Advent Meditation for Joy

Sitting comfortably with your body supported, close your eyes. Notice your breath and the way it feels in your body. Allow yourself to be fully present where you are, at home in yourself. Say silently to yourself, "welcome home." Being here, now, begin to soften internally. Let your breath become smooth and even, cuing your muscles, your organs, your nervous system, and even your brain, to soften and open up. Soft and yielding, we are opening to the Lord's coming.

In this season of Advent, we are opening to receive the Lord's light. In this third week of Advent, we are opening to receive the Lord's joy.

Invite spiritual joy into your being. Breathing joy in, and breathing joy out, turn your attention within, awakening the joy already present within you. Envision joy as points of light, within and all around you.

See the color of joy.

Feel the texture of joy.

Experience the aroma of joy.

Savor the presence of joy.

As you breathe joy in, feel the light of joy illumine your body, moving from the crown of your head, to the space between your eyebrows, to your temples, to your ears, your jaw, your throat, your neck, collarbones, feeling the warmth and light of joy spread across your chest, resounding deeply in your heart, spreading through your upper arms, forearms, wrists, into your hands to the tips of your fingers...breathing sweetly into your belly, feel the warmth of joy spread through your abdomen, across your back, down into your low belly, into your hips, pelvic region, and lower back...feel joy moving down your legs, to your knees, the muscles on the fronts of your legs, the backs of your legs, your ankles, spreading into your feet, into each of your ten toes. Feel your feet on the floor, and your seat on the chair, grounding you into the presence of joy. Feel the lift of your head and your spine rising up to greet within you and all around you the presence of joy as you inhale and exhale, embraced by the presence of holy joy.

And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and make careful search for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, that I too may come and worship Him." And having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." Matthew 2:8-10

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. 1 Peter 1:8


Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. Psalm 16:9

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13

Christian Meditation for Advent

Christian meditation and contemplative prayer have a long history, even if meditation is something many people do not associate with Christianity. Early Christian monks and nuns spent many hours in prayer, meditating on scripture and waiting in silence upon the spirit of the Lord. In Christianity's more recent history, theological analysis has overshadowed the more internal, quiet practice of meditation.

As modern Christians gather in community and cultivate their shared faith, much solace and solidarity can be gained from coming together to meditate.

Many passages from the Bible refer to personal spiritual practice and quiet time spent with God. There are too many to list in one place. My favorites: "When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place…"(Matthew 6:6), and "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

Our faith is one of action, focused on shining the Light of Christ into the world through performing the works exemplified by Jesus: helping people in need, healing the sick, championing the downtrodden, being good stewards of the Earth, and, of course, worshiping God.

Meditation is a practice that counterbalances all of the external acts we perform as Christians. Especially at this time of year, we are busy preparing for the Holidays, collecting items for the needy, preparing food and gifts, planning church events, traveling to see family, celebrating after hours with co-workers, practicing for Christmas Chorales... In the Bible, we read about the many times that Jesus retreated into solitude to commune with his Father, God. He showed us by example that we are called to do so as well.

Christian meditation differs only from any other meditation in its focus upon calling in the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit, waiting upon the presence and inspiration of God, and allowing the silence to be filled up with these Holy gifts. Otherwise, the practices are the same: sitting comfortably with a straight spine, focusing on the breath, stilling the busy mind, and usually using a mantra (repeated phrase to anchor the mind back to the meditation). Many Christian meditators use the mantra, maranatha, an Aramaic word meaning, "Come Lord." Another prayer phrase can also be chosen, or you can choose to say a prayer at the beginning of your meditation and use mindfulness meditation in the quiet that follows, waiting upon the Lord.

What follows is a brief guided meditation prepared for the season of Advent, a time when we wait patiently for the Light of Christ to be revealed in the darkness of Winter. With so much literal and metaphorical darkness in our world at this time, calling in the Light in our meditation is a healing respite and a balm for our hearts. Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life"(John 8:12).

Find a comfortable seat where you can be at ease in your body. Bring the hands together in prayer at the heart. Gently close your eyes. Bring your awareness to your breath. Allow your breath to slow down and deepen, naturally soothing you and calming your body and mind. In this reverent, peaceful position, allow your focus to turn to the Holy One. Turn your heart towards God. Silently recite the Lord's Prayer to yourself, or another prayer of your choosing. Focus on the meaning of each line of the prayer. After you close your prayer with Amen, bring your hands to rest gently in your lap. 

