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9/05/2004
Rona...

Yes, yes! I am going to be in Ojai for the Yoga Crib next month, and I'm excited, too. I had a thread going in one of the forums here about some of my fellow yogis (from Pgh, and from the classes I attend occasionally..) visiting LA.

We got to chatting about some hidden desire to go west myself... and somehow it became a really urgent thing to "just do." So, I just DID it.

The blessings of a yoga practice... how our yoga practices enrich us... practice lets us see, understand, appreciate, bathe in life's flow... because life is often hard, always bumpy, totally unpredictable, but filled with gorgeous, breath-taking beauty to balance it all out. If only we have eyes to see clearly, ears to hear cleanly, and a heart to open up to it all. It's hard to open regularly to disappointment, but I've found that with practice, like all other things, you get lots better at it.

Mr. Jindel really is a sweet man, and to see his pretty 40-something American daughter-in-law just adore him openly was special, too. Mr. Jindel's son was there, also, very supportive and respectful, though not a yogi!

That was mentioned in passing, as when Mr. Jindel asked the crowded room how many could touch their toes..."Like this?" as he pointed to Marsha (his d-i-l) sitting on the floor, demonstrating. There were lots of nervous giggles and some laughter. He smiled and said "That's okay. My son cannot even touch his own toes!"

I must say this... the energy and healthy light that shone out of Mr. Jindel, his son and daughter-in-law, and their two children was notable.

So, I'll leave you today with one gem I found upon steady rumination of Mr. Jindel's lecture/clinic:

Patience is profoundly powerful. The power of constancy, of dedication-- it's like a force of nature.

The non-permanent achievement of being able to do 108 Surya Namaskar is impressive, but hardly enduring. I'm "here" for life, dang it!

(---Or am I just trying to get out of working up to "X" number of them? LOL!)

9/09/2004
So, without further delay or introduction, let us move on to the subject of elimination! "> "> ">

As I said, I was in the back of the room, my mat up against the wall. Yet, I had a clear view of Mr. Jindel at the front of the room, and he started off with his dietary recommendations... I have a very keen ear for accents, and though he speaks English excellently, his 'accent' (it forces the syllabic stress always on the second syllable) was losing part of the class. When he advised against taking milk at the same time as either lemon or yogurt, many people couldn't get it.

Partly, it was because they had no clue they were in for something more than an exercise class, and weren't expecting dietary instructions, and partly due to his way of speaking (which I find utterly charming, if that's allowable!) However, if they thought they shouldn't be getting talked to about intake, were they ever in for the shock of the evening when he brought up... *clearing of throat* ...the other end of the process!

I, of course, loved it... and I'll let it drop at that... but he starts out by saying everyone has a "VVIP"-- a very very important person in their lives. But some things must be accorded the respect and position of the VVIP and not take a back seat to this VVIP. Yoga practice is one of them. You should not put it aside for other less important things, nor for the VVIP.

Then, he directly links the VVIP to bodily elimination. Yee HA! I know we're gettin' serious now, but may I admit I couldn't resist a furtive glance or two around me when I felt the group's energy fold over on itself and squirm restlessly?

How did he accomplish this "link" between elimination and the VVIP? Very simply put, he says that urination and stool are to be accorded a high importance, also on the level of your yoga practice. If you have a need to eliminate, you go do it no matter what. By the same token, if you must go, you must not push. "Do not hold back, but do not push!" he told us.

I was reveling in the discussion at that point, realizing how to-the-core of the practice he was going, and at the same time, here is a roomful of people from a very...ahem... affluent neighborhood/community who NEVER expected a talking to about their bodily habits like they'd maybe-- or not-- gotten from their parents!

Surprisingly, and I am happy to report, after their initial shock at his topic, they really opened up to him and got over themselves in short order. Hurrah!

