Before receiving this email, Karen Cairns told that she had been contacted by a group of concerned Ashtanga teachers wanting to have a group chat to discuss allegations made against some Ashtanga teachers. Karen forwarded one of the chats to me. Over the next several days the group drafted a statement regarding the behavior and Ashtanga teachers were given the opportunity to sign the statement. I did not sign the statement for several reasons:It has recently come to our attention that there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct by one of our approved teachers.
We would like to take this moment to remind everyone that Sharath Guruji's vision has always been centered on the upliftment and well-being of both teachers and students. This was the very reason he so generously shared his knowledge — to create a respectful, safe, and supportive learning environment for all.
As clearly outlined in our Code of Conduct #7, every approved teacher is expected to maintain a safe and professional environment that is free from harassment or discrimination of any kind — including, but not limited to, those based on gender, ethnicity, nationality, or sexual orientation. It is essential that the rights, personal integrity, dignity, and privacy of each student are respected at all times.
Please note: Any teacher found in violation of this Code of Conduct will be subject to immediate removal from the directory of approved teachers.
Let us all continue to uphold the values Guruji instilled in us and ensure a positive and respectful space for everyone.
Friday, October 10, 2025
Teachers and Students Behaving Badly
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Trying to Square the Hips in an Asymmetrical Pose
Excellent question from a teacher training graduate:
Ok this is something that was
brought to my attention during our training and I asked but I don't think I
asked the question correctly. And this seems to be a practice done at several
studios. But my question is based upon my own body observations.
When instructing to do Virabhadrasana I, we are told to spread our feet 3-4 feet wide and to turn our front foot to the top of the mat and our back foot is turned at an approximate 45 degrees towards the side of the mat. Then the next instruction is to square our hips to the front of the mat and then the student is instructed to bend the front knee to a 90 degree bend with the Knee lining up directly over the ankle. Also your thigh is to be parallel with the floor. The back leg is to be kept straight with the quadricep engaged. But when I do all the above my back ankle doesn't bend at the correct angle due to compression and just stops (so the heel of my foot isn't quite on the ground). So during class if this happens the instructor tells the students to shorten their stance between their feet. However when I do this I lose the stretch to the front of my hip which I felt was some of the point of this pose.
So out of curiosity I reviewed the
pose in Light on Yoga. He never mentions anything about making sure your
hips are square (not that he would use a mat in his description). But he
doesn't mention the hips at all and if you look at the pictures his hips are
not square with his front foot. His back knee is slightly turned out in
an external rotation which seems to be allowing for him to go deeper into the
stretch of that hip.
So my question to you is there a
benefit to squaring the hips and does squaring the hips create a compression in
the hip joint that prevents you from going deeper into the pose. But I
feel that my compression in my back ankle is what is stopping me.
In my mind the solution that seems to benefit me is that my hips are not square to the top of the mat which allows for me to turn my back foot out more hence allowing me to go deeper into the pose with a steadier base. And then I can actually get the benefit of a stretch to the front hip connected to the back leg.
Ok so next question let's say there is nothing more to stretch in this pose, is the next step just for strength and to just experience the pose?
My answer:
I see multiple issues
with these particular instructions.
- I never
use the word “spread” when I instruct students about stance or how wide to
be. It’s a triggering instruction. Instead I say “take a wide
stance” or “step the feet wide” or “step the feet as wide as your own leg
length”. I don’t give a particular width of the feet because
students are different heights, ages and levels of flexibility.
- It’s
physically impossible for human hips to be squared unless the feet are
parallel, such as in Uttanasana or Prasarita Padottanasana. Trying
to do this in asymmetrical poses such as Virabhadrasana, Trikonasana, or
Parsvakonasana puts undue stress on the hip joints. Some teachers in
the Iyengar system still use this instruction, but none of the Iyengar
teachers with whom we have studied like Ramanand and Francois Raoult use
it. It’s a bad instruction.
- I don’t
tell students to turn their feet by degrees. I think everyone knows
what a 90 degree angle is, but 45 degrees? 60 degrees?
Here are simple instructions
I use when I teach in the Rope wall room, right side first:
Let’s go to Viradhadrasana,
Warrior 2, so take a wide stance facing the Rope wall, arms wide.
Turn the left foot in
slightly and the right foot out toward the back of the room.
Look toward the rope wall and
take a moment to square the shoulders and stretch the arms as much as possible.
The hips will be slightly
rotated – this is normal.
Look toward the left hand and
reach it back toward the windows.
Then look toward the right
hand, take an inhalation and on the exhale, sit, and slide the right knee
forward above the ankle.
At Holiday Manor, we have a
long mirrored wall, so I ask the students to look at themselves in the mirror
and notice that the hips are turned, but the shoulders are square.
To build strength, hold it longer, but don’t teach that unless you see that students have properly set their foundation.
For your ankle, maybe leave it pointed toward the side (right angle, 90 degrees). Experiment and see what feels best for you.
There are more complicated and subtle instructions, but those are for very experienced students who are established in the pose.
Sunday, December 29, 2024
Yoga and Leadership by Laura Harbolt
Yoga and Leadership
In their 2014 literature review, Maharana,
et al. ask whether leadership programs really work, and if yoga can be a
solution for corporate leaders who exhibit workaholic tendencies. Relying on
spiritual leadership theory, the authors argue that when the “spiritual
leadership is implemented, enthusiastic workaholics will be intrinsically
motivated, experience competence, autonomy, relatedness, and spiritual
well-being” (p. 291). As a practicing yogi and a leadership teacher and coach,
I experience daily the difference yoga can make in the effectiveness of my own
leadership practice. Thus, my personal understanding indicates that the
benefits are not solely for “workaholic” leaders. The goal of this paper,
therefore, is to explore how the study of yoga informs the practice and
instruction of leadership.
Yoga
and Leadership Style
Most scholarly research studying the link
between yoga and leadership comes out of South Asia. In recent years, one can also
find numerous theses and dissertations on the subject published by masters and
doctoral students in the United States. The scholarly study of leadership has
its foundation in leadership theory looking specifically at leadership style.
Most often referenced is the research on transactional, transformational,
authentic, and servant leadership styles. The literature on yoga and leadership
focuses primarily on the link between yoga and transformational leadership, with
more recent research theorizing the link between authentic and spiritual
leadership styles.
In his seminal work, James MacGregor
Burns’ (1978) coined the phrase “transformational leadership”, a style that is in
opposition to the transactional leadership style adopted by most leaders at the
time. Burns contended that moral development is an essential characteristic of
transformational leaders. Several decades later, Mulla and Krishnan (2009)
connect morality and leadership as it is practiced in India. “Morality is
conceptualized as Karma-Yoga”, explain the authors, “its three dimensions—duty
orientation, indifference to rewards, and equanimity…constitutes a
comprehensive model for moral development in the Indian context” (p. 167). Mulla
and Krishnan’s study of 250 leaders found that Indian leaders who actively
practice Karma Yoga possess a duty-orientation and altruistic motives, and are
more often perceived as transformational leaders. Another related finding between
yoga and transformational leadership is that followers of Indian transformational
leaders are influenced to practice yoga, resulting in the follower’s perceived
group cohesiveness and a more harmonious and productive workplace (Muddipathi
and Krishnan, 2020).
The early study of leadership theory focused
on crafting a definition of leader; later the focus shifts to the process or
methodology of leadership (Northouse, 2016). Authentic leadership, for example,
is modeled by leaders who make decisions based on principle, rather than solely
on financial gain, and who take responsibility for their actions. Authentic leaders focus on cultivating
self-awareness, personal growth, and discipline; they are mission-driven and
often inspire faith (George,
2003). In her 2021 dissertation, Jennifer Small looks at gendered stereotypes
and authentic leadership to better understand how authentic leadership and
mindfulness skills can support women leaders in healthcare. Small concludes
that relying on mindfulness techniques cultivated as part of a regular yoga
practice can support women as they communicate their authentic selves as
leaders in a male dominated industry. Similarly, research conducted
by doctoral student Leila Naderi (2019) “suggests that leaders who practice
yoga more consistently (four times per week or more) showcase higher levels of
authentic leadership qualities” (p. 74).
Like authentic leadership, spiritual
leadership is based on the theory that leaders can inspire followers with a
vision of shared values and a sense of calling based on altruistic love
(Northouse, 2016). In their review of the literature on spiritual leadership,
Maharana, et al. (2014), maintain that the spiritual leadership theory can
explain the phenomenon wherein a manager can appear “obsessed with work yet
have high levels of psychological well-being, positive human health, and
organizational commitment and productivity” (p. 291). Madhu and Krishnan (2005)
found that the characteristics of Karma Yoga result in leaders who practice “work
as worship” and demonstrate transformational leadership qualities of altruism
and conscientiousness. Connecting these findings directly to yoga, Kislenko’s (2019)
research indicates that “yoga promotes the idea of leadership as service and
being kind as a form of displayed leadership behavior that aligns with finding
an element of humility in the practice of leadership, just as within the
practice of yoga” (p. 108).
Yoga
and Leader Competencies
Certainly, leadership is more than the theoretical
underpinnings studied by scholars. In the workplace, one’s leadership style
directly affects the organization’s culture and employee engagement. Sherman
(2020) contends that “leadership failure is usually due not to a lack of
business skills but rather to a consequence of poor self-management” (p. 68). An
enlightened leader focuses on their yoga training, placing the well-being of
those who report to them above their own ego and wants (Shubhada, 2016). And an inspired workforce motivated by a higher calling can
foster teamwork and accomplish company goals (Bodhananda, 2022). The
ideal leader seeks internal excellence as well as success in the workplace.
In
short, when leaders adopt a regular yoga practice they positively affect the
culture and effectiveness of the organization and are thus more effective in
their role. Adhia et al. (2010B) found that “managers
who practice Yoga showed higher emotional intelligence, exhibited
self-awareness, increased social skills, altruistic behavior, compassion, and
empathy” (p. 32). After just six weeks of yoga and yoga philosophy classes,
managers saw a reduction of stress levels and symptoms of burnout (Adhia et
al., 2010C). More recently, Pamela Smith’s 2021 study found that “participants
changed after starting a regular Yoga practice…they became more effective and
adaptive leaders with behaviors and skills to manage their stress, pause,
observe a situation, build accountability with others, and create space for transformative
change to happen” (p. 67).
Conclusion
and Implications
“A new way of thinking about leadership is
required if we are to change from the fear-based and egocentric leadership of
today to one that is transformational and uplifts all” contend Sangodkar, et
al. (2022, p 142). The authors reference Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutras as a foundation for leadership, noting their “resonance” with
scholarly leadership theory. Specifically, the Sutras outline the obstacles to
leadership—vyadi, styana, samsaya, pramad, alasya, bhranti darshana, alabdhabuhu
mikatwa, and anavasthitat—as well as the ethical principles that support
leadership—the yamas and the niyamas.[1]
The research on Yoga and Leadership
clearly indicates that leaders who practice yoga cultivate the traits of
transformational, authentic, and/or spiritual leadership. These leaders are
self-regulated, have a high degree of self-awareness, are mission-driven, and
lead their teams to achieve the goals set out by the organization. My own
research in leadership indicates that managers mimic their leader’s style, in
turn influencing and motivating followers to effectively carry out their
duties. It stands to reason, therefore, that leaders who cultivate an ongoing
yoga practice might also exhibit leadership skills identified by research that
highlight the importance of communication, mentoring, and ongoing supervision
and support of volunteers (Elliot & Umeh, 2013; Lafer, 1991). Leaders’ support
of their followers might include building strong relationships and trust with staff
members, understanding staff motivations, and placing them in satisfying roles,
thus increasing retention (Finkelstein, 2008; Fisher & Freshwater, 2014;
Oostlander et al., 2014).