Begin silently repeating the mantra, "Maranatha, Come Lord," to yourself. You can repeat Maranatha as you inhale, and Come Lord as you exhale. If you'd like to choose another mantra, you can chose a word, Love, Hope, Peace or Joy, breathing love in and breathing love out, breathing peace in and breathing peace out... Without judgment, let all other thoughts come and go as you bring your awareness consistently to your mantra and your breath. 

With each breath, feel more grounded in the presence of the Lord. With each heartbeat, experience your connection to the heart of Christ. 

Feel the inner Light of Christ expand through your heart, through your chest, throughout your entire being. 

Envision the Light of Christ surrounding you here and now, encircling your body and radiating from your core. 

As you continue breathing and sitting here, in the stillness, imagine the Light of Christ emanating from you, spreading beyond your body, beyond this room, beyond this building, spreading out into your community, your country, your world, even into the whole of the Universe. Feel your deep connection to the God of the Universe and all of His creation. 

Rest here in this glorious space. 

99 Problems But You Are Not One

You may have problems needing solving or fixing, but you, my friend, do not need someone or something to fix you, change you or make you over.

Because I teach yoga, I see a lot of fitness and diet trends (why would that be? because our society equates yoga with fitness and attractive bodies). I think of yoga as a tool for physical, mental and spiritual health. Fitness is a part of that, no doubt. But fitness is not more important than the mental and spiritual aspects of yoga, AND the physical aspect is not just about fitness. It's about the health of your nervous system, your immune system, your endocrine system, your spine...and so much more, folks.

I respect the work of fitness professionals, traditional and alternative doctors, practitioners of complimentary medicine...there's a long list of people I respect, admire and collaborate with on many levels in my job as a yoga teacher.

However: I want to set myself apart from the people trying to fix you!

I took part in a recent discussion around body image, illness and aging. Along with nine other yoga teachers, I shared how my practice has informed my feelings about my body. We all agreed on one thing: we love ourselves just as we are. One teacher used the metaphor of courtship, engagement and marriage for her relationship with her body. She is in love with her body and she is not an abusive spouse. Another teacher spoke of a colleague who had committed suicide after struggling with body image. She was emaciated and had plastic surgery for breast implants, then a few years later, she killed herself. No one likes to talk about those stories which happen to other people, even when in the midst of our own body image struggles. We need to kill the body image struggles rather than killing ourselves. This needs to be said.

I've been hearing a lot about Cross Fit lately. "Work out so hard that nothing in the office scares you," is one post I have seen, along with mentions of pain and bruises in a positive context of self-improvement. I've also seen a lot of advertisements on social media and television for a diet and exercise program called the 21 Day Fix. I like the program from the sounds of it: portion control and strengthening exercises you can do at home. But the marketing seems centered around concepts like fixing your body so you can look good, and sticking to a diet without "cheating." If you love yourself, why would you cheat on yourself? And why would you think you need fixing? During the holidays the onslaught of diet and fitness advertisements will increase. Halloween was a good one to get people motivated: work off those treats! Have a plan to counteract Thanksgiving dinner! God forbid you enjoy yourself and not have a counterattack in the works!

Why do these advertising tactics succeed? Why do people yo-yo diet? Why do they want to hurt themselves in their workouts? No pain, no gain? What do all of these "health" and "fitness" trends say about the relationship we have with our bodies? Sounds a lot like spousal abuse to me.

We have to get to know our bodies before we can develop lasting love for them. We need to take time to connect: to our breath, our feelings, our energy. A relationship not based on love, trust and respect is doomed to fail.

Practicing yoga is a process of self-inquiry, involving all aspects of the self. The health of the mind and spirit are inextricably linked to the health of the body. All parts of us work together, ideally in harmony. Insult one part of yourself and you insult the whole. Deprive one part of yourself and you deprive the entirety of who you are.

You don't need to be fixed. You need to be loved. You need to be appreciated. You need to be treated well. Solve your problems, remedy your ills, fix your broken parts, but don't ever confuse all of those for who you really are.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” -Psalm 139:14

Five Obstacles Obscuring Our Light

Traditional Yoga philosophy claims that all we truly need for our own peace and happiness lies within us. Every individual possesses an unshakable inner wisdom to illuminate the path of enlightenment. Yoga itself is not something outside of us; instead, Yoga is the natural unified state of our consciousness with universal consciousness. Yoga means "union." The teachings of Yoga tell us that we are already whole; all we need to do is realize that wholeness. 

The thought that I am already yogic inside and don't have to chase after enlightenment uplifts, inspires and encourages me!