Mr. Jindel went on to say that "You must never ever hold back when the need to go sit down comes upon you. If you need to, you spend a little more time sitting down in there. Doing that is important, as important as the man sitting in the white house is."

To sum it all up, he is stressing how natural yoga needs to be in one's life... and not to shove it aside, nor to do the same thing with bodily elimination. Yoga is nothing that is not natural, so he says stressing yourself in an asana "is NOT yog" and "it is unnatural." He says that if you cannot achieve a full version of a posture, break it into parts. Work on the parts and let them come together, slowly and slowly. If you are going to lift your leg and hold it steady, do not overdo it so that when you lower it, it falls back without you being able to control it.

Good point. I have felt that, yet maybe not acted on it one way or the other. Most of my classes in group settings have emphasized moving from one asana to the next, and sometimes I get tired, so I move (IMO) too rapidly from (as an example) chaturanga to updog. I feel like there is so much inside that junction of postures, that I'm being cheated... that I am moving too rapidly and not getting the smoothness that I could if I lived the pose a little longer.

By simply having us lay on our backs and lift our legs, one at a time and hold them stationary no more than 15" off the ground, and only until we are sure that we have exerted enough effort without force that we can slowly and slowly lower the leg back down, we cannot but help to get more in touch with our own limits... our ego limits, I mean.

And we followed those two movements with the "Relax!" command (in savasana.) Next, we were to lift both legs in the same manner, to explore more truthfully how 'powerful' we really are. (My slant here, he did not say that, but I suspect it's how many of us would experience it.)

He says "You will be doing yoga for your life, so what's the rush? Don't be in a hurry, but go slowly and slowly."

And he breaks into a fantastic grin, filled with beautiful white teeth!
(Did you see the part in the little article that says he's only seen a doctor twice in his life? And the foot that got run over by a cart that kept him from his practice for two weeks happened, according to Marsha, three years ago.)

Marsha told us we will not be having the class next Tuesday since Mr. Jindel will be out of town, so we will have our next class Thursday evening, then resume the Tuesday night sessions.

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Wow, how fortunate for you to have such teaching. ">

I can attest from my the evolvement of my personal practice, that approaching asana from the slow, non-straining approach has really allowed integration of practice into ordinary life.

For example this week, having a mild cold viral attack, early in the week I did some sweaty physical practice, then backed off and just do chest openers and sitting resting a lot, no need to push myself into exhaustion, I am continually keeping an eye toward healing. I am thankful for listening to the wisdom that your teacher currently is sharing. ">
David

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Thanks for the class commentaries GS. I am enjoying them immensely. Your writing style brings the class to life, and short of being there, is making it accessible to all of us.
All My Relations ">
Namaste

-Dennis

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9/10/2004

Okay, last night I was able to get into my car and underway a full half an hour ahead of class time. With the venue (a park rec center high atop a hill, and if you understand topography in western PA, you know we gots da hills, baby!) only 13 minutes tops from my house, I was still not in the first wave of students. *g*

I was happily in the middle, second row, where I could see Mr. Jindel clearly.

We all signed in as we arrived, and while there were a few less bodies in the house, it was still very dense. The mood was better, having already understood about no cell phones and shoes, we didn't have all that nonsense to deal with... as I had suspected.

There was lots of chatter and excitement while we all arranged our mats, but when the time came to start, everyone was quiet without any admonishment. The average age of the student I'd put at about 48, but indeed, there are older than that, and a few young people. One Oriental man of 40-ish is there with his pre-teen son (perhaps 13 or 14.)

Mr. Jindel, not having fasted throughout the day, was just sparkling with energy and happiness. While the room filled up, an older man in the front row asked him a question, and it stirred a conversation between them. While I didn't attempt to listen in (I was centering myself, doing some inner exploring after a rough day) I could hear the energy level and the easy laughter from both of them, chatting like old friends. At one point, I did look up to see their faces (I like to "read" that kind of exchange) and both were smiling, though it was obvious that they didn't know one another from another setting.

