Yesterday Morning I drove to teach my 8am class. For the whole ride I got to enjoy the full, radiant moon smiling brightly to me. My spiritual life began when I first took notice of the deep connection I have with the moon. One tearful night several years back I looked up and there she was sending her divine light my way. I knew then that all would be well. I came to reflect on the reason why I feel so uplifted by the light of a full moon. For one practical reason, I have had seasonal depressions. It's a blessing that I now live in California where I can count on most days being sunny and warm. A bright full moon gives the same effect. It can drag me out of an emotional eclipse.
The moon energy has been associated with femininity, water, coolness, and yin as opposed to yang, masculinity and heat. It is so because there is the sun, its opposite. The moon is the mother energy. It encourages your body to retreat and the soul to reflect on its spiritual journey. The sun is the father energy. It gives life and encourages productivity of the earth. Ayurveda's Rituals as well as treatments take into account the cycle of the moon as it affects the condition of a person and effectiveness of a treatment. Some studies and research have shown that surgeries performed during the full moon were more successful with less mortality and faster recovery rate than the surgeries performed during the new moon. There were however, more accidents, crimes and disorder reported during the full moon. Hence, the word lunatic or lunacy. Also, there were more depressions and suicides (shown in females) during the new moon.
Ayurveda is holistic because it acknowledges that what is going on outside affects what is inside and vice versa. It is expansive in its recognition. It looks at the cosmos as well as human cells and everything else in between and beyond. Giving the influence of the moon you should begin to look at your health and your life according to the moon cycle. Women in particular are largely affected by the moon because of the physiological make ups (water volume, hormones and reproductive cycle) as well as karmic make ups. Emotional sensitivity and spiritual tendency are ruled by the moon whereas outward action and accomplishment are ruled by the sun. If you think your body is functioning independently of the moon perhaps an ocean tide can illustrate the effect. The rising and falling of an ocean tide generates largely by the moon. Our body is about 80% water. If the moon can pull the ocean tide what can it do to your body?
Ladies, begin to observe and record your menstrual cycle on a lunar calendar. According to the teaching of Ayurveda your menses should come around the new moon. This is the time to retreat, rest and reflect. During the full moon the energy of the sun is reflected strongly on the moon. It is the time to create and procreate. Notice how you feel when your reproductive cycle is in alignment with the moon cycle and when it is not. For both male and female, the full moon brings agitation, irritation and aggression. You want to direct the abundant energy toward wholesome and positive activities. It is the time to act as well as to watch your action closely. The next time you look up in the night sky you can appreciate the beauty and marvels at the role the moon plays in your daily life. The sooner you connect to your moon the more peace and prosperity there will be on earth.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Seeker does not Rest
Seeking and unrest seem opposite to yoga. But is it not what we do best while we are here in this human life form? I am an optimist. It is not only OK but essential for my livelihood to participate, struggle, change, learn and evolve.
Recently, I picked up a book on Buddhism. Although, raised in a Buddhist country I have found the Buddhist teaching rather dry, rough and even bitter (no gods, goddesses, worships, pujas, prasadam...where's the sweet juice?). My relationship with Buddhism has endured tenuous spiritual flirtation. And perhaps that is perfect. Where you are is exactly where you ought to be. As Glenn Wallis, the author of The Dhammapada, Verses On The Way puts it "The dhamma is the dhamma because of the dhamma."
EACH FIND HER OWN PATH
I have had romantic ideas of being handed spiritual awakening like a book from a friend or a conversation with an elder and even contemplated subduing myself to a guru. Yet, none has manifested. As a child I pondered the big questions. Who am I? Why am I here? Why this mother, father, sibling and so on? It would have been great to find promising answers early on but they did not come. So, when I hit thirteen and had an idle summer all to my own I went into the deepest depression of my life. I was contemplating death and the value of life itself.
Thailand was and is still largely a Buddhist country. How did I not follow its teaching and became enlighten at age thirteen with such questions early in life?! It turned out that my dad was an atheist and my mom was a devout Buddhist follower. I want to make a distinction between followers and practitioners. Buddhist followers participate in all kinds of Buddhist ceremonies but often do not live on strict or even lose Buddhist principles, study scriptures or meditate. Not unlike church goers here who don't practice what they have been preached on. My mother, bless her, is a good soul but she is not a practitioner. The latter two practices are for monks and nuns almost exclusively. As a teenager I did not have a patience for lengthy ceremonies and worships. And rightly so because as I found out later that Buddhist teaching contains no such frivolous practices. Ironically I am now practicing devotional rituals daily. Anyhow, as a young person I chose to be an atheist hence, my struggle with the perishable asset.