My study and practice of yoga have impacted my understanding of leadership and changed how I both practice and teach leadership. The leaders’ mindset, like that of a yogi, is one that changes with practice, study, and insight. Yoga philosophy, principles, and practice can benefit leaders physically and mentally and can inform those of us who teach leadership.
References
Adhia,
H., Nagendra, H., & Mahadevan, B. (2010B). Impact of adoption of Yoga way
of life on
the
emotional intelligence of managers. IIMB Management Review, 22(1-2),
32-41.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iimb.2010.03.003
Adhia, H., Nagendra, H. R., &
Mahadevan, B. (2010C). Impact of adoption of
Yoga way of life
on the reduction of
job burnout of managers. Vikalpa, 35(2), 21-34.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0256090920100203
Bodhananda, S. (2022). Management and
Leadership: Insights from Yoga Philosophy and Practice. NHRD Network Journal,
15(4), 422-430. https://doi.org/10.1177/26314541221115572
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper
& Row.
Elliott, G., & Umeh, K. (2013).
Psychological issues in voluntary hospice
care. British Journal of Nursing, 22(7) 377-383. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236184646_Psychological_issues_in_voluntary_hospice_care
Finkelstein,
M. A. (2008). Volunteer satisfaction and volunteer action: A functional
approach. Social
Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 36(1), 9-17.
Fisher, P., & Freshwater,
D. (2014). Towards compassionate care through aesthetic rationality. Scandinavian
Journal of Caring Sciences, 28,
767-774. doi: 10.1111/scs.12109
George, William W.
(2003). Authentic leadership: Rediscovering the secrets to creating lasting value.
San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2003.
Kislenko, Susanna. (2019). At the intersection of yoga
and leadership: Humility as practice. The Routledge Companion to
Management and Workplace Spirituality. Oxford, UK: Taylor & Francis
Group. 101-111. doi: 10.4324/9781351015110
Lafer,
B. (1991). The attrition of hospice volunteer. Omega: Journal of Death & Dying, 23(3) 161-167.
Madhu,
B. & Krishnan, V. R. (2005). Impact of transformational leadership and karma-yoga
on organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Human Values. 9(1), 1-20.
doi: 10.1177/097168581001500207
Maharana
P., et al. (2014). A twenty years literature on evaluation of spiritual
leadership: The new insight for the corporate world. Indian Journal of
Health and Wellbeing. 5(3), 286-292.
Mulla,
Z. R. & Krishnan, M. R. (2009). Do karma-yogis make better leaders?
Exploring the relationship between the leader’s karma-yoga and transformational
leadership. Journal of Human Values. 15(2), 67–183. doi: 10.1177/097168581001500207
Muppidathi, P. & Krishnan, V.
R. (2020). Transformational leadership and follower’s perceived group
cohesiveness: Mediating role of follower’s karma-yoga. Business Perspectives
and Research. 9(2), 269-285. https://doi.org/10.1177/2278533720966065
Naderi, L. (2019). Yoga for leadership:
Examining the effects of frequency of yoga practice on authentic leadership. Alliant International University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. doi: 13881040.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and
practice. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Oostlander, J., Guntert, S. T., &
Wehner, T., (2014). Linking autonomy-supportive leadership to volunteer
satisfaction: A self-determination theory perspective. Voluntas, 25(6),
1368-1387. doi: 10.1007/s11266-013-9395-0
Padmavati M., Sanjib P., Srinivasan
T. M., & Nagendra, H. R. (2014). A twenty years literature on evaluation of
spiritual leadership: The new insight for the corporate world. Indian
Journal of Positive Psychology. 5(3), 286-292. http://www.iahrw.com/index.php/home/journal_detail/19#list
Sangodkar,
N. P., Kumar, G., & Sing, S. (2022). Yogic management of contemporary
leadership hurdles based on Patanjali Yoga Sutras-A review. Proceeding book:
4th international conference on yoga, yagya, & Ayurveda. 141-149
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jigayasha-Thakur/publication/378150828_PREVENTION_OF_PRAGYAPRADHA_INTELLECTUAL_BLASPHEMY_BY_intelactual_blasphemy/links/65ca562b1bed776ae34ccf3b/PREVENTION-OF-PRAGYAPRADHA-INTELLECTUAL-BLASPHEMY-BY-intelactual-blasphemy.pdf#page=143
Sherman,
R. O. (2020). Learn to manage yourself. AJN American Journal of Nursing.
120, 68-71.
Shubhada,
J. (2016). Enlightened leadership: Arthashastra and yoga. Integrative
Medicine International. 3(3/4). 23-123.
Small,
J. (2021). Authentic leadership and mindfulness: Cultivating women leaders in
the
healthcare industry
in the 21st Century. [Dissertation, Drexel University]. https://researchdiscovery.drexel.edu/esploro/outputs/doctoral/Authentic-Leadership-and-Mindfulness-Cultivating-Women/991015241381604721
Smith,
Pamela Kay (2021). Off the mat, into the Office: How a regular yoga practice transformed
eight corporate leaders and their leadership. [Theses, Sophia, the St.
Catherine University]. https://sophia.stkate.edu/maol_theses/43
[1] In the Yoga Sutras, Pantanjali
describes likely obstacles to one’s journey, how to recognize them, and how to
avoid or prevent these hindrances. The yamas and niyamas are ethical principles
that guide individuals in their interactions with others.
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Yoga in the West Across Black Culture
Tamara Williams-Conaway
Yoga East Teacher Training 2024
Introduction
I would like to start my research
paper by sharing my own experience as an African American who stumbled upon
yoga by purchasing a Groupon one day for a local yoga studio. I had no bias
about yoga and was as green as they come. My only foreknowledge was that many women I admired
practiced yoga and appeared to have great bodies. I saw it like a dance
where your partner was the mat, and it seemed cool. Also, I met a friend in
college that had hippies for parents. She told me her mom did yoga every day,
and it was her best form of exercise. That was all I needed to become curious
about what a yoga class would be like, so naturally I had to buy the Groupon
and give it a go.
History
We know that yoga was practiced in
India dating back to before Christ. According to Light on Yoga, yoga's practice in India dates
back thousands of years. The early writings are mysterious and unique. They are
steeped in Indian culture and religious influence, so many Americans are just
now learning about the ancient connections of yoga to Asia. Although yoga dates
back thousands of years, it was banned in the late 1700s by colonial British
rulers who did not like the rebellious practitioners of yoga. It was not until
it was officially adopted by the British as a form of exercise that yoga made
its way to the western world.
Westernization
The term cultural appropriation has
negative connotations attached to it. It is actually defined as adopting
practices from another culture without regard to that culture or the
appropriateness of the adopted practices. Unfortunately, many yoga
practitioners only know the asanas as a form of exercise and toss the other
seven limbs of yoga. Many
traditional aspects of yoga have been replaced with trendy variations such as
booty yoga, goat yoga, wine yoga, naked yoga, etc. It has become very
trendy in the west. I have not met anyone who has not heard of yoga; however,
the different opinions about yoga differ across western subcultures.
Stigmas of Yoga
Most U.S. yoga classes are predominantly white women; I
rarely see women of color. Why is this the case? I started to dig for
answers and the responses were surprising to me. According to Black Women’s
Yoga History written by Stephanie Y. Evans, many women of color do not see
themselves represented in those spaces, so they do not feel like it’s a safe
place. Representation matters. I have asked women of color to come to a class
with me, but most do not feel comfortable being the only person of color in a
yoga class. They feel vulnerable and scared. Meanwhile, women of color would
benefit from the mental health relief from a devoted practice. Evans claims
that women of color have not participated in self care and are
disproportionately underserved in emotional, physical and mental health.
Many women of color are not fully
aware of the benefits of a devoted yoga practice. They have not been informed
about how pranayama may help decrease
anxiety and stress by aiding the parasympathetic nervous system when practiced
properly. Several modern day therapists are starting to integrate pranayama
into their therapy, or refer students to take a yoga class.
The overall need of women of color is
practice more self-care. It can be hard to explain all the benefits of
practicing yoga. They need to experience it to believe it. Since women of color
have some of the highest stress rates of any other cultural group in the U.S.,
they would benefit from yoga if the practice was made available to them in its
purest form.
Self-Care as an act of Protest
Rosa Parks was known as the mother of
the Civil Rights movement. She practiced yoga as early as the 70s. According to
an article on Yogajournal.com, Rosa Parks had many health challenges and stress from being a target for her
activism work. Parks taught that self-care is a part of resistance—she lived to
the age of 92 because she began to center her own health needs, even as she
continued with lifelong activism in Detroit and beyond.
Conclusion
Yoga in the west has been
mainstreamed by so many practitioners to be trendy. The original practitioners
never intended for yoga to be mainstreamed into a trend. The awareness that
yoga is a science and can help lower anxiety and stress would greatly benefit
women of color especially people who need it therapeutically. I have seen a
recent uptick in yoga as therapy. Several therapists have begun to use yoga in
their practices because the science backs it as a non-invasive treatment for
anxiety and stress management.
The stigmas surrounding yoga in
Black culture need to be addressed through a clear understanding of its
benefits for dedicated practitioners. Yoga is not a cultish religious practice,
Yoga is not just a stretching exercise. Yoga is not a European women only club.
According to B.K.S. Iyengar, yoga It
is the true union of our will with the will of God, and according to Mahadev
Desai in Gita according to Gandhi, ‘the yoking of all the powers of body, mind
and soul to God; it means the disciplining of intellect, the mind, the
emotions, the will, which that Yoga presupposes; it means a poise of the soul
which enables one to look at life in all its aspects evenly.’
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Yoga East Commencement 200 Hour Class of 2024
But don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth, without complicated explanation, so everyone will understand the passage, We have opened you. Start walking toward Shams. Your legs will get heavy and tired. Then comes a moment of feeling the wings you’ve grown, lifting.
-- Rumi
Shams was the teacher of Jalal al-Din Rumi, a famous scholar and jurist and poet born in Afghanistan in 1207. Traveling to Damascus, on November 14, 1244 he met a Sufi mystic, Shams of Tabriz. The story goes that Rumi was teaching a class on the banks of the river. Shams interrupted the class, picked up Rumi’s books and threw them into the river. Outraged, Rumi faced Shams, but Shams looked Rumi in the eye and said, “You won’t find God in those books. You will only find God here (tapping Rumi’s chest) in your own heart. It changed Rumi forever, he became an ecstatic poet and mystic. In 1248 Shams disappeared and was never seen again. But Rumi continued to compose ecstatic mystical poems of love to Shams. Rumi died in Western Turkey in 1273.
The flute of interior time is played whether we hear it or not, What we mean by "love" is its sound coming in. When love hits the farthest edge of excess, it reaches wisdom. And the fragrance of that knowledge! It penetrates our thick bodies, it goes through walls. Its network of notes has a structure as if a million suns were arranged inside. This tune has truth in it. Where else have you heard a sound like this?
-- Kabir
Kabir was a famous Indian poet-saint. Born in the city of Varanasi in 1398 into a poor family Moslem family of weavers, Kabir had a mystical bent since childhood. He began teaching that "truth" is with the person who is on the path of righteousness, who considers everything, living and non living, as divine, and who is passively detached from the affairs of the world.” These views were controversial to both Hindus and Moslems, and people would question him about who had taught him this. Then when Kabir admitted he had no teacher, people wouldn’t want to listen anymore.
Kabir decided to find a teacher and looked around to see who was the most illustrious and respected teacher. Ramananda was a famous Vaishnava bhakti yogi, but as an orthodox Brahman, he believed that it was contaminating to even look at a Moslem. There was no way Ramananda would accept Kabir as a student. However, Kabir watched Ramananda and saw that every morning before dawn, Ramananda would go down the steps to bathe in the Ganges River. Early one morning, Kabir went and lay down on the steps, and in the dark Ramananda accidentally stepped on him. Startlled, he exclained “O Rama!” Kabir got up and walked away, and thereafter when people questioned him about his teacher he would say, “I am an initiated disciple of Ramananda.” People would then listen to him.
