Infinite Lila: Themes

Acknowledge Your Creativity & Genius
Acknowledge your creativity and genius. The qualities of creativity and genius are within you, awaiting your decision to match up with the power of intention. Genius is a characteristic of the creative force that allows all of material creation to come into form. It is an expression of the divine.
~ Wayne Dyer

Your vision will become more clear only when you look into your heart.
Who looks outside dreams, who looks inside awakens.
~ Carl Jung

Know that Grace has the power to transform everything you aspire to. So aspire to the highest, and offer yourself to that Grace. Grace will hold you every step of the way. Anusara is a path of Grace.
~ John Friend

"Is Kali, my Divine Mother, of a black complexion?

She appears black because She is viewed from a distance;
but when intimately known She is no longer so.
The sky appears blue at a distance, but look at it close by
and you will find that it has no colour.
The water of the ocean looks blue at a distance,
but when you go near and take it in your hand,
you find that it is colourless."

... Ramakrishna Paramhansa (1836-86)

Yoga Is a Light
Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.
~ B.K.S Iyengar

Even though the content of this entire blog is inspiration for themes, below are ideas from other gracious teachers or as they come to mind.

The most important thing when using a theme is to contemplate what it means to you personally. Journal about it, meditate, and even think about it right before you fall asleep. Distil the ideas of the themes into one main core message and everything else will unfold from there.

♥ General Themes

Effort and Surrender
Giving and Receiving
Strength and Softness
Beginner’s Mind
Balance
Luck
Smiles
Miracles
Play
Friendliness
Discipline
Integrity
Foundation

Yoga Sutras

1.1 - Atha Yoganusasanum ~ Now begins the practice of yoga…implying “now”at this present moment…and even again 5 minutes from now, when the student falls out of their yoga mind or the quality of the breath starts to suffer. This sutra implies an ongoing fresh start both on and off the mat...
1.2 Yoga chittavritti nirodhaha – yoga stills the fluctuations of the mind
1.12 Abhyasa vairagya tannirodaha – happiness is obtained through a strong practice and letting go of the fruits of your practice.
2.1 Tapas svadyaya ishvarapranidhani kriyayoga – the practice/action of yoga is a disciplined offering to something bigger.
2.33 - The yoga concept patipaksha bhavanam ~ (changing a negative thought into a positive,changing ones perspective of a situation). This can be applied to how a student views there practice
2.46 Sthira sukham asanam – your asana or seat should be both steady and comfortable.

Chakras

Muladhara – pelvic floor – earth – instinct, security, survival, potential, food, matter
Swadisthana – sacrum – water – change, movement, pleasure, emotions, sexuality, desire
Manipura – navel – fire – power, autonomy, will, energy, technology, self-esteem - twists
Anahata – heart – air – love, breath, balance, relationship,
Vishudda – throat – ether – self-expression, sound, vibration, communication, creativity
Ajna – brow/pineal gland – light – intuition, sight, imagination, vision
Sahasrara – crown – consciousness – thought, knowing, understanding, transcendence, meditation, universal connection

Koshas

1. Annamaya kosha – earth – physical layer
2. Pranamaya kosha – water – energy layer
3. Manomaya kosha – fire – mind layer
4. Vijanamaya kosha – air – wisdom layer
5. Anandamaya kosha – space – bliss layer

Kleśas (also klesha)

A term from Indian philosophy and yoga, meaning a "poison". The third śloka (also anglicized as shloka or sloka, meaning, 'song', from the root śru, 'hear) of Patañjali's Yoga sūtra explicitly identifies Five Poisons pañcakleśā):

Translated into English, these five (pañca) Kleśa-s or Afflictions (kleśāḥ) are:

ávidyā - Ignorance (in the form of a misapprehension about reality)
Asmitā - egoism (in the form of an erroneous identification of the Self with the intellect)
Rāga - attachment
Dveṣa - aversion
Abhiniveśāḥ - fear of death (which is derived from clinging ignorantly to life)

Yama

ahimsa – non-violence
satya – benevolent honesty
aparigraha – non-hoarding
asteya – non-stealing
bramacharya – to behave as a student of god

Niyama

saucha – cleanliness
santosha – contentment
tapas – discipline
swadyaya – self-study
ishvara pranidhana – offering to something bigger

Mudras

Jnana
Anjali

Hindu Gods and Goddess stories

Durga
Hanuman - the story of Hanuman remembering his powers – Hanumanasana
Shiva Nataraj
Ganesha
Sarawat
Lakshmi
Kali

