Sunday, December 8, 2019

Swami Sivananda's 18 Ities: Simplicity

- By Sw Yogatirthananda Saraswati, From YogaMag Nov 2001 


After the hard month of sincerity I was looking forward to an easy time with simplicity. In regard to the previous ITIES simplicity meant not to complicate or overdo the study and practice of the ITIES. Simplicity implies spontaneity.

Simplicity in regard to life itself meant a simple yogic lifestyle - I use italics as it is such a wide concept. I think I do lead a simple life, trying to do with the minimum of consumer goods required in Western Europe and by a teenage son.

I do consider myself a simple-minded person. My interaction with people is spontaneous and honest. If it gets complicated, I withdraw. So with this view of myself and the lifestyle I lead, I was very confident about the month of simplicity.

Yet, as I soon found out, the test was not to be simple, as comes easily to my nature, but the challenge was to live up to the reactions of others. Simplicity in our society is equal to stupidity. It takes great humility to accept the mockery and sneers with which simplicity is met in the world today. Scheming and doing things in a twisted way is the more accepted way of interacting. At work, I realized that simple, unpretentious interaction is considered as silly or even stupid behaviour. Gossip, behind-the-back plotting and manoeuvring are the tricks and methods that are accepted, highly regarded and rewarded.

The test for me therefore was to keep on being simple, and above all to accept in all humility the judgement of others. Not wanting fortune or fame, or career or a smart car is an attitude that is considered by many as downright stupid. I got hurt, laughed at in many ways, taken advantage of without even noticing because I did not know the game that was being played, or if I did, I refused to play it.

So, the month of simplicity was anything but easy. It was the first time I had to defend quietly an ITY in the face of the social environment I live in. It was a painful experience and an incredible challenge to humility. I could see that for others a month of simplicity might be completely different, might imply giving up ambitions, cutting down on luxuries, relating more frankly with friends and colleagues.

For me it meant upholding an idea, an ITY, I believe in. Of course, this is based on the values and priorities I have set in my life. Simplicity is one of these values, and at the same time living simply gives me space and time to work on other values. Simplicity is an incredible energy-saving and stress-preventing ITY.

  • Simplicity
    Is nothing else but
    Mindfulness in constant
    Practice - for the
    Love of all.
    Inside, outside, this and that
    Come together once again,
    Inspired by the only
    Truth, that
    You and all are simply one.


Originally Posted Here

“Karma to Dharma” is Here!

‘Niwas newsletter subscribers were the first to know about the new “Karma to Dharma” program offered online through the new Ishtadev Niwas online school!  “Karma to Dharma” is a more regular connection to the Ashram and a facilitation course and community embodying a certain depth of Yogic teachings.  For as little as $72 monthly and a commitment of 1 hour per week to an unlimited commitment to Self, the “Karma to Dharma” course will provide students with:

·         Access to participate in all Living Yoga Society Programming & Events
·         Bi-weekly video lectures and monthly discussions
·         Weekly Yoga Teacher/Student Asana Class Plans
·         Monthly online Satsang (with Sn. Shivani and guests)
·         Forum-based coaching on personal daily Sadhana
·         DISCOUNTED or FREE private sessions with Shivani
·         DISCOUNTED or FREE week-long residencies at Ishtadev Niwas Ashram
·         DISCOUNTED or FREE weekend retreats at Ishtadev Niwas Ashram
·         Access to Navaratri Sadhana online streaming and/or in-person Sadhana participation

Button: Learn More or Sign-Up for K2D Here

2x Advanced Chakra Sadhana Immersion Intakes to Choose From in 2020

“I spent 9 days delving deeeeep… I learned a map for the evolution of the soul and tangible practices to connect with the medicine of each chakra. My mind was a blown. I thought I knew about the chakras (hehe...) and this blew my mind into another dimension of truth. And as cool as that was - what will remain with me for life is the feeling that was evoked when this particular group of incredible individuals held space for one another to unravel to the depths of our souls and back.” – Meghan L.