Word of this got back to Ramananda, that a Moslem was preaching in public claiming to be his disciple. Ramananda asked his students to bring the man to him. They did and Ramananda sat behind a curtain so that he wouldn’t have to look at Kabir, and he asked Kabir, “Please tell my students that you are not really my disciple.” Kabir answered, “Guruji, I cannot say that. Don’t you remember that morning by the river when you touched my forehead with your foot and gave me the mantra “Rama”? Ramananda realized that this was a true initiation. So he agreed to accept Kabir as his student. Ever day Kabir would visit him and they would speak, but always separated by a curtain.
One morning when Kabir arrived, Ramananda was still meditating. His method of meditation was mental worship of god in the form of Lore Rama. In his mind he would bathe Rama, dress him beautiful clothes and ornaments, offer delicious food, cool water scented with camphor, etc.. On this particular morning he had envisioned Rama with a beautiful golden crown, and he about to place a beautiful garland of flowers around Rama’s neck, when he realized that his mental garland was smaller than the mental crown. He paused in his meditation uncertain what to do. From behind the curtain, Kabir said, “Guruji, untie the garland and then tie it around Rama’s neck.” Ramananda leaped up, threw aside the curtain and embraced Kabir, saying, “Nothing can be hidden from Kabir.”
Most people in the world are like frogs who live in a well. As far as they’re concerned, the world is the inside of the well. One day a frog who lived outside the well, looked in the well and saw the frog in the well and jumped inside. He asked the frog in the well, “Why do you stay here inside this well? There’s a big world outside with blue sky and ponds and lakes and rivers.” But the frog in the well said, “You’re crazy! This is the world.” The other frog shrugged his froggy shoulders and jumped back outside the well.
When the prince, Rama, became a young man, his father, King Dasaratha, sent him on a yatra, a tour of the country. When Rama returned a year later, his father was going to have a big celebration, but as preparations were underway, other courtiers came to the king to tell him that Rama was just moping around the palace. Rama grew pale and thin. He seemed to have lost all interest in the pursuits he used to enjoy. We wasn’t eating, he wasn’t hanging out with his friends, he seemed quite depressed, in fact. King Dasaratha was concerned and asked Rama what was wrong, but Rama answered, “Nothing”.
Dasaratha then questioned Rama’s chamberlain, who said, “Rama is very depressed. He wanders about sighing, ‘What’s the use?’ He even has suicidal thoughts." Dasaratha brought this matter up to Rama’s Gurus Vishwamitra and Vasistha, who rejoiced and said, “Rama’s condition is not the result of delusion. It is full of wisdom and dispassion and points to enlightenment. Let him be brought here.”
When Rama arrived, Rama asked his Gurus, “What is happiness and how can it be had in this ever-changing world? People seem to be born only destined to die. What is the point of it all? By reflecting on the fate of beings, I am filled with grief. How do I free myself from this confusion? I am not yet established in wisdom so I am partly freed, but partly bound.”
Vasistha answered,
“There is no power greater than right action in the present moment. Hence one should take recourse to self effort, grinding one’s teeth, and one should overcome evil by good, and fate by present effort."
"In one who practices yoga, there arises a nobility of being, seeing which even ignorant and foolish people wish to attain liberation. One is a noble person who does what should be done, who refrains from doing what should not be done, and who lives a simple and natural life. True wisdom arises in such a person and in due course such a person becomes fully realized, doubts dispelled and bonds severed. Remaining firmly established in this stage one reaches the final stage known in various ways by various people: Siva, Brahma, Vishnu, Truth, Time, Being, Nirvana, Enlightenment, Samadhi. When you reach this stage, you go beyond sorrow, O Rama.”
To the graduates: You are like Rama, having returned from your yatra. You see the truth of life, you are intelligent and perceptive, and you might be asking yourself, “Now what’s the point of all this?” You have been taught yoga. Now take what you’ve learned and put it into action. By now you know that yoga goes beyond the asanas. Yoga really takes place in the mind. So why do we teach asana? We teach it because that’s what can be taught. As our teachers know, we teach the mind yoga through asana. Learn it, practice it, and teach it well. This is right action in the present moment.
A few people are out there sitting in their well, but perhaps they’ve looked up and seen the circle of sky and they’re wondering, “What is that?” Help them jump out.
Sunday, December 1, 2024
Yoga as Marma Therapy
by Eileen Schuhmann
2024
We practice yoga because it makes
us feel good both physically and mentally. When we practice, we observe
positive physical changes like improved flexibility, strength and balance. We
enjoy improved energy, moods, sleep, and adaptability to stress. These effects
are often some of the touted benefits of yoga. However, there is something
happening at a more subtle level that may be the real reason that yoga makes us
feel so good.
In Advaita Vedanta (non-dual
philosophy), it is explained that the human being is made up of five koshas,
auric fields or sheaths, that form our most subtle body (Haas,p.154). The five
koshas, ranging from gross to subtle, are annamaya kosha (food sheath or
physical body), pranamaya kosha (pranic sheath or breath body), manomaya
kosha (mind sheath or mental body), vijnanamaya kosha (wisdom sheath
or knowledge body), and anandamaya kosha (bliss sheath or bliss body) (Haas,
p.154 and Lad, p.29). These koshas veil our true nature of bliss and oneness
with the universe and the Atman, our true Self (Haas, p.154). Rolf
Solvik says, “The journey through the koshas is the journey of yoga” (2020). As
we do our yoga practices, we integrate and harmonize all of the subtle layers
of our being and grow in self-awareness.
It is probably easiest for us to be
aware of the effects of yoga on the physical body or annamaya kosha, since it is
the grossest layer of our being or the “outermost mask,” the most visible
layer. However, yogic sadhana (spiritual practice) also directly affects
the pranamaya kosha, which in turn influences the annamaya and manomaya koshas,
initiating a healing process that can extend to the vijnanamaya and anandamaya
koshas, positively impacting the physical, mental, and pranic bodies (Saraswati
and Saraswati, Book 1, p.86). Pranamaya kosha is the energy dimension of our
consciousness, which contains prana shakti (prana or vital energy), nadis
(vital energy channels), chakras (energy centers) and marmas (vital energy
points) (Saraswati and Saraswati, Book 1, p.4). Using various yoga techniques,
we can apply pressure directly to the marmas along the nadis, which harmonizes
the pancha tattwas (five elements), thereby altering the pranic and
functional states of the body, mind, and energy systems (Saraswati and
Saraswati, Book 1, p.6).
What are Marmani[1]
“A marma is a vital energy point”
on the body’s surface, found at anatomical locations where veins, arteries,
tendons, bones, or joints converge (Lad and Durve, p.19). Marmani are not
anatomical structures; they are points where consciousness interacts with the
body and regulates its functions, serving as the connection between
intelligence and physical form (Schrott, p.18). According to Drs. Vasant Lad
and Anisha Durve, “The marmani serve as a bridge or doorway between the body,
mind and soul” (p.19). Marmani facilitate communication within the body, acting
as diagnostic tools and offering therapeutic benefits such as pain relief,
detoxification, and stress injury healing (Keller, p.51). They help rejuvenate
the body, calm the mind, and improve awareness while supporting overall health
by regulating energy flow to organs and tissues, with sensitivity at a marma
point indicating potential imbalances or deeper issues (Keller, p.51). Marmani
control the flow of Prana, affecting perception, sensation, thoughts, and
emotions, and through marma chikitsa (marma therapy), they enhance
clarity of perception, focus thoughts, and promote emotional balance, allowing
the mind to recognize its limitations - facilitating the rejuvenation of
consciousness and expansion of awareness (Lad and Durve, p.33).
Marma Therapy
Both Ayurveda, the
traditional science of healing of India, and Yoga, the Vedic science of
self-realization, are rooted in the Samkhya system of cosmology, which
defines the universe through the dual principles of Purusha
(consciousness) and Prakriti (nature), with the goal being to realize
the higher Self (Purusha) by harmonizing the body and mind (Prakriti) (Frawley
et al, p.29-30). Marmani serve as energy points where these two principles of
Purusha and Prakriti interact, helping balance the body and mind and supporting
the path to self-realization (Frawley et al, p.29-30). Marma Chikitsa or marma
therapy “is living medicine, a sacred tradition, where knowledge is preserved
and grows, and continues to evolve” (Durve, Intro slides). In Ayurveda, marmani
are sensitive pressure points used for diagnosing and treating disease,
promoting health, and supporting longevity, and they play a key role in both
Ayurvedic therapies and Yoga, enhancing the effectiveness of practices
involving the body, breath, or mind by harnessing the power of Prana (Frawley
et al, p.15). “Marmani regulate the flow of prana and consequently influence
all perception, sensation, feeling, thought and emotion. With marma chikitsa,
perception becomes clearer, thoughts more focused and emotions flow more
smoothly. Marmani are sites where the mind can recognize its limitations and
misperceptions, and then allow consciousness to rejuvenate and awareness to
flower“(Lad and Durve, p.33).
The science of marmani can be
traced back to Vedic times, more than 5,000 years ago in ancient India, where
energy points were used in the martial arts to injure as well as to heal injuries
(Lad and Durve, p.19). References to marmani are found in important Hindu texts
such as the Rig-Veda and the Mahabharata, within which the Bhagavad
Gita of Sri Krisha is narrated, and we learn that warriors like
Arjuna had to protect their marmani from exposure to avoid defeat (Frawley et
al, p.27). Sushruta, an Ayurvedic
physician and “the father of surgery,” expanded on what was known of marmani
from martial arts and detailed his findings in the Sushruta Samhita, a three-volume
collection of medical books written 2000 years ago that continues to be used by
Ayurvedic Colleges and Universities today; in the Sharirasthanam section he
documented 107 marmani and their locations and energetics (Durve, intro
slides). Yogic texts written during this same period, detailing asana, pranayama
(yogic breath control), and nadis, also refer to the use of marmani (Frawley et
al., p.25). While there are 107 classical Ayurvedic marmani, Drs. Vasant Lad
and Anisha Durve name 117 principal marmani in their book Marma Points of
Ayurveda, indicating that two-thirds of the principal marmani match the
principal acupoints of Traditional Chinese medicine (p.20), while Swamis
Vishwashakti Saraswati and Omkarmurti Saraswati state in Marma Yoga: Yoga of
Pranamaya Kosha, Book 1 that there are 400 marmani in use today (p.87). Today,
marma therapy is an integral part of Ayurvedic healing techniques and practices.
Yoga as Marma Therapy
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika
states in Chapter 2, verse 5, “When all the nadis and chakras which are full of
impurities are purified, then the yogi is able to retain prana” (Muktibodhananda, p.160). Muktibodhananda clarifies
this verse by stating that in the process of awakening kundalini (latent
cosmic energy at the base of the spinal cord), the seeker must not only clear
the energy channels (nadis) but also enhance and store prana, which accumulates
in six main centers along the spine, known as chakras in the subtle body,
corresponding to nerve plexuses in the physical body (p.160-161). These
chakras, where prana and mental energy converge, and are linked by various
nadis, and play a key role in human evolution (Muktibodhananda, p.161). Chakras
are the primary pranic centers where various qualities of prana shakti are
generated and transformed, with prana flowing through the nadis to marmas,
which act as distribution points, delivering prana to the body’s organs,
systems, and processes as needed (Saraswati and Saraswati, Book 1, p.88). “We could say that the chakras are the main
marmas or pranic (energy) centers of the subtle body, which energize all the
marmas or pranic centers of the physical body” (Frawley et al, p.88). By
treating specific marmas, we can treat their respective nadis, elements,
sensory and motor organs, and other aspects connected to the chakras (Frawley
et al, p.89).