We got a photocopied handout of the asanas that Mr. Jindel would be teaching us in the six weeks, some of which we did on Tuesday. Marsha told us that it was from a small book that a close friend of Mr. Jindel's wrote. She said to sign our names at the end of class on the paper at the back of the room if we wanted a copy, only a couple of bucks, and she would order them in a lot directly from India. I figured, Why not? Even if it isn't some vision directly from the heavens, it would be a wonderful keepsake of the six weeks, and probably be very helpful to the author back in India.

We had much less verbal intro this time around. He seemed bright and eager to see us get into the asana work. We started in Dog pose (svanasana-- not down dog) then moved to Thunderbolt post (vajrasana) before starting the leg lifting routine. I think he likes us to do this leg lift, one side at a time, first with opposite leg straight out on the floor, then again, with it bent. Raise leg 15", hold as long as you can, lower with control and steadiness. Repeat other side. It sets the mood of the class: s l o w l y and s l o w l y.

To wit: can I begin to explain to you the number of times, as he walked the room (actually this room is often used to host wedding receptions... you might call it a small hall) he would say "No no, gentleman, you must lower your leg and then raise it again slowly. You did it too fast."

or

"Please gentle lady, put your leg back down and do it again, but this time with steadiness."

It's funny how the American in us is soooo ready to please with swiftness... how we eagerly respond with earnest "hop to it" attitude, while Mr. Jindel gently admonishes slowness. It must be interesting to get into the heads of these folks to see how that topsy-turvy approach to things where they are going for "success" and "doing it correctly" and "pleasing the authority figure" is affecting them. Do they take a small kernel of that alternative approach with them into their daily life, or do they isolate it into "yoga class only" or "yoga practice only?"

Perhaps many of them wouldn't even be able to answer that question!

Mr. Jindel stopped briefly to discuss this slowness of approach. He noted that if we didn't go slowly and then just hold that leg up, we'd never know that we contained this shakiness that we feel after a while. He said to keep doing these very basic postures everyday, so that the shaking would go away on its own.

I say-- If we speed past, we do not know of our limits when it comes to being shaky, do we? I don't think that is such a great idea, especially when life itself demands a.. ** ahem**.. lifelong commitment!

So he says that you gain peace of mind by developing steadiness in all things, and that you should begin by developing it in your body, with your yoga practice. Cultivate and maintain steadiness in your practice and your life by going slowly, and you will also find peace of mind, for life is both pain and pleasure.

He talks a lot in small doses about this juxtaposition of pain and pleasure. He says when you feel the discomfort or pain in an asana (and one can imagine what the 'normal' person defines as pain here) you must persevere and learn to enjoy it so that the lesson carries over into your daily life, and that it will enhance your appreciation for pleasure.

When he tries to illuminate the fine line between "good" pain and "not good" pain, he says... "Don't make faces!"

It is soooo funny. He keeps saying to us "Keep your eyes closed. Keep eyes closed to observe your actions from the inside. Observe yourself from in there. You are engaged in a solitary activity, no matter how many people are in the room, in this big class. You are here for your yoga, not for anyone else's."

So, we are in our poses, studying our actions, and he walks softly among us in socked feet, and then... you hear him chuckle even more softly, and say in a quiet-almost whisper "No, no no! You are twisting your face. You must not make faces. It means you are straining too much."

Then he stands up and addresses us all as a group.

"You must not twist your faces all around. You have beautiful faces, why would you want to do that? Keep a natural face. If you are making a face, back off of what you are doing... you are doing too much. Only exert effort to learn to enjoy the pain, do not push so that you are using force."

I really, really hope that through the lessons of this class, the folks in it are porting the attitude into their family and work relationships! It is such a simple, yet strong message, isn't it?