The ‘Niwas Advanced Chakra Sadhana Immersion Course is a foundational course to truly “living Yoga” and also a pre-requisite to the ‘Niwas 300-hr Yoga Teacher Training.   Come and immerse yourself as we take a journey together through the physical, energetic and esoteric aspects of the Chakras. This course is designed to support you to build a body of wisdom of the Chakras through your own personal experience, using them as a tool to stimulate personal development and transformation.  We have 2x intakes for 2020, one in the Spring and another in the Summer.  If you haven’t participated in this Immersion before, get ready to dive deep and take another step closer to the road map you didn’t know existed!


Learn More or Register Here

2020 Programming Dates Are Here!

See Our 2020 Programming Schedule Here

Fill your cup and step into action with our 300-hr YTT, retreats, workshops, online courses, events and residencies.  

Any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out 

YogaMag Inspiration - Antar Mouna - December 2019

- By Sannyasi Atmatattwananda (UK), From YogaMag May 2002

When the mind is silent and peaceful it becomes very powerful. It can become a receptor of bliss and wisdom enabling life to become a spontaneous flow and expression of joy and harmony. However…this inner silence cannot arise while there is a continual stream of disturbing thoughts and emotions. All this inner noise of thoughts and emotions has to be removed before one can truly experience the soundless sound of inner silence.
— Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Peace, bliss, harmony. Who is able to experience these states? So many people these days are struggling with their own minds. Influenced by their conditionings, and overwhelmed by the pressures of day to day living in today's increasingly stressful society, they are full of mental tensions, which manifest as anxiety, nervousness, guilt, lack of self-confidence, loneliness, fear, obsessions and phobias. Some turn to drugs and alcohol as a temporary means of escape and solace. Others enlist the costly help of psychiatrists or psychotherapists to try and cope. All are looking for some form of change, a little relief from the inner conflicts and turmoil, wanting to feel at ease with themselves, or even to experience, if not bliss, just a modicum of peace and contentment.

Self-Care: Watering the Roots of the Soul - December 2019


-  By Sn Shivani Howe

As we fully come into the depths of Winter I wanted to share with you a few thoughts on Self-care.  Firstly defining what Self-care is:  Self-care how we care for ourselves, not how we get others to care for us.  This takes a high degree of self-awareness, kindness and a fierce commitment and responsibility to our own health; mental, emotional and physical.

Self-care means creating a life where we care about and prioritize (!) what is going on inside of us, and take responsibility for how we are contributing to the health and well-being of the world around us.   So Self-care is really an aspect of LIVING Yoga.  

Sometimes, even if we have been blessed enough to create a life where we love what we do, and are financially supported to do what we love, (as I hope most Yoga teachers out there feel) it’s still important to recognize that feeling burnt out and tapped are a very real experiences. These feelings are great signposts that we are no longer living in the flow of Divine will. The reality is that, if we are not strong, healthy and connected with our cup runneth over then, we don’t have a lot to offer the community. 

The key is to learn to pick up on our subconscious cues early so we can make small adjustments to our day and routines to help us stay on track. As opposed to waiting until we are frayed at the seams and about to crack before we take a step back and recalibrate.  It’s all about moment-to-moment awareness and adjustments.  The little efforts add up considerably and when put together create a Sattvic lifestyle.

This means having a toolbox that we can refer to to help recalibrate, and reorientate our internal world to a state of harmony so that we can hold that space effectively in the community.  

Here are a few gems in my toolbox that keep me inspired, present, my eye on the light and my cup overflowing.   

MOUNA - By far this is one of the most profound and strongly recalibrating practices I have ever practised as a Yogini.  Challenging if you have small children, but it's more about prioritizing it than making excuses.  2 hours.  4 hours.  6 hours.  Block it off.  Prioritize it,  prioritize YOU.  No books.  No phones.  No social media. No talking.  (obviously Mouna is much more than no talking but let’s start small )  -  IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE and literally changed my functional paradigm, especially if I can block off more than 6 hours. Not an easy practice, but nothing fills my cup faster.

UP BEFORE DAWN - Even if it is 10 mins before the sun rises,  stepping into my day while it’s still dark outside is a real gift.  To have the first light be a candle of remembrance and mantra rather than the blue rectangle of my phone is imperative to my mental health.  

STARTING MY DAY WITH AJAPAJAPA or internal MANTRA - I’m not much of morning person.  I love the mornings but I’m not always a big fan of other people in my mornings.  So starting my day with my first words to be in gratitude to the Divine through mantra is really important for my orientation.  My first words really need to be “Akhand-Mandalakaram” and not “Must have coffee”. 