If this body is all I have then why should I continue to live at all when death is certain? I asked myself this question over and over again laying at the corner of my room covered with a blanket shuddering with fear. When the summer was over I thought the depression would stay forever but it went away. I went about my business as usual questing for the gratification of the body, mind and ego since they were all that matter.
THE ANSWER COMES WHEN THE SEEKER IS READY
My story is not special nor unique. I have known of the same story with different details yet mine is the only experience I know enough to share with conviction. By the time I was thirty I have lived up well to my egoistic expectations. I was a big mess emotionally speaking. My heart ached and yearned for something I knew not what. A ruinous intimate relationship and confusing career choices made me look for something that I was yearning for, something permanent and that I could really hold on to. I did not know anything about the AA program then but their wise suggestion somehow manifested in my consciousness. If you want a different result then stop doing the same thing over and over again. I never did become an alcoholic. But I sure had plenty of other seemingly harmless addictions and habits I could shake.
So, I did the opposite to what I had been doing. Instead of flipping through fashion magazines I was reading Bhagavad Gita, Tantra, Buddhism, etc. Instead of searching for a man I went searching for God. I found myself at various spiritual establishments including but not limited to Hare Krishna, Presbyterian church, Scientology, Buddhist temple and Sivananda ashram. Some places I went for a lengthy amount of time while others I went once and never returned. In either case I gathered the information I needed and took to studying my new career/love interest seriously. Tending to the causes and treatments of human suffering and spiritual understanding are my focus. Yoga and its source, Vedanta, and Ayurveda give me the answers I need. The Buddha is here in his spirit and teaching to urge me on.
BE HAPPY GO STEADY
Once I have life's primary focus down things fall into places. I am fortunate to marry my work with spiritual study. For the first time I feel that I am in the right career. I can do this work for the rest of my life and more if need be. Spiritual life does not mean resting in peace all the time. It means constantly watching what arises in the moment whether peaceful or evil. Even the Buddha acknowledged of having Mara or evil thoughts right after his trip to nirvana. Discrimination without judgment takes time to perfect. As a seeker I am happy to practice living up to what the Buddha, sages and gurus have advised.
The teaching is like a boat taking you across from ignorance to the shore of unlimited wisdom. Another option is to swim upstream which is to say living life without taking to the teaching. They also advised that you get off the boat on your own once you reach the shore. It means to let go of the teaching and follow your own higher intuition. I personally prefer a slow and steady ride just enough time for me to get to know me really well.
Recently, I picked up a book on Buddhism. Although, raised in a Buddhist country I have found the Buddhist teaching rather dry, rough and even bitter (no gods, goddesses, worships, pujas, prasadam...where's the sweet juice?). My relationship with Buddhism has endured tenuous spiritual flirtation. And perhaps that is perfect. Where you are is exactly where you ought to be. As Glenn Wallis, the author of The Dhammapada, Verses On The Way puts it "The dhamma is the dhamma because of the dhamma."
EACH FIND HER OWN PATH
I have had romantic ideas of being handed spiritual awakening like a book from a friend or a conversation with an elder and even contemplated subduing myself to a guru. Yet, none has manifested. As a child I pondered the big questions. Who am I? Why am I here? Why this mother, father, sibling and so on? It would have been great to find promising answers early on but they did not come. So, when I hit thirteen and had an idle summer all to my own I went into the deepest depression of my life. I was contemplating death and the value of life itself.
Thailand was and is still largely a Buddhist country. How did I not follow its teaching and became enlighten at age thirteen with such questions early in life?! It turned out that my dad was an atheist and my mom was a devout Buddhist follower. I want to make a distinction between followers and practitioners. Buddhist followers participate in all kinds of Buddhist ceremonies but often do not live on strict or even lose Buddhist principles, study scriptures or meditate. Not unlike church goers here who don't practice what they have been preached on. My mother, bless her, is a good soul but she is not a practitioner. The latter two practices are for monks and nuns almost exclusively. As a teenager I did not have a patience for lengthy ceremonies and worships. And rightly so because as I found out later that Buddhist teaching contains no such frivolous practices. Ironically I am now practicing devotional rituals daily. Anyhow, as a young person I chose to be an atheist hence, my struggle with the perishable asset.
If this body is all I have then why should I continue to live at all when death is certain? I asked myself this question over and over again laying at the corner of my room covered with a blanket shuddering with fear. When the summer was over I thought the depression would stay forever but it went away. I went about my business as usual questing for the gratification of the body, mind and ego since they were all that matter.