What I like is how he reacts with such obvious pleasure when (my eyes are closed, so I can only locate him with my ears) he pads his way around the room, and exclaims quietly
"Good! Most good. That is correct. You are getting it!" and he's downright happy for that person! I often imagine our own big famous yoga teachers here in the US who are bored or becoming enamored with their 'status' and don't have time for the rawness of the beginner. Not so with Mr. Jindel. He even scolded us at the onset that "Yog is for everyone. I am just a normal man, as you are all normal."

(I make note of this because I saw in one of the "big" conferences with impressive lists of teachers, that Mr. So-and-so would only be taking intermediate and above students, or students that had previously taken a class with him." -- It wasn't the first time I'd seen something like this, but this last time was the most blatant, the name was well-known, and the event is heavily promoted. I just figured I'd never go. I'll always be a beginner, so what would *I* have to offer someone that lofty, huh? )

Mr. Jindel made mention of the fact that to do yoga everyday is absolutely necessary. He says "If you do even 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening, everyday, then this is good. Build on it slowly and slowly, and you will surprise yourself."

I think I see the heart of this 'problem' we have with doing yoga practice everyday, and this observation is in relation to the yogis I know and sometimes talk or practice with. Even at first, when I was a fresh-faced yoga student, 'saw' a practice as some heavy commitment, a huge chunk of time and energy that would demand a spot in my busy day. What made all the difference in the world was that I was quite dysfunctional in my SI joint/ligament area, and for six or seven years, too! So, I was willing to do whatever I could, even if only for a few minutes each day. My very pain and my injured body, my inability to approach yoga from an athletic/achievement POV was the blessing of my current strength, energy, and health.

I view my serious back problems of my 30's to be the ugliest duckling in my entire life to this point. I had to go s l o w l y and s l o w l y. What choice did I have? Yet, the back situation has become the beautiful swan, filled with strength and grace. I am lucky, trust me. I've had the opportunity to learn yoga in the laboratory of my own body, and it gives me wonderful insights when I talk about yoga to those who don't understand it very well or are curious.

I'm sure that over time, had I gotten to yoga as a 'healthy' person, I'd have figured this lesson out, but by entering my practice in this way, I didn't have to waste time learning to go slowly. What is nice about Mr. Jindel's message is that it is a reaffirming one for me. I am now quite healthy and with great vigor, so what do I see all around me, but folks who mention casually that they can do "X" number of Surya namaskar, or can "hang with such-and-such vinyasa practice" for some crazy amount of time. And yes, though I know better, once in a while, a voice in my head tries to make me feel inferior or less worthy. Ha!

I've learned that those voices in my head are not ME. They are the ghosts of the programming of my culture, of my upbringing, of my family, of my peers, of my school years, of my workplace. They are not me. I am allowed and I fully take charge of Myself and do not need to listen to those voices. It is an extreme privilege that comes only with extreme responsibility.

So, a "typical [western] practice" is intense, is often at least 60 minutes, if not longer, and will require a good shower, yadda yadda yadda. It will also hurt some part of your older body that can't take constant pounding, so you may have to avoid that pose or not do the practice, or you don't have time...."

*sigh*

You can still practice, every day, if it isn't constrained to some self-made rigid model, right? What if-- to take Mr. Jindel's analogy to bodily elimination and put it to work-- you say "I'll only sit down if I can save up enough to make three or four flushes?" or "I'll only go to the bathroom when I can't hold my bladder anymore." I say, you invite colon and digestive disease, or weak bladder muscles which will later make you a slave to some corporate diapers... can you say Depends?!

[*okay, editorial is on pause.*]

I'll close for now by adding that Mr. Jindel eagerly approaches the 15 minutes between 9 and 9:15 (Q&A) and he shows his delight clearly as he solicits the first question of the evening. He then points to someone and invites the person to the front of the room, where they either demonstrate a posture we did for clarification, or asks something else.

One woman came forward, and as she approached, she said
"I actually have two questions, if that's okay...." and he smiled hugely and cried out "It is okay if you have THREE!"