A key goal of yoga asana practice
is to enhance the flow of Prana through marma points, particularly in the
joints, clearing and energizing the marmani by improving circulation in stiff
or tense areas (Frawley, p.100). David Frawley, an American Vedic scholar,
states that “Marmas are an important factor to consider in regard to all Yoga
practices from physical postures to Pranayama and meditation. They are an
integral part of yogic thinking and the yogic understanding of both body and
mind” (p.99). Drs. Vasant Lad and Anisha Durve state, “Because each asana
stimulates several marmani, yoga can be considered a form of self-managed marma
chikitsa” (p.266). They explain that asana stimulates the marmani through the stretching
of the connective tissue which contains the marmani; through direct pressure
placed on marmani by the earth or contact with other limbs; and through the flow
of prana to marmani through the nadis (p.266). Below is a chart that describes
the impact of different types of yoga asanas on marmani.
|
Yoga Asanas |
Marma Effect |
|
Sitting poses (particularly padmasana, lotus pose) |
Close and protects marmani for meditation |
|
Twists |
Unlock prana in the marmani, especially in back, hips and shoulders |
|
Standing and extending poses |
Open and expand marmani to connect to prana |
|
Backbends |
Stimulate marma energy in the chest |
|
Forward bends |
Calm marma energy, good for back body |
|
Inversions |
Stimulate marma energy in the head, neck and upper region |
|
Table
content from Frawley et al, p.100-101 |
|
Yoga teachers often teach beginners
the standing poses to build strength before moving on the other poses. And many
beginners probably need to open and expand their marma energy to connect to
prana more than to close off marmani for meditation, for example.
There are thousands of different
yoga asanas that exist and could influence marmani, but describing all of those
is beyond the scope of this paper. However, there are some yogic practices
which stimulate the entire system of the nadis, chakras and marmas which will
be mentioned here. The first is Pawanmuktanasana, “the yogic version of
Tai Chi,” which is the most important yoga asana series in Satyananda Yoga,
based on the teachings of Paramahamsa Satyananda. Pawanmuktanasana is detailed
in the book Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha and helps practitioners of all
levels to develop awareness of the subtle effects of movement on the whole
being (Saraswati, 1996, p.21). “It is a very good preparatory practice as it
opens up all the major joints and relaxes the body” (Saraswati, 1996, p.21). While
the series of asanas, such as the anti-rheumatic, digestive, and energy
blockage groups, are typically focused on specific disorders, marma yoga
suggests that these asanas have broader effects, impacting not only physical
issues but also mental, emotional, and pranic aspects of the entire system
through the stimulation of marmas along the nadis (Saraswati and Saraswati, Book
2, p.9.). The asanas constitute a comprehensive practice of prana sadhana, harmonizing
pranic flow in the nadis (Saraswati and Saraswati, Book 2, p.11).
Another yoga sadhana that
stimulates all the nadis, chakras and marmas is Surya Namaskara (sun
salutation). There are many variations of Surya Namaskara, however, you can
reference a classical version in Asana Pranayama Mudra and Bandha
(p.161-172). Surya Namaskara is a vinyasa practice where you
traditionally flow from one pose to the next while chanting mantras to Surya
(sun). By stimulating the marmas in the upper and lower extremities, as well as
those along the central front and back nadis, we activate the entire pancha
tattwa (5 elements) and chakra system, resulting in health benefits for both
the physical and mental bodies, including all their systems, processes, and
organs (Saraswati, Book 3, p.1). Additionally, pranayama “increase[s] the flow
of prana through the chakras, nadis, and marmas” (Frawley et al, p.102). And
meditation has the power to stimulate marmas and increase prana flow by
bringing attention to different marma regions. “Those who meditate regularly
become sensitive to the condition of marmas and aware of the flow of energy
through them, which they can learn to modify through thought and will power
alone. Through developing mental concentration, meditators can learn to
energize or clear marma points, without requiring any external aids” (Frawley,
et al, p.20).
In summary, yoga is working on us in ways that we are often not aware of. We often notice the positive physical effects and maybe even the mental effects, but we may not allow ourselves the time to slow down and get quiet so that we can become more aware of the subtle effects of our practice. The more people can learn about the subtle effects of yoga sadhana practice, the more they will prioritize the time for it and amazingly, the more they will become aware of its subtle effects. While this paper is not meant to be medical advice, it is meant to provide insight into how yoga, as “self-managed marma chikitsa” can be an accessible way for people to self-heal and harmonize on all levels.
References
Frawley, Dr. David; Ranade, Dr. Subhash; Lele, Dr. Avinash.
2003. Ayurveda and Marma Therapy: Energy Points in Yogic Healing. Lotus Press.
Kindle Edition.
Haas, Dr. Nibodhi. 2014. Health and Consciousness through
Ayurveda and Yoga. Mata Amritandamayi Mission Trust.
Keller, Doug. 2010. Yoga as Therapy: Volume One
Foundations. Do Yoga Productions.
Lad, Vasant D. and Anisha Durve. 2008. Marma Points of
Ayurveda: The Energy Pathways for Healing Body, Mind and Consciousness with a
Comparison to Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Ayurvedic Press.
Muktibodhananda,
Swami. 2013. Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Yoga Publications Trust.
Schrott, Dr. Ernst, Dr. J. Ramanuja Raju, and Stefan
Schrott. 2016. Marma Therapy: The Healing Power of Ayurvedic Vital Point
Massage. Singing Dragon.
Saraswati, Swami Vishwashakti and Swami Omkarmurti Saraswati.
2020. Marma Yoga: Yoga of Pranamaya Kosha, Book 1: Psychophysiology and
Anatomy. Yoga Publications Trust.
Saraswati, Swami Vishwashakti and Swami Omkarmurti Saraswati.
2020. Marma Yoga: Yoga of Pranamaya Kosha, Book 2: Marma and Pawanmuktasana.
Yoga Publications Trust.
Saraswati, Swami Vishwashakti and Swami Omkarmurti Saraswati.
2020. Marma Yoga: Yoga of Pranamaya Kosha, Book 3: Marma and Asanas.
Yoga Publications Trust.
Saraswati,
Swami Satyananda. 1996. Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha. Yoga Publications
Trust.
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
The Wisdom Traditions of Yoga and their Role in Achieving a Sustainable World
by Rachel Ellsworth
October 20, 2019
Introduction – Defining
Sustainability
Russell Comstock, author, yoga
teacher and co-director of Metta Earth Institute, asks on his Metta Earth Blog,
“How are yoga and sustainability related? What could standing on your head and
the fate of the planet possibly have in common? Can practicing yoga help to
make the world a better place (Ashley)? This paper examines some of these questions.
In order to address the
broad topic of sustainability, a shared definition is necessary as well as an
understanding of the state of our world right now, some understanding of the
near past, and the foreseeable future. One definition I found points directly
to one of the very reasons we find ourselves in this state right now. “In short, sustainability looks to protect our natural
environment, human and ecological health, while driving innovation and not
compromising our way of life (What is Sustainability). This definition specifically mentions not
compromising our way of life, but it is this very way of life that has largely
brought us here. Another
definition comes from the Brundtland Commission, “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs (Sustainable Development).” This definition was published in a report
entitled, Our Common Future. It was
published in 1987 by the World Commission
on Environment and Development (WCED). A
third definition from the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools
(IAJBS 2006) takes the Brundtland definition one step further by improving
future generations’ ability to meet their needs:
“Meeting
this generation’s needs in ways that enhance the capacity of future generations
to meet theirs
A world that works for everyone with no one
left out (Hollwitz)”
At a UN summit in 2015, world
leaders adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the next 15
years, countries were urged to work toward ending “all forms of poverty, fight
inequalities and tackle climate change while ensuring that no one is left
behind (Yoga and Environmental).” The
goals cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth,
social inclusion and environmental protection. The new Goals recognize that
tackling climate change is essential for sustainable development and poverty
eradication. SDG 13 (take urgent action to combat climate change and its
impacts) specifically addresses climate change. The 17 goals are the following:
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. Zero hunger
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all
ages
4. Quality education
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern
energy
8. Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment
and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable
industrialization, and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality
within and among countries
11. Make cities inclusive,
safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable
consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to
combat climate change and its impacts
14. Conserve and
sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources
15. Sustainably manage
forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote just,
peaceful, and inclusive societies
17. Revitalize the global
partnership for sustainable development (Yoga for the Achievement)
I could
have just stopped with the Brundtland definition of sustainability or the IAJBS
version, but I feel that the United Nations SDGs provide a much clearer,
specific, and detailed picture of what of a sustainable world could look like.
In 1972, the United Nations
held the Conference on the Human Environment to address several global
environmental challenges. Almost ten
years later, by 1980, these challenges had not been resolved and most had actually
worsened. The divide among the poor of low-income countries of the South and
high-income countries of the North only grew. The question remains, “How do we
reduce that poverty through a more productive and industrialized economy
without worsening global and local environmental burdens? Neither the
high-income countries of the North nor the low-income countries of the South
were willing to give up economic development based on growth (UN Sustainable
Development).” That growth comes at the
high cost of environmental deterioration from pollution,
acid rain, deforestation and desertification, the destruction of the ozone
layer, to early signs of climate change even back then.
Hurting the
World, Hurting Ourselves
Around the
same time, in 1971, Pope Paul VI referred to ecological concerns as “a tragic
consequence of unchecked human activity: due to an ill-considered exploitation
of nature, humanity runs the risk of destroying it and becoming in turn a
victim of this degradation.” After him, Saint John Paul II warned in his first
encyclical that “human beings frequently seem to see no other meaning in their
natural environment than what serves for immediate use and consumption.” Pope Benedict observed that both our natural
environment and our social environment have suffered damage, “Both are
ultimately due to the same ill: the notion that there are no indisputable
truths to guide our lives, and hence human freedom is limitless.” He said that there
was a tangible need for a developmental concept that would allow reconciling
economic development with environmental protection (Pope Francis 8-9).
Pope Benedict’s remark about
there being no indisputable truths to guide our lives brings me to the idea
that there are, and they are found in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. One of
the philosophies of yoga is that we are all connected, we are not separate from
one another or from the world in which we live. Michael Stone(1974-2017), yoga
teacher, author, and activist said in his book, Yoga for a World Out of
Balance, that the techniques of yoga – “including body practices, working
with the breath, and discovering the natural east of the mind – reorient practitioners
to the very deep continuity that runs through every aspect of life until they
realize that the mind, body and breath are situated in the world and not apart
from the worldly life in any way (Yoga and Environmental).” The philosophy of yoga covers all living
beings. The same energy we feel is found in humans, animals, insects, plants
and even the smallest organisms. It is this awareness and deep understanding of
oneself as not being separate from everything else that should guide human
actions. To hurt someone or something else is to hurt yourself, because they
are one and the same.
It can be taken a step further
to include non-living things or inanimate objects. In a recorded discussion at
the U.N. (Panel discussion), Gaur Gopal Das, a former Hewlett-Packard engineer-
turned-inspirational-monk told a story about kicking a bucket. He was in a
monastery in India, studying and learning. The amenities were simple, even
primitive. They had to wash their clothes by hand. It was his turn to fill the
bucket and wash the clothes. Rather than bend down to the spigot that was low
on the wall, he just kicked the bucket under the spigot. A senior monk asked
him why he kicked the bucket. He was a little taken aback by the question.