The second chapter of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras presents the yogic methods to attain liberation. According to Patanjali, there are five major obstacles, the kleshas, regularly obscuring our latent brilliance. These are:

1. Avidya/Ignorance

2. Asmita/Egoism

3. Raga/Desire

4. Dvesa/Aversion

5. Abhinivesa/Fear of death

The translations given for the Sanskrit words above are rough. I will briefly explain each obstacle:

The obstacle of ignorance has to do with a case of mistaken identity. Avidya is mistaking what is false for what is true, what is not me for what is me, what is impure for what is pure. This type of ignorance obscures us from seeing our true self. Instead, we mistakenly believe that we are what we have, what we do, or what others think of us. Wayne Dyer gives a beautiful explanation of this false sense of identity we develop in the film, The Shift. 

Asmita is the type of egoism that preoccupies us with defining ourselves and defending our idea of who we are above all else: think labels, comparisons, judgments. Again, in The Shift, Wayne Dyer talks about this type of ego as EGO, Edging God Out. 

Raga is not a healthy kind of desire. Some desires are, of course, healthy! Raga is an imbalanced craving or attachment that keeps us chasing after one thing or person or another, in our minds, our thoughts and our actions. Raga keeps us on the run, constantly chasing fulfillment. 

Dvesa is the flip side of raga, the aversions that keep us running away or pushing away from people, places and things. Where do you find your dvesa? Fill in these blanks: "I can't stand ____. I won't be around ____. I am terrified of ______. I refuse to _____." What else can you think of that brings up your aversion? Try being with the feeling of aversion rather than acting on it. This is something we work on in both our postural and meditation practices. 

The final obstacle, fear of death, refers also to a fear of living your life to its fullest. It is a fear of impermanence, a sort of rigidity that makes us like stiff corpses. We try to make our existence fit into a neat little box by avoiding new experiences, staying perfectly safe within tired routines, shying away from sharing our love or gifts. Instead of truly living, we die little deaths every day, wanting to keep things just the way we like them in our tepid comfort zone. 

The most powerful book passage I can find about these obstacles obscuring our light is from When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron. 

We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that's death. Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn't have any fresh air. There's no room for something to come in and interrupt all that. We are killing the moment by controlling our experience. Doing this is setting ourselves up for failure, because sooner or later we're going to have an experience we can't control: [fill in with your favorite examples of tragedy and disappointment].

The essence of life is that it's challenging. Sometimes it is sweet and sometimes it is bitter. Sometimes your body tenses and sometimes it relaxes or opens. Sometimes you have a headache, and sometimes you feel 100% healthy. From an awakened perspective, trying to tie up all the loose ends and finally get it together is death, because it involves rejecting a lot of your basic experience. There is something aggressive about that approach to life, trying to flatten out all the rough spots and imperfections into a nice, smooth ride. 

To be fully alive, fully human and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again. From the awakened point of view, that's life. Death is wanting to hold onto what you have and to have every experience confirm you and congratulate you and make you feel completely together. So even though we say [abhinivesa] is fear of death, it's actually fear of life. 

Acceptance of ourselves and our circumstances, an ability to be present to our life, and a deep and abiding self-love will emerge from the darkness the more we become aware of our obstacles. 

French Yoga Lesson

Mais oui! Yoga in French, pourquoi pas? I just got back from a family vacation in Québec. So lovely! I was reminded of prior years I spent in France, a time before I had ever practiced yoga...

I heard and spoke a lot of French on vacation and one expression got me thinking about one of the niyamas in the Yoga Sutras and the Eight Limbs of Yoga: santosha. It means contentment, being at ease, comfortable in oneself and at peace in the present moment. The French expression is bien dans sa peau, se sentir ou être bien dans sa peau. The literal meaning of this expression to be "well in one's skin," to feel good in one's body, comfortable. A person who feels this way has achieved a state of harmony between the mind and the body, so that the body doesn't feel like a prison and the mind doesn't feel like a taskmaster. 

Another French expression:  mal à l'aise, ill at ease. We've all felt this way at times, some of us more than others. How can Yoga help?

Yoga helps us to feel at home in our body, maintaining a healthy body/mind connection, moving and breathing in an embodied way. The care, attention and consciousness we bring to our breath and movement, along with the contentment we cultivate in meditation and relaxation make us feel bien dans la peau, content, at ease. 

We all have a right to be bien dans sa peau, to experience santosha, contentment. When we experience stress and trauma, we sometimes disconnect from our natural state of harmony and ease. Let your yoga practice bring you back into balance. Vive le Yoga! 