We all laughed, as we did when he took the time during the asana section to chide one of us jokingly about facial contortions.

*ahhh....*

Now, next class is not until a week from next Tuesday, and Marsha will lead that class. I will be back to post anything of interest (I'm curious to see what a really-visually-perfect-example of a blond, middle-American woman can reveal after studying for ten years with someone like her Papa. It is always so refreshing to have the book cover reveal flaws in old stereotypes! So, I eagerly look forward to her class as well.)

Mr. Jindel will return to us the following Tuesday, and we will all be whipped into shape... slowly and slowly, of course... and I can even hear his delight when he sees us next.

"You are all doing this so very well!" he will say.

Okay, time to actually get into my kitchen... I think Navrattan Korma is what I will be preparing this evening... for those unfamiliar with Indian cooking... it is a mildly flavored creamy dish with essentially nine kinds of vegetables. I would imagine it would be hard to find anyone that wouldn't devour it.

But! As Mr. Jindel urged us in our very first class "Chew your food so it is like a liquid. Your stomach cannot chew your food!" I love it! Such simplicity, such nuggets of gold.

Watch me and see if I can't go slower and slower.......

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Thanks Grandstaff! You speak about your time and what you are learning through Mr. Jindel with such zeal and inspiration! His spirit really shines through you! He is an amazing yogi and he is blessed to have someone like you who appreciate him sooo much to share his wisdom with sooo many others.
Jai Suraj Jindel
Jai Grandstaff:

Bhakti

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Thanks, Grandstaff. Super fun reading! Erich

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9/21/2004

I'll be leaving for the s l o w yoga class in about 90 minutes, and I can say that I am uniformly but pleasingly and ever-so-slightly sore in muscles all over my body from last night's workshop [Doug Swenson at Schoolhouse Yoga in Pittsburgh.] It's just a tiny, slight feeling, nothing at all over the top; I attribute it to my real attention to the Body I am privileged to have.

If there is something the Body doesn't want to do, I don't do it. I go so far, then explore right there. Also, there were things I found the Body wanted to have fun with, and even though the Mind was hesitant, it was not given veto permissions!

All in all, I returned home last night from Doug's workshop, filled with smiles and energy, even though my muscles were tired and hungry.

Also, tonight, if I didn't get my wires crossed, Mr. Jindel may be out of town, so Marsha will teach in his place. That's okay with me, because I'm truly interested in the mutations that may or may not have taken place in the transmission of his knowledge (to his American daughter-in-law.)

Either way, however it manifests in her is a valid expression for her, and no doubt, for many others. I believe I may have mentioned this previously, but she has a delightful energy that is not shy about emerging from her face and eyes.

I hope I don't sound too nuts when I say things like that, but for most of my life I've been able to... read (?) energy patterns in people, which helps me target their emotional and psychological states of being-- not in an analytical or clinical sense, but in that sense of immediacy, of how to say hello, how close to get, how to use tone of voice, when to make eye contact, etc.. I could list a whole catalog, but that doesn't make sense!

Of course, it goes without saying that I need to be well-slept and comfortable in my own life, not under undue stress or ill, or fighting one of my own kleshas. In other words.. OPEN. Strong and Open.

Donny, you talk often of kleshas, and in the language the term was born from, Sanskrit... is there even a close approximation to klesha in English? It just fits so well, but unless I'm talking to someone who actually is familiar with the word, I can't use it. *sigh* What would be an easy way to deal with it while still honoring its meaning and intent?

[another aside aka a ramble]
I say Balance! Light/Heavy, Serious/Silly... I love life, indeed... and it has thrown me some tremendous curve balls (am I being euphemistic? Yeah, maybe understating things now and then....) but each time I either catch the curve ball or get beaned by it and live to tell, it makes my smile that much more REAL.

