What is your Life Saver? YS II - 33

What is your life saver? Technically one would picture a ring like in the picture on this post. A life saver is defined by www.thefreedictionary.com/lifestaver as :

1. an attendant employed at a beach or pool to protect swimmers from accidents and or
2. a life preserver in the form of a ring of buoyant material

Then you might wonder how does this apply to you? As you know, if you are a reader of this blog, that this blog entitled "Always Be Om," consists of yoga related information related to this theme. So in that context I am now using the live saver as a metaphor.

What got me to think of this subject is the energy of the time we are living in. According to the news we are in" a recession". This is affecting everyone, depending on how they see as I spoke about in the posts on "Thoughts as Eyeglasses" and "Taking Pictures". Thus, whatever we choose can fall between "Bondage and Liberation" for us.

So getting back to the original question of what is your life saver, for me it is my yoga practices. Case in point my practice of swadhyaya, self study which includes studying the yogic texts like the Guru Gita, which is latter part of the Skanda Purana. (The Guru Gita is a Hindu scripture of 182 verses, authored by the sage, Vyasa. It is a part of the larger Skanda Purana.) You can also see the post I did on swadhyaya.

I was feeling a little down noticing some thoughts I was having. I won't go into detail about the thoughts as what you focus on expands, however I do acknowledge the process. So I applied pratipaksha bhavana (a Sanskrit term)- When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite ones should be thought of. Pratipaksha bhavana is a method which is given as a clue to control and obstruct thoughts in Yoga Sutra II - 33 - VITARKA BADHANE PRATIPAKSA BHAVANAM .

I had not sat down and chanted the Guru Gita for a long time, even though I do play the CD of it from time to time. So I sat down and recited this text. I cannot begin to describe how much better I felt! My focus was no longer on the thoughts I had or how I was going to solve the situation. I was studying my Self and refreshing my self with the text of the Guru Gita. This was better than attempting to numb myself with other alternatives, which as a yoga teacher I do not do anyway. But one can see pretty much that when others do not know of yogic/or other healthy alternatives that they may attempt to "escape" through other means such as drugs, alcohol, food, shopping,etc.

So hopefully I can probe you to ask yourself what do you use as a life saver? Is it a positive tool? Again for me, my tools are the many branches of yoga which are really life savers.

Stay tuned. Check out the workshop I will be doing on 12/14/08 at http://www.bometernally.com/

Thoughts As Eyeglasses - YS II - 33

In contemplating this post today I thought about eyeglasses or rather the lens of how we see. Think about your thoughts as eyeglasses in the sense that whatever thoughts you have is how you see your world. For example if your glasses are smudgy, you will not see clearly. Or if your glasses are colored yellow or red, then you will see those colors. If the eyeglasses are broken then your vision is even more impaired. In the same way if your thoughts are of a certain nature, it will affect your outlook. If happy thoughts it will affect how you see and do things. If you are having angry thoughts that will affect the different encounters you have during your day.

There is much value in staying positive with Pratipaksha Bhavana (a Sanskrit term)- When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite ones should be thought of. So in other words, change your glasses. If you cannot see out of the smudged one, clean it. In order to be aware of what thoughts you are wearing, the practice of dhyana or meditation comes in handy. Take the time to become mindful in order to see what thoughts are arising.

Become aware of the breath and to to learn how to sit and witness the process of the thoughts. This awareness can become our new lenses.

Your Body is a Reflection

Most people are not aware that when we look at them we actually can see their thoughts. It is reflected in the body, mind and spirit. The word reflection can be defined as the production of an image by or as if by a mirror; to show.

Are you attracted to people who seem to radiate energy and appear vibrate? Are you repelled or don't seem to notice people whose energy is low? Looking at their body language, even unconsciously on our part, we can see the reflection of their thoughts and habits.

The other day I had a person in my chair yoga class that looked dull. Her muscles were flaccid and her energy was low. At the end of the class she stated that she did not realize certain things about her body until completing the class. Frequently I have observed that people ignore their posture, their breath, their feet, whether they are focused or not, etc.

There are students who have the appearance of a frown all the time. Some of them don't notice it until it is pointed out to them. I had a young lady in my class recently who appeared angry. We talked after class and she did say she was under some stress. She also commented that other people have told her the same thing about looking angry. I told her to lighten up, smile more often and to practice the asanas. When I saw her the following week, she appeared lighter and was smiling more and frowning less.

This is why practicing yoga postures are valuable. It helps one to wake up to their body. They start to become more aware. Then the awareness, the practice starts to be reflected in the body. You can verbally say you are practicing, however if you are not it will be reflected in your body's appearance. The body does not lie.

Staying Positive - YS II - 33

The statement 'Staying Positive' is easier said than done. Being aware of the news forecasts everyday telling us that people are losing their jobs and houses, rents are going up, the stock market is going up and down, morality declining. If one studies yogic terms in relation to the times we are living in, it is referred to as Kali Yuga. The energy of all these events affects us.

So this is where I talk about the use and the study of yoga. In book 2 of the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali, line 33 it is stated'Vitarka Badhane Pratipaksha Bhavanam'. The translation is When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite(positive) ones should be thought of. In the commentary section by Swami Satchidananda on this text, he states that "Pantanjali gives us a very nice clue on how to control the mind and obstruct thoughts we don't want. The best way , he says, is to invite opposite thoughts." Satchidananda goes on to illustrate situations ie. in a marriage; reading something inspiring, meeting a special person, or simply leaving the environment!
He also talks about thinking about the "after-effect" if one continues to let the negative thought or action continue, such as how the anger or negativity will affect you as well as others. I remember being impressed learning this sutra.

This made me think of when my children were smaller and one day we were walking in the street. I had one child in the stroller and the other walking with me. As we continued down the block, we were approaching a couple in a very loud argument with on-lookers present. I remember feeling very agitated as we got nearer and it was not convenient to cross the street. I then started to silently repeat my mantra (chanting, prayer) as I passed these people. It was after I had gotten further down the street that I realized how that focus, that shift of thought had somehow shielded me from the negativity I had just navigated through to pass them. It was amazing! I never forgot that experience. So of course the practice of pratipaksha bhavana - replacing negative thoughts with positive ones has become one of my tools that I carry.

So just take a deep breath which will help you to start observing quickly which way you can change your situation and stay positive.