PUT THE PHONE AWAY - Seriously.  It sounds do-able until I go to do it.  Then I remember someone who is supposed to call, an email that I forgot to do three days ago… All of these things are Vata high (too much mental stimulation and anxiety - not enough grounding or presence)  I try and keep my phone on silent or do not disturb outside of regular business hours.  I love the practice of leaving my phone in the kitchen so that I can’t keep checking the time in the middle of the night or reading the online newspaper as I am known to do at 3am.  

BALANCE THE WANT-TOS AND THE OUGHT-TO’S - Hopefully we are able to create a life where the ought to's and the want-to’s are one and the same.  But even though I absolutely love what I do, sometimes even teaching feels like an ought to rather than a want-to.  And this is my alarm bell that its time for some self-care. 

Once we have established a baseline of Sattva (and I mean established - so that our wants are not just Swadhisthana self-sabotage desires holding us in Avidya)  Our want-to’s will actually be showing us what we need to do to come back into balance and health so that we can serve.  

And lastly, about four times a year I like to GET BORED.  That’s right - I strip away any activity (sometimes I can combine this with a Mouna practice). No clocks,  books, obligations, or plans. No cleaning. Just sit there. No chores. No hiking/forest walks. Nothing. I go outside, if I can, until I get utterly bored.  So bored that cleaning or chopping wood or some other ought-to seems appealing.  THAT’S when I know I have been reset, that my cup is full and I’m ready to serve.

I hope that some of these tools will also help you prioritize your self-care.  

Namo Narayana

Shivani






Niwas Recipe - Veggie Chili - December 2019

- By Sn Shivani Howe 

Ingredients

  • 2 sweet potatoes (250g each)
  • 1 level teaspoon cayenne pepper , plus extra for sprinkling
  • 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin , plus extra for sprinkling
  • 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon , plus extra for sprinkling
  • olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 bunch of fresh coriander (30g)
  • 2 x 400 g tins of beans, such as kidney (red or black),  pinto, cannellini
  • 2 x 400 g tins of quality plum tomatoes
  • Handful of dark chocolate chips


Method

  1. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into bite-sized chunks, and bake or steam until easily pokeable with a sharp knife.  :)
  2. Peel and roughly chop the onion then peel and finely chop the garlic.  
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat, add the onion, and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes until onion is clear and then add sweet potato and roughly chopped peppers and cook until sweet potato and peppers have seared in the oil.
  4. Sprinkle with a pinch each of cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, sea salt and black pepper.
  5. Pick the coriander leaves, finely chopping the stalks.
  6. Add the coriander stalks and spices, and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.
  7. Drain and add the beans. Tip in the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon, then stir well.
  8. Bring to the boil, then reduce to medium-low and leave to tick away for 25 to 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced – keep an eye on it, and add a splash of water to loosen, if needed.
  9. Stir a decent handful of dark chocolate chiops and most of the coriander leaves, then taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
  10. Scatter over the remaining coriander. Delicious served with soured cream, guacamole and rice or tortilla chips.