THE ANSWER COMES WHEN THE SEEKER IS READY
My story is not special nor unique. I have known of the same story with different details yet mine is the only experience I know enough to share with conviction. By the time I was thirty I have lived up well to my egoistic expectations. I was a big mess emotionally speaking. My heart ached and yearned for something I knew not what. A ruinous intimate relationship and confusing career choices made me look for something that I was yearning for, something permanent and that I could really hold on to. I did not know anything about the AA program then but their wise suggestion somehow manifested in my consciousness. If you want a different result then stop doing the same thing over and over again. I never did become an alcoholic. But I sure had plenty of other seemingly harmless addictions and habits I could shake.
So, I did the opposite to what I had been doing. Instead of flipping through fashion magazines I was reading Bhagavad Gita, Tantra, Buddhism, etc. Instead of searching for a man I went searching for God. I found myself at various spiritual establishments including but not limited to Hare Krishna, Presbyterian church, Scientology, Buddhist temple and Sivananda ashram. Some places I went for a lengthy amount of time while others I went once and never returned. In either case I gathered the information I needed and took to studying my new career/love interest seriously. Tending to the causes and treatments of human suffering and spiritual understanding are my focus. Yoga and its source, Vedanta, and Ayurveda give me the answers I need. The Buddha is here in his spirit and teaching to urge me on.
BE HAPPY GO STEADY
Once I have life's primary focus down things fall into places. I am fortunate to marry my work with spiritual study. For the first time I feel that I am in the right career. I can do this work for the rest of my life and more if need be. Spiritual life does not mean resting in peace all the time. It means constantly watching what arises in the moment whether peaceful or evil. Even the Buddha acknowledged of having Mara or evil thoughts right after his trip to nirvana. Discrimination without judgment takes time to perfect. As a seeker I am happy to practice living up to what the Buddha, sages and gurus have advised.
The teaching is like a boat taking you across from ignorance to the shore of unlimited wisdom. Another option is to swim upstream which is to say living life without taking to the teaching. They also advised that you get off the boat on your own once you reach the shore. It means to let go of the teaching and follow your own higher intuition. I personally prefer a slow and steady ride just enough time for me to get to know me really well.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Treating Dry Scalp and Dandruff
If you have Vata imbalances which means having a high wind or air element in your body most likely you have had or are experiencing dry scalp and or dandruff. This embarrassing deficiency occurs more during the cold seasons and has been with me for years after I moved to the U.S. The dry and cold climate here is an extreme opposite to the hot and humid weather in Thailand where I grew up. Changes and especially extreme changes also cause Vata imbalances.
I have tried dandruff shampoos, different oils and even my own herbal Abhyanga oil which works wonder on the skin. I do oleate internally drowning myself with olive oil and ghee, take whole dairies rather than reduced fat ones and choose moistly cooked food over dried and crunchy foods. But alas, nothing gave me a permanent solution for the dandruff. Then, I read Dr. Vasant Lad's suggestion. He wrote "Although dandruff can sometimes be caused by a fungal infection or other skin disease, in most cases it is produced when the scalp doesn't receive a sufficient supply of blood. Consequently there is a lack of protein in the skin, which becomes dry and flaky."
The body system has to take care of its vital organs and tissues. Hair is the least important part of the body hence, if you tend toward vata imbalances and has general deficiency your hair suffers from the lost of nutrients. Beside eating the right foods an extra help can treat the condition effectively. Dr. Lad's suggestion for treating low blood, low protein in the scalp is to use 2 eggwhites mixed with the fresh juice of one lime. Having much faith in Dr. Vasant Lad I am sure this works very well. However, I have a hard time justify using eggs as a beauty treatment. Although, being dandruff free is hardly a vanity and I do eat eggs I opted to search for an alternative.
This year is the first winter I am experiencing free dandruff thanks to a simple solution I found through my experiments. I love yogurt as a Vata pacifying food and now have an extra jar of organic whole plain yogurt in my fridge for the treatment of dry scalp. Here is how it works. Scoop it with a spoon, drop it on your scalp and work it in. Let it coat your scalp for at least half an hour before shampooing normally with lukewarm rather than hot water. This is the beauty of Ayurvedic medicine. If you or your practitioner know the elements and the qualities of the element(s) that cause an imbalance and understand how they affect the physiological functions of the body then a simple remedy of opposite elemental qualities can be found to bring you back in balance. There is always a unique solution for your unique self. Experiment and let me know how it works for you.
I have tried dandruff shampoos, different oils and even my own herbal Abhyanga oil which works wonder on the skin. I do oleate internally drowning myself with olive oil and ghee, take whole dairies rather than reduced fat ones and choose moistly cooked food over dried and crunchy foods. But alas, nothing gave me a permanent solution for the dandruff. Then, I read Dr. Vasant Lad's suggestion. He wrote "Although dandruff can sometimes be caused by a fungal infection or other skin disease, in most cases it is produced when the scalp doesn't receive a sufficient supply of blood. Consequently there is a lack of protein in the skin, which becomes dry and flaky."