-- Hey, really getting off track here now, but I can't bear to hold this back: a Smile is the most incredible "weapon" of social interaction one can use. If wielded effectively, it can render the most cynical person momentarily still; at that point, other things dictate whether that particular individual (stranger or not) will smile back. What a way to "gather data", eh?
(Heh heh heh... see that lady over there in the red top, putting her shopping cart in the return stall? When she looks up I'm gonna just smile at her....)

-- Geeze, can ya tell I'm just having fun with it all today? And to think I get to share more yoga very soon... ah!

Of course, I'll be reporting to work (approved) two hours late, around about eleven pm tonight, but I'll be ready to share the happiness.

I'll catch up with you later, my friends... just be prepared, 'cause I can feel a real doozy of a read comin' your way. All my paperwork from my job is finally done and I'm itchin' to write something nearer and dearer to me!

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As always... deliciously written.

I am interested in this: *I hope I don't sound too nuts when I say things like that, but for most of my life I've been able to... read (?) energy patterns in people, which helps me target their emotional and psychological states of being-- not in an analytical or clinical sense, but in that sense of immediacy, of how to say hello, how close to get, how to use tone of voice, when to make eye contact, etc.. I could list a whole catalog, but that doesn't make sense!*

Vv

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9/22/2004

Okay, where to start... last night's class was taught by Marsha. She told us "Papa" would be back in town, coming in from Chicago later in the evening, and was looking forward to being with us next Tuesday.

Marsha started class by reminding everyone to breathe while doing/holding their asanas, because the breath, the life energy, brings fresh oxygen and nutrients on inhale and then removes spent gases and toxins on exhale. She stressed that for some, there would be parts of their bodies getting some use that didn't normally, so a fresh supply of blood and oxygen, and the removal of built-up waste was vital--so continue to breathe!

And she said if anyone noticed their breath getting short, choppy, or strained, that they needed to come slowly out of the asana and let the breath return to normal, then resume it, as many times as it felt comfortable before she told us to relax. What a contrast to the previous night with Doug Swenson, or for that matter, any usual yoga class in our country!

I wondered how I would feel about the s l o w yoga after the type of energy generated and released and taken back in by Monday night's style of yoga, but quickly, it showed its own power.

We do such simple, basic, fundamental movements in Mr. Jindel's class. Imagine yoga asana broken down into building blocks, then hold these "pieces" for a long time. While the class could properly be called s l o w yoga, it is NOT easy yoga. It is not a restorative yoga in the common use of the term. It seems to be more about resolution, about commitment, about intent, and about steadiness, or at least the building of it. Think Determination Yoga.

Yes, it does look impressive when you do a clean jump back or up (heck, no thump, either) but can you lie on the floor, raise one leg up 12-15 inches, and just hold it there for several minutes? And maintain spinal alignment? And keep in touch with mula bandha? Not allow your shoulders to begin creeping out of place? What do you do with your pelvis in general as you 'struggle' to keep that leg in the air? Do you cheat and let another part of your body slide so that you can keep that leg up? (see all the interesting psychology in that scenario? These asanas, done properly, would demand a distinct level of inner honesty!)

At another point in the class, we got into cat pose. No, not into and out of on inhale/exhale cycles, but held it. And with an attention to alignment and the integrity of the pose... over the span of many breath cycles. Then-- onto cow pose, its mirror image, for the same length of time and commitment. It is NOT easy. Eventually we did do l o n g inhale and exhale cycles with cat-cow, but it changes the entire complexion of the two moves.

So what is immediately set up in the mind of the student who is "racing around" in his or her head, with pre-set notions of what a yoga class should be is the fact that one part of his or herself-- the monkey voice, I guess-- is saying "Aw, man... I don't wanna just hold Cat. I wanna keep groovin'..." and then the monkey voice says "Oh, this is such a basic, beginner's pose... I need more for my stage of practice...." and yet, every part of the body, if the monkey voice isn't TOO loud, is exerting effort, maybe even straining to hold the proper alignment with grace and strength and with an eye to a steady, comfortable arrangement!