Well, of course, he kicked the bucket to get it under the spigot. The monk
asked him again, “Why did you kick the bucket?” He answered again, this time a
bit more emphatically, that he was just trying to get the bucket under the
spigot to fill it. The monk asked him yet again. Finally, he is frustrated and
not understanding this monk’s persistence, he asks him what his problem is with
his kicking the bucket, it is not a living thing, he was hurting nothing by
doing so, he had every intention of filling it and washing the clothes. The
senior monk simply said, “It is your attitude.” For me, it calls to mind the
many times I try to explain the need to take care of your things to my own
children or to my former students when I taught Pre-K.
I cannot be sure of what that
senior monk meant when he said that to Gaur Gopal Das, but I think he was
thinking about respecting things, even inanimate things, as how we use things indirectly
affects the people who made them or the animal whose flesh, bones or skin was
used to make it, or the plant whose fruit or leaves gave it flavor, color, or
scent.
Paramguru R. Sharath Jois,
teacher and practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga, (grandson of Shri K. Pattabhi Jois,
founder of Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India) said at a
conference that yoga makes one more sensitive to the world. “Through this realization
of shared energy and common life force, we learn to respect other living beings
and understand that every animal has equal rights to live on this planet (Yoga
and Environmental).”
Sadhguru (Jaggi Vasudev), yogi,
author, and founder of the Isha Foundation, was interviewed in a UN Panel, and
he had many interesting things to say about the current state of politics,
business, and sustainability. He feels that the world has been waiting for
yoga, “otherwise people will turn to chemical means as a solution, drugs,
alcohol.” He points to the fact that drug and alcohol use was not as prevalent
just 25 years ago. The more stressed out our planet gets, the more its
inhabitants do. He said that yoga is not just about fitness and health – it is
the ultimate solution for every aspect of human existence. It is about knowing
life in its fullest way. “We need millions of yogis. Leadership, you have the privilege
of touching other people’s lives, it is especially important to work on
yourself before working on others.” He was very clear that yoga can help us
raise awareness of our roles as consumers of the planet’s resources and as
individuals with a duty to respect and live in peace with our neighbors and
maintain dignity and provide opportunity for everyone to have a sustainable
future (Yoga for the Achievement).
State or the world we
live in - Current Political Climate and Leadership
Sadghuru, in his answers to the interviewer’s
questions did not hesitate to express strong opinions about politics. The
current state of politics has me and many, many others especially concerned for
the future of our planet. We are in the midst of a global wave of right-wing
populism, starting with our own president, who has led us into four years of reversing
efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. He has sabotaged almost every effort
toward turning our economy toward a low-carbon economy. He withdrew the US from
the Paris Climate Accord, which makes the US one of only three countries to
refuse the landmark agreement. He’s working toward reversing the Clean Power
Plan, rolling back Clean Car standards, cutting federal funding that
incentivizes clean energy development, stifling climate science by removing
funding and not allowing research to be posted on governmental Web Sites, and
is systematically removing wildlife protections (Cronin).
Boris Johnson of the UK is
hardly any better. As of July 26, 2019, 71% of Britons considered the climate a
more pressing issue than Brexit, but PM Johnson has made Brexit his main focus.
He has accepted donations from the climate change denial campaign group, Global
Warming Policy Campaign. In April 2019, he suggested that Extinction Rebellion
protestors turn their attention overseas, he said to reporters ”I am not saying
for one second that the climate change activists are wrong in their concerns
for the planet – and of course there is much more that can be done. But the UK
is by no means the prime culprit, and may I respectfully suggest to the
Extinction Rebellion crew that next Earth Day they look at China, where CO2
output has not been falling, but rising vertiginously. The Chinese now produce
more CO2 than the EU and US combined and more than 60% of their power comes from
coal.” It is hard to disagree with the facts he stated about China’s output,
but he can still do more in the country he leads, rather than pointing the
finger at someone else. If he were
guided by the discipline of being truthful, he would not hide behind the darker
statistics of another country.
In his Telegraph column,
Boris condemned the advice of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change that has said we need to reduce our meat intake by writing, “Look, I
hate to be rude to the U.N. I don’t want to seem churlish in the face of advice
from a body as august and well-meaning as the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change. But if they seriously believe that I am going to give up eating
meat in the hope of reducing the temperature of the planet – then they must be
totally barmy (O’Driscoll). Every weekend, rain or shine, I suggest that we
flaunt our defiance of the UN dietary recommendations with a series of vast
Homeric barbecues.” Why? He speaks out of both sides of his mouth, respectful
of the status of the panel, but then suggesting that people do the exact
opposite of what the panel recommends as beneficial to everyone. He is not only
harming himself and the environment with his eating preferences, but he is
encouraging his constituents to do the same, and in a “vast Homeric” way.
His comments on meat-eating
pale in ignorance and avarice only in comparison to his comments on fracking,
“In their mad denunciations of fracking, the Green and the eco-warriors betray
the mindset of people who cannot bear a piece of unadulterated good news.
Beware this new technology, they wail. Do not tamper with the corsets of Gaia!
Don’t probe her loamy undergarments with so much as a finger – or else the
goddess of the earth will erupt with seismic revenge. Dig out this shale gas,
they warn, and our water will be poisoned, and our children will be stunted,
and our cattle will be victims of terrible intestinal explosions. The shale gas
discovery…is glorious news for humanity. It doesn’t need the subsidy of wind
power. I don’t know whether it will work in Britain, but we should get fracking
right away (O’Driscoll).” I
don’t even know where to start here. To compare fracking the earth to “probing
the undergarments of Gaia” is gratuitously sexist at best and demented at
worst. It is safe to say that he is not concerned with the harmful effects of
fracking, as they are clearly outweighed, in his flawed judgement, by the
benefits.
President Jair Bolsonaro of
Brazil is a self-proclaimed admirer of Trump. He has adopted very regressive
actions in the progress against deforestation of the Amazon Forest. He is a
climate- change denier. He is sacrificing major parts of the Amazon to help the
powerful Brazilian farming lobby. Cattle ranching alone accounts for 70% of
deforestation in the Amazon (Amazon rainforest). The Amazon has been likened to the
“Lungs” of our planet. It provides 20% of our planet’s oxygen. Not only does
burning them down, as Bolsonaro legalized and encouraged, reduce the production
of the world’s oxygen, but it also increases the amount of carbon dioxide being
put out, posing a further threat to human health and aggravating global
warming. As a response to international
criticism of his policies and to his own government’s scientific agencies, he
has advised those concerned about global warming to “eat and defecate less,”
because that should collectively bring down emissions (Ishaan). Sadly, and
shamefully, his direct quote was, “It’s enough to eat a little less. You talk
about environmental pollution. It’s enough to poop every other day. That will
be better for the whole world (Eat less).” His policies directly and indirectly
harm the entire world.
Yoga and Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutras, Yamas, and Niyamas
Yoga can inform our leaders as
well as individuals, not with a list of dos and don’ts, or a prescription of
exercises, or a plan for training the mind. All those things are part of it,
but taken together …studied, practiced and lived, yoga can be a powerful tool
for transformation, when necessary, and a powerful tool for living, always. Simon Haas, author and teacher of yoga
philosophy, emphasized at a UN panel discussion the importance of having
outstanding leadership. His book The Book of Dharma discusses how, if
our leaders applied the yamas and niyamas, they would have an
effective guide to life. He calls them habits of excellence. Haas believes we
are aligned with the hidden laws of life, and those laws govern sustainability.
They are not the Ten Commandments or the 613 mitzvot of the Torah or
Sharia Law of Islam. They are not religious in nature. They are universal principles;
they don’t belong to any one nation or tradition (Panel discussion)” On the 3rd International Day of
yoga, Sadhguru was interviewed by an Indian news channel, where he said that
“Yoga is not Indian, it is like saying gravity is Jewish.” Some critics of Sadhguru had taken issue with
this analogy, saying that yoga is Indian, as it has its origins in Hinduism.
But I think that Sadhguru is saying that yoga affects everyone just as gravity
affects everyone. I think the analogy has to do with yoga and gravity both
being backed by science – and the science is universal.
A mythological sage in northern
India, Patanjali, codified the practice of yoga sometime between the 3rd
century BCE to the turn of that millennium. Not much is known about him.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is considered one of the seminal texts of yoga
tradition. It is best known for describing the path of yoga (raja yoga) by discussing
interrelated limbs of practice known as Ashtanga yoga. (Asta = eight, anga =
limb), the eight-limbed path of yoga (Stone 12). This paper will focus on parts of the first two
of the eight limbs, keeping in mind that they are all interrelated. The first
of the limbs is yamas or external restraint. This has to do with the
clarification of one’s relationship of the human to non-human world. It is
divided into five guidelines:
1. Ahimsa
– not harming, nonviolence, not having the intention to cause injury
2. Satya
– honesty, being truthful
3. Asteya
– not taking what is not freely given, not stealing
4. Brahmarcarya
– wise use of energy, including sexual energy
5. Aparigraha
– not being acquisitive, not being greedy, not accumulating what is not
essential (Stone 14)
The second of the eight limbs is
niyamas, which encompass the internal disciplines. They are also divided
into five guidelines:
1. Sauca
– purification
2. Santosha
– contentment
3. Tapas
– fervor, discipline
4. Svadhyaya
- self-study
5. Ishvara-pranidhana
– dedication to the ideal of pure awareness
Michael Stone had a teacher who
told him that the yamas and niyamas are not what you should not
do, but instead what you should do. “The yamas are practical, there is
nothing holy in their practice (Stone 14).” Russell Comstock, in his book, Metta
Earth Yoga, gave practical examples addressing the connection between
sustainability and yoga even. “Yoga teaches us to care for our bodies, we learn
to breather more fully, developing an awareness of the importance of air
quality. We begin to make choices that support clean air for all. In a similar
way, in practicing yoga, we become more aware of the goods we eat and how what
we eat affects our energy and health. We
may choose to buy fresher more locally grown foods as we become aware of the
correlation between freshness and taste. Our choices affect producers as to how
and what they produce. The practice of yoga generates new habits of thinking,
and the fate of our world is dependent upon creative, new initiatives for
long-term survival (Comstock 37).”
Restraint and Duhkham
Restraint seems to be a part of
more than one of the yamas and the niyamas. Eddie Stern, who
studied under Sri. K Pattabhi Jois, is a yoga teacher, author and lecturer. He
quoted his rabbi, Mendel Jacobson, regarding restraint. “He said that according
to the Kabbalah, rain is described as restraint. Restraint breaks water up into
raindrops; if there were no restraint, rain would be one huge drop, a deluge,
an endless wall of water, and the universe would be drowned in it. God’s
restraint allows for diverse manifestation and, because of this diversity, a
freshness and openness of mind. Without the freshness of every new day, we live
in a box, which is a kind of hell; but to live in no box is to live in freedom.
Restraint is necessary for existence because it leads to freedom (Stern 112).”
Michael Stone states that yoga
provides us with a guideline for how to live in the world as if it were our
very self, “because at bottom, that is exactly how nature operates. There is no
separation. A body of water cannot vote and neither can a rain forest. Yoga challenges
us to move into a world guided by nonviolent means and remain grounded in a
spiritual practice rooted in honest responsive action (Stone 84-85).”
In A World Out of
Balance, Stone says about the yamas, “When we begin with the five
yamas, our yoga practice grows roots in the intricate and infinite web of
living relationships and thus presses the yoga practitioner not to turn away
from the world but to turn into and be tuned by the life of relational existence.”
He also says of Patanjali’s first limb of yoga, “that it is your very own limb,
your small intestine, your lungs, your very air. (Stone 21)” Patanjali teaches
a path of freedom. His teachings are inclusive because his description of
awakening includes being part of the world rather than leaving it. Letting go
of the idea of self is liberating. The awakening he describes is a reality of
interconnectedness. “Awakening without ethical action is only partial
enlightenment; when the beasts of real war head home, when we find utter
violence within our ourselves, our communities, and families, when we are no
longer drunk on shopping, what are we to do (Stone 20)?”