5 Divine Acts of Shiva

Creation
Sustenance
Dissolution
Concealment
Revelation

Opposites

Purusha/Prakriti – spirit/matter
Concealment and Revelation (Vilaya and Anugraha)
Mystery & insight
Ignorance and awakening
Forgetting and remembering
Sthira/Sukha
Yin/Yang
Embrace/Release

Trinities

Icca – Jnana – Kriya = Will, Knowledge, and Action
Sarawati – Lakshmi – Kali
The Gunas – essential qualities of nature: tamas, rajas, sattva

The Malas
(dust or film on the mirror of consciousness concealing us from our true nature)

Anava Mala – unworthiness, sadness, separation from God, lack of meaning
Mayiya Mala – competition, anger, jealousy, separation from others
Karma Mala – anxiety, fear, the desire to own and to accomplish

Attributes of the Absolute

Swatantrya – ultimate freedom
Purnatva – fullness
Spanda – pulsation
Chit – consciousness
Ananda – bliss
Shri – benevolence/ auspiciousness

Western Philosophy/Psychology

Mazlow’s hierarchy of needs
Flow – Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
Thriving vs Surviving
Use your strengths

5 Elements

Earth
Air
Fire
Water
Space/Ether

Bandhas

Mula
Uddiyana
Jalandara
Hasta & Pada

Holidays

Thanksgiving: Gratitude
Valentine’s Day: Love yourself first
Easter: I believe in miracles
Remembrance Day: Service
Diwali, Indian festival of lights: Be the light
Guru Purnima: honor the teacher inside & out
Equinoxes: Balance
Mother’s day: nurture yourself

Other

Beauty
Nitya Karmas – creating beauty out of the every day. The nitya karmas are the actions that we do every day of our life: eating, sleeping, drinking water, going to the bathroom. They are the eternal actions that we are bound to do
Listening
Dedication
Stillness
Prana
Sankalpa – Intention
TED Talks Courage and Vulnerability – Brene Brown
Lotus: beauty from the muck
The 3 gunas(3 qualities of mind) ~ tamas,rajas and sattva
The place in the middle
Practicing to 75% so you never harden & hit the wall. Be careful what you teach yourself
The similarities between nature & our yoga practice
Our connection to the Divine Mother (Earth) - Bird of Paradise
Gravity - Force & Counter Force (Tara Judelle)

The Five Koshas & The Five Kleshas

1.  Muladhara--base/sacral chakra--red--mantra: lum
2.  Svadisthana--belly chakra--orange--mantra: vum
3.  Manipura--solar plexus chakra--yellow--mantra: rum
4.  Anahata--heart chakra--green--mantra: yum
5.  Vishuddha--throat chakra--blue--mantra: hum
6.  Ajna--third eye chakra--indigo--mantra: om
7.  Sahasrara--crown chakra--white--no mantra

1. Physical body--Annamayakosha
2. Energy body--Pranamayakosha
3. Emotional body--Manomayakosha
4. Wisdom body--Vijnyanamayakosha
5. Bliss body--Anandamayakosha

(Kosha means sheath--the above are the five koshas.)

**
THE KLESHAS

The kleshas are outlined in the classical text The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as the obstacles to the practice of yoga and as such they hold us back from the final aim of practice which is to attain Enlightenment. In the case of the kleshas what we are learning about here is all that holds us back from the Enlightenment experience. Understanding the kleshas may help us uncovering our inner demons, and bringing them out into the light for analysis. We all have the same difficulties to face on our path – at root the human condition (what Buddhism would call suffering and the manifestations of suffering) are key ‘difficulties’ or obstacles (the kleshas) they simply manifest in different ways and scenarios depending on the context.

‘The obstacles and stumbling blocks on the path towards Realization can easily be overcome once an intelligent and comprehensive understanding of them has been reached. It should always be borne in mind that failures are but stepping stones to success’ Swami Vishnu-Devananda

So what are the five kleshas and how can they be overcome? Let’s go through them:

AVIDYA – This klesha is sometimes described as ‘ignorance’ but perhaps we may better think of it as ‘mis-knowing’. Ignorance implies a lack of understanding, whereas mis-knowing implies a wilful misunderstanding. We are not innocent victims in this ignorance, most of us choose not to use our initiative to find out who we really are.
Avida is the constant reference to ourselves as the body and the mind without much of an understanding that we have the capacity to move beyond this. Most of us are very attached to our bodies and our minds and see these facets of the self as defining who we are. Yoga teaches us we are so much more. We even have an expression in our culture of ‘losing my mind’ which has a very negative connotation. In yoga we want to transcend the mind. So avidya is summarised as a mis-knowing of who we truly are. Believing we are defined by the body or the mind when in fact when we really ask ‘who am I?’ the only authentic answer is ‘I am the primordial Self’ – not ‘I am Katie’ or ‘I am a mother’ or ‘I am happy’, but just ‘I AM’.