The Yoga Of Motherhood: Parenthood Self-Care Sadhana - December 2019

- By Sn Gyanhira Huberman

Today is the day! The day that things finally started getting easier. How do I know? Because today is the first day I went out with both my kids, aged 29 months and 5 months old, and someone remarked how gracefully I did it. Until today, women would randomly walk up to me and say, "it's going to get easier, I promise you." And today was that day.
Which means that, until now, I've really just been doing my best to hold all the scattering pieces of myself together. For 5 months! Parents, I know you know what I'm talking about! Unless you don't, then all I can say is wow! But, for these past 5 months of having two littles 2 years old and under, I have been doing some heavy-duty inner Yoga and self-care, using all the tools and teachings that I learned during my 3 years living in my Teacher, Swami Niranjan’s, Yoga Ashram in India.
There is one saying of Swami Satsangi of Sivananda Ashram, Rikhia that has stuck with me. I can't remember it exactly as she said it, but the essence is that “sometimes in life we need to evolve just by enduring.” Probably in much the same way a diamond is made by its having endured tremendous pressure. Being a parent of a newborn twice over, I feel the truth of this. I endured those first 5 months twice, and today someone told me I was “winning at this” for the first time and honestly, I gave myself a big high five for that. From enduring to thriving! I knew it before she said it, but it was nice to know that I didn't look like a hot mess to everyone all the time anymore!
In Yoga, enduring doesn't mean that you just throw all restraint and sustained effort to the wind and simply survive. No! We are not talking survival, where all that matters is that your bodies are still alive. We are talking endurance. Sustained effort amidst difficulty to do the best you possibly can on all fronts, even if that best effort is still messy and far from the parent you wanted to be. This sustained effort doesn't only include the importance of self-care, it revolves around it. Because as my children's mother, I am at the centre of their life (with their father), and if I completely fall to pieces, so too does everything and everyone else. 
In hopes that it might be helpful to others reading this, and also for my own integration, I want to reflect a little on how I used my Yoga to endure these first 5 challenging (and joyful!) months, and beyond.
1. Breathe (Pranayama)
I call it Mama Pranayama. In Yoga, Pranayama is loosely translated as breathing exercise (it is much more than that, but for our purposes we'll keep it simple). I am a mom who breath-holds when things get stressful and I work really hard to stay present to my breath to consciously get as much in as deeply as possible, especially during high-emotion moments (like when you're driving in the car with two crying, screaming children and you are NOWHERE near your destination or anywhere that you can safely pull over). I learned that breath-holding also increases feelings of anxiety and panic as a result of starving the brain of optimum oxygen levels. So forget the cliche-ness and breath deeply, however it feels comfortable. This will also reduce chronic muscle tension!
2. Sing in the shower! (Kirtan: Bhakti Yoga)
Consider this a part of Mama Pranayama! Singing is actually a really great emotional release. Singing Kirtan is a part of Bhakti Yoga and among other things, really helps to regulate and sublimate the emotions. Singing also releases chest muscle tension and helps reset the breath, allowing you to breathe deeply again. You have to regulate your breath as you sing which serves as the mechanism for this! 
3. Laughter as medicine (Raja Yoga: Mind Management)
While I was living in the ashram, it was getting ready to host a major international event and we were all engaged in pretty intense karma yoga preparations for the Convention. Many people, though very inspired, were feeling overextended and the same kind of fatigue that new parents can experience. One evening, our Teacher called us to a meeting. That night, all we did was take a couple of hours to sit around together telling jokes and laughing. I couldn't believe how rejuvenating it was for my energy and mood. Now, when I've had a particularly challenging day or week, I turn on Netflix (once the kids are asleep or napping) and put on a really good Stand Up Comedy special or parenting comedy series. I can recommend Seth Meyers' Lobby Baby Netflix Special, as well as The Let Down (pun on breastfeeding),  Workin' Moms, and Iliza Schlesinger’s Elder Millennial Netflix Stand Up Special. They all made me belly laugh and they're all about parenting and show you how NORMAL it is to be feeling the way you do. It also shows you that, in hindsight, you might just laugh about this someday too.
And again, laughter resets the breath, gets oxygen in, releases muscle tension and sets off all kinds of positive, health-building physiological responses that help to re-balance the system from the effects of stress.
4. Connect with Your Inner Strength: Positivity (Raja Yoga: Mind Management)
Wow this is a lesson that I was slow to truly realize in the ashram. What does it even mean to be positive? Things are tough sometimes, can't you feel sad or angry without being anti-Yogic? Yes, you can! You have to feel all your feelings. The worst thing you can do to be happy is deny your negativity. All that is is suppression. And we all know what happens to suppressed feelings, eventually they explode in usually a very ugly way (or implode and make you depressed).