Michael Stone also
addresses the idea of self-control, (asteya and aparigraha). He
thinks the root of our preoccupation with material things is existential in
nature. “We are born into a life structured by death.” How does one overcome
that? He explains that consuming things that we don’t need or necessarily even
want offers the “dissatisfied mind a temporary and elusive grasp on reality.
When our lives are motivated by a desire to find security in external objects
or to ground ourselves through the accumulation of wealth, we lose touch with
the fact that these superficial symbols are only representations of what is
important. What needs are such purchases trying to fill? The reality of our
spiritual hunger shines through statistics of global inequality and the
wealth-poverty divide. What are we hungry for (Stone 84)?”
Mr. Stone refers to “lack”
as a motivator for human choices and ambitions.
It is a sense of being unsatisfied. Patanjali refers to this as Duhkha.
The word literally means “tightness or constriction in the chest or the heart
area (Holcombe).” In the Yoga Sutras,
Patanjali uses the word, duhkham to describe all disturbances in our
equilibrium. Everything from upset, angry, anxious, sad, unhappy or devastated
– it is all duhkham. In Sutra II.15, Patanjali outlines the causes of
duhkham, or suffering. The first is parinama, or change: You suffer when
your circumstances change in a way that negatively affects you, such as losing
a job or having to move. The second is tapas/tapah, or longing: You
suffer when you want something you don't have; a promotion, an item, anything
else you long for. The third cause is samskara, or habit: You suffer
when you knowingly or unknowingly repeat patterns or behaviors that don't serve
you or that cause you harm (Holcombe).
Tapah/tapas can be what Mr. Stone refers to as
lack or wanting. Patanjali says “Freedom from wanting unlocks the real purpose
of existence Yoga Sutra 2.39 (Stone 39).”
The wanting of more money
is universally pervasive. Instead of being aware of the want, we focus on the
money itself. We want more money because of what it represents, possible
security in the future. “Money, at a symbolic level, describes what we most
want and most fear and is instrumental in reinforcing individual and collective
patterns of lack and compulsion (Stone 45).”
Stone describes the numbing effect of money as the
symbolism of it becomes so physical, we enter numb states while shopping. “The
satisfaction from shopping is powerful but fleeting. People describe almost
becoming numb, not being able to feel anything. When we try to ground ourselves
through shopping and distraction, we are actually trying to connect with a
deeper sense of who we are and our place in the world. But we are moving in the
wrong direction. Intimacy arrives when renunciation occurs, not through
accumulation and the duress of obsessive fixation, but through participating in
what is happening here and now (Stone 45).”
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Michael Stone briefly referenced the book Silent
Spring by Rachel Carson, which led me down yet another rabbit hole of
research, in a good way. I didn’t
understand what about this book he was using as an example. After reading what The Routledge Companion
to Organizational Change had to say about this seminal book, I understood
his reference and saw more connections. In discussing this sensation of lack or
this wanting, Michael Stone describes understanding a relationship between
filling our sense of lack and getting stuck in endless egoistic desires and how
it becomes difficult to be tuned in to the birdsong and the rivers, to our
lovers and our friends. “The unconscious
actions we’ve taken have created disastrous effects in the ecological,
psychological, and economic spheres,” Rachel Carson says on the writing of Silent Spring,
“I think I let you see last summer what my deeper feelings are about this when
I said I could never again listen happily to a thrush song if I had not done
all I could. And last night the thought of all the birds and other creatures
and all the loveliness that is in nature came to me with such a surge of deep
happiness, that now I had done what I could
- I had been able to complete it – now It had its own life.” She wrote this in a letter to a close friend
on the completion of that book. Rachel Carson represents what Michael Stone
describes in understanding the interconnectedness of ourselves and the world in
which we live. She also represents the kind of leadership that Simon Haas calls
for in The Book of Dharma, and finally, or maybe first, she represents
the kind of individual that Sadghuru describes when he says big change, by
necessity, starts with individual change. The publishing of this book by Rachel
Carson has a very interesting backstory. With Silent Spring, Carson
spoke for beings who could not speak (mammals, birds, reptiles, even spiders),
some of whom were nearly extinct. She wrote in a strong, active, confident
voice – her voice represented the many voices of biologists, field scientists,
naturalists, ecologists, and bird lovers. She had powerful supporters. She put
together the voices of many different people to present evidence of what the
reckless, large-scale applications of pesticides across the country were doing
to harm not only the insects at which they were aimed, but also to birds, fish,
and human beings. She had a network of scholars in many fields all over the
world – she created an alliance of scientists, naturalists, journalists, and
activists committed to helping her document environmental abuses. She drew on
this polyphonic organization to write Silent Spring. The publication of Silent
Spring was met with many attempts to silence, discredit, and discount
Carson’s voice by the very powerful multimillion-dollar industrial chemical
industry that profited from pesticide applications. They tried to discredit her with name-calling
– calling her a “bird and bunny lover”, a “woman who kept cats,” a “romantic
‘spinster’ who was simply overwrought about genetics” and a “woman out of
control” who had overstepped the bounds of her gender and her science.” This
industry spent a quarter of a million dollars (in 1962) to discredit her
research and malign her character… In the end, attempts by the chemical
industry, politicians, and some government scientists to suppress, marginalize,
and trivialize and discredit her work were unsuccessful. A lone woman
biologist, not a Ph.D., speaking out on behalf of the environment and all who
were a part of it, confronted a powerful industry that was a partner to the
dominant scientific establishment of chemists and physicists as well as
government bureaucrats with a narrow vision, those who wished to eradicate pests
and not care about the
consequences. In polyphonic organization
systems, just as the word suggests, many voices are utilized versus the
homophonic system, which is no longer practiced. Rachel Carson did just that. She had an
elaborate, extensive, broad network of experts from a variety of fields from
which to make her conclusions and present her case (Boje 472-474). This interconnectedness is yoga, all these
people from various fields working together for a common goal without ego is
what Simon Haas describes as sound leadership. Her taking it upon herself while
fighting metastisized breast cancer is Sadghuru’s belief that big change comes
from an individual changing first, then many individuals following suit (Boje
472-474).
Prithvi
Sukta
For Simon Haas, author, speaker
and teacher of yoga philosophy, the yama of ahimsa is part of his
non-violence yoga principle. He focuses on
four of the yamas and niyamas that he feels are especially
important for decision-making, and they are truth (satya), purity (bramacarya),
non-violence (ahimsa), and discipline (tapas). Each of these four
is a sutra, which literally means “tip of a thread.” He likens each to a
roll of scotch tape, and the process of finding the end of the roll so you can
use it. “We have to unroll these spools in our own life (Panel discussion).” Mr. Haas describes non-violence as the
most important of the yamas. And he went further to say that aggression to
earth is the greatest form of violence because it hurts all people. He
referenced the Prithvi Sukta from the Atharva Veda, one of
the four Vedas, a large body of religious texts from ancient India,
possibly originating in 1200 to 1000 BC. It is a hymn to the Earth. He quoted “What,
O Earth, I dig out of thee, quickly shall that grow again:
may I not, O pure one, pierce
thy vital spot, (and) not thy heart! (Prithvi Sukta)
In 2012, the Vice President of India released a book on
the Prithvi Sukta written by the then Secretary, Shri N.C. Joshi. He
went on to give what he described as a layman’s version of its significance to
the modern world, “Understanding the treasures of planet earth and means to
exploit and utilise them in a sustainable manner has been central to human
civilization. Our earth system with its complex inter-linkages between the
atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere and the ecosphere provide us with
water and land resources, ecological, water and energy resources. The Atharva
Veda, and its Prithvi Sukta, has an entire hymn of sixty-three
verses dedicated to Mother Earth. It indeed contains essential principles of
life, environmental sustainability, peaceful coexistence and resultant
multicultural approaches (Sanjay).” He
went on to read Verses 1 to 29. The verse quoted above is Verse 35. The Vice President of India felt strongly that
Verses 1 to 29 are particularly relevant to our “troubled times of strife and
conflict.” This release occurred on May
10, 2012.
Comstock also references the Prithvi Sukta. The Prithvi Sukta exalts the beauty
and abundance of the Earth: “O Mother Earth! Sacred are thy hills, snowy
mountains, and deep forest. Be kind to us and bestow upon us happiness. May you
be fertile, arable, and nourisher of all. May you continue supporting people of
all races and nations. May you protect us from your anger. And may no one
exploit and subjugate your children.”
This hymn has sixty-three
verses offering valuable guidance for the relationship we humans must maintain
to preserve balance on earth (Comstock 14).
How Can we Apply Yoga to
Achieve Transformation
Karen Green from
Evergreen State College, a dean at ESC, conducted experiments while teaching by
combining yogic tests like the Yoga Sutra with community efforts in
sustainable living. She helped develop a
practice-based approach to help motivate students to work for change, to
develop awareness-practice skills, skills in self-observation, and meditation
techniques. She drew from both the practice principles in the Yoga Sutras
as well as the service message in the Bhagavad Gita, and Gandhi’s Autobiography:
My Experiment with Truth.
As part of her course,
“Sustainable from the Inside Out,” she incorporated the yamas and the niyamas.
These first two limbs have “direct implications for sustainable practices today
(Gaul).”
Ahimsa/Non-harm – This
is considered in every choice throughout the day: how can we cause the least
harm through food and transportation choices for example, or the many ways we
interact with others, ourselves, and the world?
Gaur Gopal Das talks
about yoga as a system that can be a solution to global problems. He broke the yamas
and the niyamas down into three dimensions or three “s’s” – sensitivity,
self-control, and spiritual process. When he describes sensitivity, he
addresses ahimsa. He said that we need to be sensitive to interests,
concerns, feelings, everything, life at large, trees, rivers, Mother Earth,
Mother Ganges, Mother Cow. Deal with them as living things with feeling,
personality, dignity, respect and honor – even inanimate objects (like his bucket!)
He said that “things are
meant to be used and people loved.” Instead we cherish things and use people,
animals, plants to get more things. Yoga can be instrumental in the process of
personal transformation in that yoga influences thought, which in turn
influences words, then actions, which become habits, habits turn into
character, and finally character into destiny (Panel Discussion).” (His words
echo Russell Comstock’s.) According to Das, we have to change thinking first.
He proposed an interesting challenge, which was to imagine teaching this
globally! I think not just globally, but also early. Why not start at a very
young age? Why not make it part of the
early childhood teaching curriculum?
The second dimension or
“S” is self-control, which as he describes it, seems to address both asteya
and aparigraha. According to Das,
besides asanas and pranayama, yoga is the art of self-control. “We have become servants and slaves to our
mind. What if we learn to control our mind?” Lack of self-control makes us
greedy consumers. “When we are slaves to our mind, we are consumers, when we
are masters of our mind, we are contributors.
We need to be responsible in our consuming and producing habits. He
wisely suggests “before looking for external solutions, look internally (Panel
Discussion).”
And finally, Das’s third
dimension or “S” is spiritual process. Yoga can lead to people being powerful
contributors, selfless givers. This
might be more appropriately placed in the category of svadhyaya,
self-study, but I think it relates to tapas also. If you say you are
going to do something, do it. He used an interested analogy of being more like
a candle than an ice cream cone. With ice cream, go ahead and enjoy it before
it melts away. He says to be a candle rather than an ice cream cone. Both melt
away, but the candle gives light as it is melting (Yoga for the Achievement).
I started the paper with Russell Comstock’s question about how
yoga and sustainability are connected. I come back now to his practices. He has
founded a place called The Metta Earth Institute in Vermont. He calls his
particular practice of yoga “Metta Earth Yoga,” and describes it as
“contemplative ecological practices for a sustainable future.” Comstock traces back the ecological principles
and philosophies of yoga to the ancient Indian spiritual texts known as the Vedas.