The body system has to take care of its vital organs and tissues. Hair is the least important part of the body hence, if you tend toward vata imbalances and has general deficiency your hair suffers from the lost of nutrients. Beside eating the right foods an extra help can treat the condition effectively. Dr. Lad's suggestion for treating low blood, low protein in the scalp is to use 2 eggwhites mixed with the fresh juice of one lime. Having much faith in Dr. Vasant Lad I am sure this works very well. However, I have a hard time justify using eggs as a beauty treatment. Although, being dandruff free is hardly a vanity and I do eat eggs I opted to search for an alternative.
This year is the first winter I am experiencing free dandruff thanks to a simple solution I found through my experiments. I love yogurt as a Vata pacifying food and now have an extra jar of organic whole plain yogurt in my fridge for the treatment of dry scalp. Here is how it works. Scoop it with a spoon, drop it on your scalp and work it in. Let it coat your scalp for at least half an hour before shampooing normally with lukewarm rather than hot water. This is the beauty of Ayurvedic medicine. If you or your practitioner know the elements and the qualities of the element(s) that cause an imbalance and understand how they affect the physiological functions of the body then a simple remedy of opposite elemental qualities can be found to bring you back in balance. There is always a unique solution for your unique self. Experiment and let me know how it works for you.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Listen to the Teacher
I first taught a Yin yoga class a few months ago subbing for a fellow teacher. I have been regularly attending Yin classes for about two years and took a couple workshops on the subject. I was elated for the opportunity and thoroughly enjoy teaching the class.
An injury has led me to experiment with different styles of yoga. At one particularly good yoga class during my teacher training I went so deep into a forward fold that I compressed the sciatic nerves. I know many people who have had injuries due to yoga and many of them are teachers. The injury has been a great learning tool for me to create appropriate practices for myself and for those who come to my classes.
It turned out that I needed to strengthen the muscles around the injured area so that I don't over stretch them. Yin yoga did not fix my injury but the awareness I cultivate during a Yin practice allow me to move safely through a practice whether it is Yin, Vinyasa, Iyengar or any other type of yoga asana. Not too long ago I used to get bored holding postures for a long period of time. But I've come to appreciate valuable insights obtained through a quiet, conscious practice and eager to share them with the students.
Many people come to yoga to fix their physical discomforts and injuries. I can distinguish a new student from an experienced one by just looking at their foot position. This is because a new student's mind is engaged more to the upper body which is where most of us orient ourselves in everyday activities. Yoga gives us the opportunity to orient ourselves in all directions and extremities. Your mind and senses have to be engaged with what is going on in your muscles, tissues and organs. Certain postures focus more on certain areas of the body. With practice your intelligence expresses, unifies and aligns your whole bodily system.
This innate intelligence has always been there for you. Your body is constantly communicating to you whether it is whispering about your tight hips or screaming about your injured shoulder. Each of you is unique and has unique experience in any given yoga class. So, please listen to what your teacher has to share but listen even more closely to you-- your ultimate teacher.
An injury has led me to experiment with different styles of yoga. At one particularly good yoga class during my teacher training I went so deep into a forward fold that I compressed the sciatic nerves. I know many people who have had injuries due to yoga and many of them are teachers. The injury has been a great learning tool for me to create appropriate practices for myself and for those who come to my classes.
It turned out that I needed to strengthen the muscles around the injured area so that I don't over stretch them. Yin yoga did not fix my injury but the awareness I cultivate during a Yin practice allow me to move safely through a practice whether it is Yin, Vinyasa, Iyengar or any other type of yoga asana. Not too long ago I used to get bored holding postures for a long period of time. But I've come to appreciate valuable insights obtained through a quiet, conscious practice and eager to share them with the students.
Many people come to yoga to fix their physical discomforts and injuries. I can distinguish a new student from an experienced one by just looking at their foot position. This is because a new student's mind is engaged more to the upper body which is where most of us orient ourselves in everyday activities. Yoga gives us the opportunity to orient ourselves in all directions and extremities. Your mind and senses have to be engaged with what is going on in your muscles, tissues and organs. Certain postures focus more on certain areas of the body. With practice your intelligence expresses, unifies and aligns your whole bodily system.
This innate intelligence has always been there for you. Your body is constantly communicating to you whether it is whispering about your tight hips or screaming about your injured shoulder. Each of you is unique and has unique experience in any given yoga class. So, please listen to what your teacher has to share but listen even more closely to you-- your ultimate teacher.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