Instead, we feel our feelings and accept that (we just don't necessarily act from that place). "I am aware that I am feeling very 24t$Q#54f!!!!! right now!" Breathe. "But, this too shall pass. When I zoom out and look at the bigger picture of my life, things are actually pretty darn good (even if I can't find anything awesome about this particular moment or person in front of me right now). Then count 3 things that you are grateful for in your life.
This creates some space within us, as well as some silence from that string of negative inner dialogue that we might have otherwise created. When you instead connect with your inner positivity, you will find that you have energy to do more, and a lighter mood to respond in a more positive way to the people and situations around you, instead of just reacting or blowing up. You will be more content, peaceful and creative in your problem solving to find solutions to what is bringing you down. And you will feel that you "can" do it, instead of feeling overwhelmed by the tasks that lie ahead. 
5. Walk (Asana)
Alone! hands-free! your pace. quiet. or with YOUR music. fresh air! oxygenate. release muscle tension. reset the breath. let those endorphins flow, swing those arms and wander unscheduled, gloriously footloose and fancy-free! (for at least 20 minutes)!
6. Silence (Mouna)
This. is. a. big. one! We were just talking about creating space for, and connection with, the strength of positivity. Many times as parents, it feels like you are amidst a constant chaos of noise, the pressure of ceaseless demands and needs, awkward and exhausting transportation logistics, heaps of resistance, and big emotions, "I want this! No! Yes! No!" etc. It's easy to start feeling like the walls are closing in around you. When I am feeling this way, I remember that I am in control of my inner environment, even if I'm not in total control of the outer environment. In Yoga it is said that "there is no peace in the Himalayas, and no noise in the marketplace. Both are within you.”
I experienced this teaching during my time in the ashram when I was managing the venue for an in-ashram Satsang program (a talk given by our Teacher). The local children's yoga group were helping to run this program, and they do a truly amazing job. You have never seen such discipline, professionalism, creativity or hospitality in such young people. However, there was a moment right before the program began where it suddenly became extremely noisy and disorganized and all I could see was a moving swarm of their red tracksuits all over the venue. I froze as my senses of sight and sound became overwhelmed and I didn't know what to do. My Teacher was present on the stage and, as often happens in his presence, a new thought entered my mind which helped get me un-stuck. I realized that there was a space inside of myself that was quiet and spacious and I had to, instead, turn my focus and attention there. After going in, I was able to come back out and re-focus my concentration and senses externally to determine what needed to be done.
Now, when I face these overwhelming moments at home, I step aside for a moment, and I try to connect with that inner space by whatever means I can. Sometimes I am just quiet inside and outside. Sometimes, I love to remember the sound of a particular bird's call that I feel very moved by, one that I would often hear in the quiet mornings in India amidst the sprawling and picturesque rural landscapes of the ashram.
There is really so much more to say about Mouna, and now I realize that I will probably reflect more on the subject in future articles. Silence is the birthplace of so many beautiful experiences, like inspiration, creativity, intuition, epiphany, insight and inner healing. Silence is far from emptiness. Silence is pregnant, positive, intelligent, dynamic, potential, healing. It is the space where we reflect, digest, and let go of, our daily experiences. It is the space where learning occurs. Silence is us.
I overheard something my Teacher said to one of the other students toward the end of our 3-Year Training. He said something to the effect that, "no matter how many children you have, at the end of the day take 10 minutes to just sit quietly by yourself. Just you. Not as a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter, or friend, and not as whatever you do in your professional life or anything else. Just you."
Make these 6 practices your sadhana (sustained yoga practice), and you will endure the tough parenting moments like a Yogi, instead of just surviving.
In the spirit of self-care, I will leave you with a joke:
A man had a house full of children. As many children as fill the room that you are in right now. He went to his Rabbi and said, "Rabbi, there is too much noise in my home!" The Rabbi said, "Very interesting problem! I suggest bringing in a cow." Confused but faithful, the man did as the Rabbi suggested. However, he returned to his Rabbi the next week with the same problem. This time, the Rabbi suggested bringing in a chicken. It still didn't fix the problem, and the man returned to his Rabbi the next week saying, "Rabbi, there is more noise in the house than ever before! Too much noise!" The Rabbi again replied, "Interesting problem. I suggest bringing in... a bear!" Well, you know this poor, frazzled man returned to his Rabbi again the next week with still the same problem. "Interesting problem," the Rabbi said. "Remove the cow, remove the chicken, and remove the bear." The man did as directed, returned home, and then standing amid his bustling household, he took a deep breath and exclaimed, "Finally some peace and quiet! I love everything here just the way it is.”

Original Blog Link: https://freetomematernity.com/blogs/our-favourite-things-blog/mouna-self-care