They are considered the oldest known spiritual texts in the world. The Vedas provide specific guidance on
how to conduct a particular action or achieve a desired result. The four
volumes cover information from topics as broad as religion, philosophy,
agriculture, music, anatomy, etc. Many passages in these texts that form the
foundation for yoga consider all sentient beings as an equal part of this
universe, which is exactly what Sharath Jois said in conference. “Therefore, it
is taught, sentient beings should be afforded equal regard with respect to
their sanctity (Comstock 13).”
Comstock comments on a main theme in the Bhagavad-Gita
(literally translated The Song of the Blessed Lord) that the Supreme Being
resides in all. This idea is also supported in the Srimad Bhagavata
Mahapurna, a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, It states in book 2,
discourse 2, verse 41 that “ether, air, fire, earth, planets all creatures,
directions, trees and plants, rivers and seas , they all are organs of God’s
body; remembering this, a devotee respects all species. These commentaries clearly
put yoga in the realm of ecology.
In the Bhagavad Gita, “Lord Krsna teaches…that
only those actions are worthy and valuable that contribute to the welfare of
the whole world, with all living beings in it.” That sounds very much like the
goals of the SDGs. These traditional
texts all contain references to an interdependent relationship with nature
(Comstock 13-14).
Comstock points out that in Patanjali’s first sutra
“Thus precedes yoga as I have observed it in the natural world.” Comstock
interprets this as Patanjali implying that nature was not only an integral part
of a yogi’s life, but that it provided the very means for realizing our union
with the divine. The body was seen as a microcosm of the universe. Breath
became wind, our circulation paralleled the rivers, and flesh and bone aligned
with the element of earth. The fact that many traditional yogic postures mimic
the appearance and evoke the energies of animals and other elements of nature further
confirms the role nature has played in the development of yoga (Comstock 15). The Hatha Yoga Master, BKS Iyengar said, “While performing asanas, the student’s
body assumes numerous forms of life found in creation – from the lowliest
insect to the most perfect sage – and he learns that in all these there
breathes the same Universal Spirit – the spirit of God (Comstock 56).”
Comstock explains the
connection between yoga and sustainability much the same way as Stone, Sadhguru,
and Gaur Gopal Das…yoga teaches us to care for our bodies, make good choices,
breather more fully and to appreciate the exchange of oxygen molecules that
support the entire biosphere. With that knowledge, we begin to make choices
that support clean air for all. In the same way, we become more aware of the
foods we eat and how our diet affects overall energy and health. What we choose to eat affects the
marketplace, which has an impact on the producers, and in turn the environment
in which those companies operate. In
these ways, yoga changes us as individuals, but also affects the wider world in
which we live (Comstock 37).
Comstock
outlines a very earth /nature focused form of yoga practice. His practices are
based on the premise that there are inherent parallels between the nature of
ourselves and the nature that we observe outside of us. “Individually and collectively, these
practices open us to our embedded interdependence with all of life. We see that
we are not separate and then cultivate an attitude of compassion and an ethic
of care for the delicate web of life (Comstock 37).”
“Eco-yoga has a healing
aspect to it, to heal ourselves, to heal others, to heal the planet, said
Henryk Skolimowski, author of EcoYoga (Comstock 37).”
Comstock’s method involves eleven
practices:
1. Eco-pranayama: He recommends practicing Ujjayi
Pranayama, a breathing technique
referred to as “ocean sounding breath.” He recommends incorporating the
elemental sounds around you into your awareness – preferably outdoors. He uses
the example of being near an ocean, or a stream, or a breeze, or the sound of a
cicada. Basically, any natural, cyclical sound will work. Breathe in with a
wave coming in, breath out as it recedes. Align your breath with some element
of nature around you (Comstock 41).
2. Natural Listening:
He recommends developing a listening practice. Find a quiet, peaceful,
undisturbed setting to quiet the mind and explore open-ended questions,
consciously releasing any need to know the outcome or answer. Just listen. Try
not to analyze.
3. Elemental Body Scanning: Lie or sit comfortably
on the ground. He highly recommends being in direct contact with the soil,
rock, sand, moss or leaves. Start by noticing how your body comes into contact
with the ground, how it feels. Gradually bring your awareness to the
surrounding environment.
4. Universal Drishti: He recommends starting by
gazing into a candle. Place all your awareness on the flame. Then focus on a
single point within the flame even though the flickering is in continual
motion. Re-engage your peripheral vision
and start to notice the shapes, colors, and images around you. Stay on the edge
of strong focus and soft focus on the identity and forms in the periphery, then
try this same process outdoors.
5. Silent Nature Walking: Set an intention. Establish a slow and deliberate pace. Allow
nature to enter your experience.
6. Bhakti
Altars: A variation on Silent Nature Walking
7. Planetary Asana: With Planetary Asana, Comstock
chooses Utkatasana, Dhanurasana, Halasana and Matsyasana as four examples of many
possible asanas that connect the personal body to the body of the Earth. The
more aware you become of your body and its sensations, the more compassion you
naturally feel for our larger body of the earth. Sutra 11.46 addresses
the practice of asana this way sthira sukham asanam – “The connection to
the earth should be steady and joyful (Comstock 61).”
8. Earth Savasana: He recommends doing this with a
partner. Essentially, it is savasana on the sand, straw, or even snow. You make
a depression in the sand (or whatever the medium is), and you position yourself
in the recess.
9. Gaia Meditation: Comstock wrote the most
extensively of all his steps on meditation. He said that in Eastern thought,
“all manifest reality is a result of the causal realm of thought. If this is
true then we might want to consider paying more attention to the truth behind
our thinking (Comstock 65)” He
also says, “When we accept as truth the idea that our thoughts shape our
reality, as we are told by countless
meditation masters, and as is so eloquently portrayed in documentaries…, then
we begin to take on an entirely new level of personal responsibility for the
world we have helped to create. We no longer see ourselves as separate from or
above the chaos and suffering, but rather as part of it. This shift in
consciousness allows us to then focus our attention on the change we want to
see (Comstock 68).”
10. Global Centering: This is a practice of
grounding in place. It activates your sense
of belonging through the process of inquiry. Look deeply into the qualities of
interrelationship that are expressed within the natural world, we can gain
insight into our relationship with nature as well (Comstock 70).
11.Gaia Nadam: This is the practice of chanting.
“Chanting awakens the joy of life.” Says Comstock (Comstock 72). He had an interesting way of thinking about
the Sanskrit seed sound of OM. “I like to think of the sacred sound of OM in
the following way: when we are inspired by something the sound we make is
“ahh”; when we encounter something mysterious we say “ohh”; and when we smell,
eat or experience something that is delicious we respond by toning “mm.” Put together,
these sounds convey the quintessential energy of reality – inspiring,
mysterious, and delicious. He also
explained some of the unique qualities of Sanskrit as a language and tool for
chanting. Sanskrit literally means “perfected or polished form”. “Linguists consider
it unusual in that it conveys and invokes its meaning.” (The sound of the word
brings about the feeling of the word) Comstock described it, “Sanskrit emanates
spirit via its vibration (Comstock 12).” One of my yoga teachers asked us to break up
the sounds of OM similarly and pay attention to where in our bodies it
resonated most, where did it vibrate? The “ahh” vibrates in the chest/heart,
the “ohh” resonates in your throat, and the “mm” resonated in your mouth. It
really made the power, the energy of that sound become very clear and tangible.
Stone, Sadghuru, et al and
Changing the Patterns of Consumption and Production
Michael Stone talks about a culture of consumption
or connection. We assume that some kind of natural law will take care of
everyone and the effects of their actions. That natural law could be science,
or economics, or government policy, or, just the belief that if we listen to our
conscience, we won’t be exploitative of others or ourselves. Unfortunately,
none of these assumptions are true. “Human actions and economic policies have,
over the last several centuries, been determined by calculations of cost and
expense, profit and loss, risk and benefit, which all aim to “optimize” the
means that pertain to a specific end: growth and profit. But a real response to
the reality of inequality must also come from the heart, not the two-column
accounting system; otherwise we just keep bumping into ourselves. The two-column
accounting system does not measure accountability, social responsibility, or ecological
effect., and so on. Thus, it does not account for real costs. “Karma teaches us
that the first measure of accounting for our actions is in terms of
consequences. Since we are always discovering new ends and means to consume and
produce, we need to continually look at the consequences of our actions.
Unrestrained materialism and ecological integrity exist in an absolute
contradiction. We cannot continue to
consume and produce at the rate we are now. The result is a steady erosion of
our well-being and the earth’s delicate and complex balance. The root of the
degradation is the endlessly invasive and expansive force of capital, gnawing
away at the threads of ecological integrity and exceeding, with its inexorable
pressure to expand, the earth’s capacity to deal with ecological
destabilization. We are greedy, and to deal with our sense of lack and
disconnectedness, we pursue the accumulation of capital to try and ground us.
We seek retirement security and other forms of financial safety in order to
make us feel grounded. But where does it end? We shouldn’t squander our
resources and creative capacities in distraction and aversion – we can
certainly wake up with more heartfelt and creative responses to our global and personal
ills and reverse the tide of frenzied self-destruction. In stillness we can reconfigure our
intentions and return to what is life-affirming. The yamas are not some
final arbiter of right and wrong – we all are (Stone 60-61).
What I found especially interesting
about Michael Stone’s perspective is that he was a trained
psychotherapist. He mentions the long
history of integrating ethics, psychology and spirituality. He studied and
taught the ethics and meditative techniques described in Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutras, “continually oscillating between ethics as a set of guidelines and
ethics as a visceral expression of nonduality. He explains that one of the
biggest differences between Western psychotherapy and Yoga teachings is that
Yoga begins with ethics. In western psychology, a profession that helps people
decide how to take action, therapists are not required to study, practice or
express their personal ethical guidelines.
That was an eye-opening observation. I agree with him that ethics is
possibly one of the most neglected topics in our contemporary culture, as
though it has somehow gone out of fashion, or become gauche, trivial. Some of our current world leaders, three of
whom I mentioned earlier in the paper, are not only not censured for acting
unethically, but in some ways, by some
people, their actions are seen as acceptable, even “smart business.“ Ramana
Maharshi described ethical action and union with the world as one and the same.
He compares the yogi with a bucket in a well: I is water with water all around
(Stone 29).”
Stone says “Our ethical
traditions certainly know how to deal with one issue at a time, and we also
have knowledge bases that can deal with suicide and homicide, but we as of now
have no strong approach in dealing with biocide-the devastating and
irreversible collapse of the major living systems of this planet (Stone 32).”
Yoga describes the unity
of all relations. The dividing of the world into “me” and “that” is a human action. Michael Stone describes a loop that took me a
few times of reading to finally, possibly, understand it, “The kind of action
we take in relations to the natural world, to each other, and to ourselves
determines the kind of world we perceive; the way we perceive in turn
influences the way we organize our experiences, our decisions to act, and
ultimately the kind of world we live in. Action and perception create an
infinite feedback loop we call karma. Social and ecological engagement,
psychology and spiritual practice are not separate paths. At base, the yamas describe
responsiveness born of realization. From this perspective, social or ecological
action is actually what and who you are (Stone 35).” Basically, how we act
influences how we perceive, and how we perceive influences how we act. Just
another example of unity. (Stone 36).
Srinivisan, a senior teacher of Sivananda Yoga, spoke at a UN panel regarding the
SDGs. He talked about yoga being
experiential. As people practice yoga, they take responsibility for their
health. He described a switch that takes place when people start to relax by
breathing in a conscious way. The improved physical balance creates the space
for emotional balance too. People want to come back to it. It’s not hard then to
see the world as our own body. Then asking yourself whether your action or
decision is a healthy or a selfish decision becomes more second-nature. He
believes a paradigm shift is possible as yoga helps people realize that health
is happiness, balance is happiness, honouring life and nature is sacred.