ASMITA – Asmita arises when we see ourselves as separate and divided from the rest of the world. It’s a perception which is very self-oriented and ego bound. We focus on ‘I, Me and Mine-ness’. Perhaps it is our job or our clothing or our cultural background that we feel defines us but whatever it is becoming attached to these definitions will hold us back from progress on the spiritual path. Asmita can also present as becoming very competitive. When we find that we want to be the best unconditional love is the remedy for this. When we experience unconditional love we let go of judging ourselves and others and we are able to be kind and compassionate, seeing the true nature of reality is that WE ARE ALL ONE, and there is no separation between us. Therefore there is no need for competition or comparison.

RAGA – attraction and attachment to pleasure. The problem with being attracted to pleasurable things is that they are usually impermanent and when the person / situation / mental state we are so enjoying changes we experience suffering. Therefore pleasure in the worldly sense is ultimately unsatisfactory and will not lead us to happiness and joy in the everlasting sense. We all have deep attachments, for example as the mother of a newborn baby and I experience deep attachment to my little babe. What is important is for me to remember that he is not ‘mine’. How can we work on letting go of attachment to pleasure? Perhaps in our asana practice we can challenge ourselves to pursue postures we find more challenging or less enjoyable, We can aim to practice these postures with an attitude of equanimity in order that we are able to move beyond only doing postures or practice that we are drawn to. David Life (from Jivamukti Yoga) points out that if we only ever do things that we ‘like’ and avoid that which we find challenging or don’t feel like doing we will stay the same. The yogi wishes not to stay the same but to keep growing and evolving.

DVESHA - closely linked to RAGA, DEVESHA is aversion to the unpleasant (running away from uncomfortable feelings and experiences). Transformation comes by letting go of attachment to preferences. When we move beyond raga and dvesha we move into a place of equanimity where we are less reactive and more creative in our responses to life’s ups and downs. We will of course still experience emotions but in a much more mindful and balanced way, rather than the roller-coaster of ups and downs that present through raga and devesha.

ABHINIVESHA – this is the root of all the other kleshas and is the hardest to break. At the core of our hesitancy in life is fear and abhinivesha explains why we often avoid risk or why we act with little courage. Abhinivesha is often described as ‘fear of death’ and whilst it certainly does describe a fear of the death of the physical body, it also describes the fear of loss, which comes with all the ‘mini-deaths’ we experience in life. The end of youth, the end of a job, and the end of a relationship could all be described as ‘mini deaths’. We cling onto these phenomenon because we are scared of the unknown. We cling to life because we fail to perceive the seamless continuity of consciousness, which cannot be broken by death. If we truly believed in Enlightenment potential within ourselves there would be no fear of death because we would know ‘I am not my body’.

So how do we address the practice of overcoming the kleshas in everyday life? We need to keep in mind that the formal yoga class is in itself a bit of a bubble outside of our everyday lives. It’s important that our yoga practice extends into everything we think, say and do. However the formal part of the practice gives us an opportunity to do exactly that – practice – so that our life ‘off the mat’ might be as non-judgemental and compassionate as possible and in this way the life of a being moving away from the kleshas and towards Enlightenment. I also remember David Life’s comments when we left (Jivamukti Yoga) teacher training were very useful … that teacher training happens in a secluded and conducive environment, and that attachment to these ideal conditions for practice is unhelpful. Everyday life may not provide us with what we perceive as ideal conditions but we must remember that everyday life is our opportunity for practice, it’s where we really discover if our practice is working.

One very potent way to overcome the kleshas is through intention. The yogi knows the power of intention and simply keeping in mind the intention to practice and live free from these obstacles will hold enormous power. Regular practice is another method – cultivating the tapas (fire and enthusiasm) to sustain your practice over time so that it might help you move beyond the binds of the kleshas.

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Anusara Kula Practice - November 26, 2011

Theme - Joy in the Present Moment

Yoga Class Themes