Guided Release Technique: Ball of Yarn

This is a brief meditation you can do during your savasana (resting pose after postural yoga practice), or simply lying in bed. 

~

Close your eyes. Connect within your body, feeling the sensations of your in-breath and your out-breath. Notice the feeling of the breath in your rib cage, in your abdomen, filling you up as you inhale and clearing you out as you exhale. Notice the sensation of the air touching your skin. Feel the back of your body resting on your mat. Notice the darkness behind your eyelids, or any colors you see there. Tune into any sounds you hear around you. Develop a keen awareness of your entire experience, and yourself as the experiencer. 

Then, allow your awareness to go deeper within you. Release all effort to notice or control your experience. Be at rest. Inhale fully and deeply, holding your breath at the top. Exhale through your mouth. Let go...

Once you've rested like this a few moments, begin to scan your inner awareness throughout your body, beginning at the top of your head and working your way down to your toes. With this relaxed, accepting awareness, let yourself feel both physical and emotional sensations. 

Are there feelings, memories, sensations or experiences at the physical, mental or spiritual level which you want to release? 

Locate and name everything you'd like to release. Find where it resides in your mind and body. Perhaps there is one thing, perhaps there are more than one. You're going to thread them out of your system like strings of yarn. Imagine in your mind's eye that you are pulling out individual strings of yarn, for everything you want to release. See the colors. Feel the textures. Hold the strings in your hand, one by one, and begin to roll them together into a ball of yarn. 

Give yourself time to do this, to feel and see your ball of yarn, making sure it is complete. And then, imagine that next to you is a round plastic shell that opens like a plastic egg. Take off the top and and you will see that your ball of yarn fits neatly inside. Place your ball of yarn inside the shell and close it up. Place the shell on top of your belly, letting it rest there. Feel it's weight. 

Keeping your attention on your ball of yarn in the shell, with each exhalation, the ball will float up higher and higher above your belly, above your body. You will keep resting and breathing, and your ball of yarn will keep floating further and further away from you, until you can no longer feel it or see it. It will be absorbed into the atmosphere, where it will unravel and dissipate. 

When you are ready to get up again, take your time. Let your breath gradually deepen. Move your feet and hands slowly. Draw your knees into your chest and roll over onto your side to sit up. 

May you be free of all unnecessary burdens, and may your experience always be colorful. 

Namaste. 

Saucha: Clean up, Tidy up and Lighten up!

Look around this summer to see what your friends are reading--chances are you'll see this book on a beach or lawn chair: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. It's a New York Times bestseller. I've been seeing it and hearing a lot about it!

Though I'm not reading the book myself, I did spend a portion of this past weekend decluttering my home with my husband. We prepared 8 large moving boxes of adult and children's clothing and shoes along with a few useful appliances to be picked up today by a charitable Veterans organization. We normally donate to Goodwill, decluttering in little spurts a few times per year, but yesterday was much more thorough! My Virgo husband made it easier by devising a system and a schedule for us. We still have more work to do on our basement and garage, but we already feel much freer and lighter. My closet is empty of scary secrets!

Simplifying my life, making space and creating structure are all parts of my yoga practice. In yoga philosophy, there are five recommended personal observances for cultivating happiness and avoiding suffering. These are called the niyama. The first niyama is saucha, which means inner and outer cleanliness or purity. A home where saucha is faithfully observed will be orderly, clean, simple and light. Taking inventory, tidying up and simplifying our home brings more peace, ease and clarity to our life. It helps us to develop a sattvic, balanced energy, within and without. 

Once saucha is applied to any area of your life, it really does feel magical! Pulling all of the old clothes out of my closet, items from another era of my life (suits from 10 years ago when I worked as a lawyer) made me feel a little queasy, but looking at my closet now, I feel refreshed and liberated! 

How can we apply saucha in our postural yoga practice, in public spaces or at home? We can start with the basics by keeping mats and props clean, respecting others' practice space, putting our blankets, blocks and straps away in an orderly fashion; it's pretty straightforward, like preschoolers tidying their books and toys. Yet sometimes we forget! 

Finally, how does saucha show up as we move through our postures? We can find it in clean lines, careful alignment, cleansing breaths and orderly transitions. We can also experiment with decluttering our foundations, simplifiying, working with the idea that less is more (perhaps a smaller base, like standing on the balls of our feet) and seeing what that opens up. 

Try setting saucha as your intention the next time you practice, or if you teach, write a sequence around it. You may discover some long-lost essentials hiding under the clutter!