Instead of what’s in it for me? It’s more of how taking care of others also
brings me happiness (Panel Discussion).
Dr. Kusumita Pedersen, Professor Emeritus of
Religious Studies at St. Francis University, was also a part of the UN Panel.
She described ahimsa as an ethical norm. It’s about not harming in
action, word and thought. It also means not standing by when something/someone
else is being harmed. Therefore, we cannot ignore climate change. For satya,
you have to not only tell the truth, but also seek it. It means not tolerating
someone else’s falsehoods. Again, we cannot ignore climate change. It is our
duty to look for the truth. Learn and understand what is actually happening.
There is no room for apathy. For asteya, non-stealing, we should not
“priveledge” ourselves of resources not available to others. We can’t steal
resources and security from others. We should not steal the future from those
yet to come, which is what the Brundtland and the IAJBS definitions of
sustainability stressed. Brahmacarya is related to the SDGs in that
restraint and regulation of life-energy enable us to address over-consumption
and overpopulation. Aparigraha, non-possessiveness, is applicable to
consumption and greed, and also prescribes that money and economic
considerations can’t be the dominant factor when making decisions. She believes that meditation is what helps
people perceive the oneness of all existence. Knowing this and feeling this
naturally leads to compassion and love for all beings. This is widely accepted
across yoga traditions (Panel discussion).
Dr. Pedersen described a few initiatives or programs
directly related to yoga and the environment. 1. Green Yoga – Founded by
Laura Cornell, Ph. D. in Emeryville, California “dedicated to fostering
ecological consciousness, reverence, and action in the yoga community.” The
Association is made up mostly of volunteers who focus on raising awareness in
the yoga community about how practicing ahimsa to the earth is central
to the teachings of yoga.
2. Yogaville
Environmental Solutions (YES) initiative – At Satchidananda Ashram in
Yogaville, Virginia, students of Swami Satchidananda practice Integral Yoga and
work on YES initiatives. They run their facilities on solar energy according to
GreenFaith standards, they are vegetarian following the teaching of Swami
Satchidananda of love for all beings and duty towards Nature. They also formed
an interfaith environmental justice coalition to oppose the Atlantic Coast
Pipeline, which is largely routed through communities of people of color. It
would have destructive effects on well water, biodiversity, and on the land where people have lived for
generations.
3. The Govardhan
EcoVillage in the mountains of Maharashtra, north of Mumbai – this is a
100-acre community of practitioners of Bhakti Yoga. It was founded by Radhanath
Swami, a senior teacher in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON). It has several scientifically rigorous, leading-edge environmental
programs – solar energy, energy conservation, building construction that
reduces carbon footprint, and sustainable agriculture. It’s not just the
EcoVillage that implements all these practices. It’s all of ISKCON’s temples,
centers, and restaurants (more than 40 eco-villages or organic farms). “As
Krishna has said in the Bhagavad Gita, we must act to maintain the right
order of the world (3.20).” and “Yoga is skill in action (2.50) (Pedersen).”
When
Eddie Stern was asked to speak at the UN, he mentioned the physical,
subtle and bliss bodies of the Taittiriya Upanishad. Yoga brings a new
awareness to your body. And the Upanishad specifically mentions the
Earth, trees, ground and air as our extended physical body. He basically
reiterates that there is no distinction between our own bodies and the
environment, and that practicing yoga begins to shift our perception to where
we understand that. He also used the example of how many of the asanas imitate
animal forms, or geologic forms, geometric forms, the eyes of a turtle, tree,
wind. You start to feel a likeness to these other beings. We crave connection
as human beings, we want to expand consciousness, to understand who we are. We
are drawn to yoga, tai chi, qi gong. Mr. Stern discussed a “bottom-up” approach
to self-transformation versus top-down. Top-down would involve pre-frontal
meditation, neural networking, emotional, then physiological. In Mr. Stern’s
bottom-up approach, he describes starting with asana, then pranayama,
breathing, which in turn affects digestion and sleep, the nervous system, heart
rate, the autonomic functions. The connection to your survival functions stop when
you do exercise, you can stop or slow your breathing to get into a place to
explore who you are, we move away from the fear of death. We down-regulate, we
feel content, and when we are content, we don’t cause harm to other things. The
greed naturally begins to settle down.
We become convinced that what we are doing is the right thing. He
discussed what he called a closed feedback loop of Patanjali’s 20th Yoga
Sutra2 (Stern): Sraddha – conviction, Virya – vitality,
Smrti- memory, Samadhi – concentration, and Prajna –
awareness. The same way we take care of our bodies is how we need to take care
of the earth (Panel Discussion).
I mentioned Sadhguru earlier in the paper regarding
his opinions on the current political climate. He is very active on the
sustainability front. He founded the Isha Foundation in South India. The Isha
Foundation began Project Green hands which is a grassroots ecological
initiative to reverse some of the ecological damage done to South India. As of
his talk at the UN (June 2019), the 2 million volunteers of Green Hands have
planted 35 million saplings. Their stated goal is to plant 114 million trees in
the shortest amount of time possible. Their vision is to “plant trees, develop
a culture of care towards the environment, and re-establish their connection
with nature (Sadhguru).” The
project was started in an effort to reverse the desertification that was
happening in Tamil Nadu in South India. Sadhguru’s aim was not just to plant
more trees in an effort to reverse desertification and soil erosion, but to
restore self-sufficiency to the people living there, to recreate
sustainability, and to survive climate change through education and
agroforestry initiatives.
Sadhguru was an especially vocal member of the UN
discussion, not just regarding politics, but economics as well and how it
pertains to sustainability. Basically, he believes that in order to make the
large-scale changes needed to achieve sustainability, we have to start with
transforming as individuals. “To transform the world, we have to transform as
individuals. The world is us. Transform individuals on a large scale (Yoga for
the Achievement).”
To Sadhguru, the world is
just a larger manifestation of who we are. As humans, we have a fundamental
longing for health, we live in search of human well-being. Of the last 100 years, we are the most
comfortable generation ever. But that comfort has come at a price. He talked
about yoga as union, but also as a scientific way of obliterating the
boundaries of your individuality – of your individual nature. Yoga is an
experience of life as a larger possibility, not just this physical expression.
We breathe the same air, we are the product of the same earth, not
intellectually, not ideologically, but as living beings.
He recognizes that the rich don’t want to share. Humans
are not ready for communism or socialism, so we are left with a market
economy. Businesses need to be run in a
more responsible way, in a more inclusive way. Right now, businesses are run
just for profit, just short term. Instead, we need to have businesses that make
the customer their partner. The capitalist way does not have to mean disparity.
For every dollar of government investment there is $7 from private
investment. He asks, “How do we use yoga
to yoke in the private corporations that are looking just at their bottom line
to end up having development that is fair and just (Yoga for the Achievement)?”
The most influential
leadership used to be religions, then the military, then elected officials. Now
it is business leaders. The good thing about this, according to Sadhguru, is
that a businessman will always make a deal. It is only sustainable if it is
beneficial to both parties. The business leaders have to operate more than from
personal ambitions to a larger vision. How to make a difference versus how to
just make a profit.
Human aspiration for wellbeing will have to have logical
answers. The world has been waiting for yoga. The science of yoga is not just
about fitness and health – it is the ultimate solution for every aspect of
human existence, knowing life in its fullest way. Sadhguru believes that we are
in perpetual search for human wellbeing as humans, we have a fundamental
longing for health. We are intimately connected to nature. He used the example
of trees and blurring the line between people and the natural world. What
people breathe out, the trees breathe in, what we breathe in, the trees breathe
out. Essentially one half of our breathing apparatus is the trees. And
President Bolsonaro is burning them down.
Rajiv Lulla of IBM at the same UN conference addressed
the importance of leaders, gurus. When asked in what way a guru is relevant, he
described how “these gurus do these treks in the Himalayas – you follow the
guru if you want to come back, otherwise you are lost. When walking in
uncharted terrain, you follow that illiterate Sherpa, he knows the terrain.
Best to walk with someone who has already walked the path (Panel Discussion).”
Yoga can affect individual
transformation organically by the changes that naturally happen as you take
care of your body with asanas, and mind with meditation and chanting, and
breathing with pranayama, and begin to see the connections between your body
and the environment you live in, and then even those connections fall away as
you realize there is no difference between your body and the world. They are
one and the same. I didn’t say much about meditation and even less about
chanting (probably because of my own frustrating lack of skill with both), but
virtually every guru or teacher I read or listened to talked about the benefits
of both. I don’t want to just gloss over either, but I would like to include my
favorite things that were said. Sadhguru started his talk at the UN with a
chant. He was asked why he did that, and he said that it was an invocation to
make himself more malliable to perform his duty at hand. He said that chanting
is a calibration using sound (Yoga for the Achievement). I mentioned earlier
that Russell Comstock talked about Sanskrit as the primary language of Ancient
India. Linguists consider Sanskrit an unusual language because of its ability
to not only convey meaning, but also to invoke its meaning with its sound.
“Sanskrit emanates spirit via its vibration (Comstock).” According to Comstock, yoga views the cosmos
as pure vibration or energy. In Sanskrit, it is prana. Yogi Ramacharaka says in
his book Science of Breath, “from the tiniest atom to the greatest sun,
everything is in a state of vibration. There is nothing that is in absolute
rest in nature (Comstock 72).” So, with chanting, we align ourselves with
these vibrational fields. You connect to all things and resonate as one being.
And as far as meditation, I really liked what Rajiv Ulla said when he explained
that meditation is an act, but also a quality in itself. Meditation is
important, but his emphasis was on the doing, the action, that comes after the
clarity and peace of meditation occurs. He said, “You want flowers in your
garden? You don’t meditate on flowers. You have to think soil, water, sun,
seeds. Our issues with sustainability are that we are interested in the flower
and not the plant (Yoga for the Achievement).
I’d like to share Simon Haas’s questions for
ourselves to examine our contribution to a sustainable world.
1. How do we live our lives? Do we accumulate more than we need?
2. What are we consuming? What do we buy? What do we eat? How and what
power do we use?
3. How do we get involved? What projects do we join or start?
4. How do we use our vote? Are we supporting leaders who end fossil fuel
subsidies, invest in reusability, leave fossil fuels in the ground, and support
a price on carbon (Panel discussion).
There are 300 million yoga
practitioners around the world as of June 2018 (Panel discussion). They could make a difference. Sadghuru
referenced Mahatma Gandhi’s quote from more than 75 years ago, “The world has
enough for everyone’s needs but not enough for everyone’s greed.” Sadghuru
amended that to say “The world has enough for everyone’s needs but not one
man’s greed.” Gandhi was prescient in
his thoughts then, and Sadghuru is only too accurate in the change he made to
the quote, as we confront a future in which more and more decisions are being
made and guided by the greed of businesses for whom their goal is not the
wellbeing of all, but rather personal gain. And we can’t put the blame for our
current state of unsustainability squarely on the shoulders of big business, as
we are the consumers to whom they sell.
Gandhi held a belief that the natural state of mankind is co-operation
and not competition, in all things, including economics. I hope that proves
just as prescient as his other insights (Balch).
I’d like to close with the closing mantra of Ashtanga
yoga which reminds us to “protect the welfare of all generations” for the
betterment of “all beings everywhere.”
“May the rulers of the earth keep to the path of virtue
For protecting the welfare of all generations.
May the religious, and all the peoples be forever
blessed,
May all beings everywhere be happy and free
Om peace, peace, perfect peace” - Mangala Mantra
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