-class pass with me and your classes (either 60 or 90 minutes) will be Ten Bucks! The pass can be used at Yoga Studio Ganesha or Graton Yoga.
Honored, I Am
It's a pleasure to be able to sub for Ann Austin while her and her family are on vacation. I will be teaching her classes for the next 3 week at Ganesha Yoga Studio. Come and join us! You can use your passes that you have with Ann or Me!!
Website Calendar
My teaching schedule is always changing. Now you can see an updated calendar on my website www.cheryl
thomas.com. Click on the classes link and there will be a spiffy new Google Calendar. It should always be up-to-date.
Graton Yogis
For four weeks (7/15, 22, 29 and 8/5) our Thursday class will meet at Ganesha Yoga in Downtown Sebastopol from 9:15 to 10:45. If one hour is best for you, you're welcome to leave at 10:15. Class will still be $12 and your passes are good.
We're Looking for You. Are you a Mature or Beginning Level Yogis Do you want a class that pays a bit more attention to your needs and wants, yet offers movement that helps with your flexibility, strength and balance? I have a few yoginis who are looking for others to join with in the afternoon hours. If you, or someone you know, is interested, let me know.
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