So, can you do this kind of s l o w yoga with a monkey mind? NO! You have to want to do this kind of yoga, and with that intent, there is no room for extracurricular anything. Your eyes are closed, you are observing yourself from the inside, no external comparative markers allowed, so no excuses, either.

No room for kleshas here... and if you make room for them during this kind of practice, you won't come back for the next class; I feel I can predict that with a fair amount of certainty.

What I find very engaging about this kind of yoga practice is the silent, non-verbal bargaining that is brought out between the mind and the body while holding such "simple, basic" poses for a length of time.

Soon, one would forget all about one's wonderful, chic astanga practice and sink into a deep, silent well of existence where it's all about holding those shoulders away from one's ears and neck... or holding one's body in that curl, nose to knees, or keeping that leg up and doing it so it doesn't just drop it to the floor when the asana is finished....

In many ways, the whole world shrinks in closer and closer in the darkness behind your eyelids, until there are no more hidden corners, just your [organic] mind and the wonderful bio-energy machine of your body tugging, pulling, releasing, pushing, relenting, ratcheting up, stretching out, compressing, compromising, finding that balance and bickering at times, until a peace agreement is reached. You taste the balance, the place achieved with effort but sweet and steady nonetheless.

The world is indeed very small at that moment, but it's because your perceptions, your senses, your too-often outward casting mental shield has no room in the duet that has been going on... there is no room for anything but Yourself.

If we all could make that commitment to a 15 to 20 minute s l o w yoga practice ala Mr. Jindel's advice, as much as we commit to toilet time (hah-- my term, not his!) then gradually, insights and true inner wisdom would be given a way back in to us.

Intuition and honesty and wisdom would not have to fight to break through the Court of the Kleshas, only to arrive in the Great Hall of the Mind and flop exhaustedly in front of the great exalted Throne of the intellect and ego as a puny
that the King or Queen can more easily dismiss.

Hmmm.... musings can be fun. Hope you didn't mind. Mind? Say what? Who goes there....!

Okay, neeeext.......

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thoroughly delicious yoga
mmmmmmhmmmmm
love it
thank u for your clear, beautiful, poetic way you present your prose.
i can feel it with ease
very lovely
yay
and yum

love
rona

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Wow GS! What a very lovely post! Something I needed to hear today.

"It's really odd, but I've felt all my life, especially from around the age of three or four, that I was/am an empath of sorts... always picking up on emotional vibrations from people, and at times, actually physically turning or reacting to something that emanated from them without any words. As I got older, I couldn't handle the overloaded sensations it caused in me, nor did I know what to do or how to handle these external waves of emotion and energy. It scared me, and as a young person, I didn't know very well how to handle my own feelings, either.

We are all born with that openness. vulnerability, and healthy right brain ability to feel energy and emotions -- not only our own but others, but the tragedy is that most people are so traumatized (running away from their pain) and closed down that we begin to associate being open with the other's and our own pain and then we "shut down" as well. The gift is that you understood your own psychic history and started opening up again at 18.

When we learn how to cultivate and live inside our core/heart center, then from there nothing is threatening. Our natural response to other's suffering is spontaneous compassion and well wishes, regardless if we have the ability to effectively act on this on the physical plane or not. Thus yoga as it centers us in our heart/core being, amplifies our ability to more continuously act from, that fullness of love and well being.

Perhaps that is the challenge for me right now, to see my impatience as a lack of compassion -- of being tripped out of my heart/core center. Yes, anytime I don't feel compassionate, it is because I have become dissuaded. The answer is to open the heart and trust that radiant beauty.

Much Gratefulness!
Light and Love
Donny

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9/24/2004

Hi Bhakti,

It is sometimes difficult to get a post done, isn't it? I just gave my C: partition a good cleaning yesterday evening and I willingly ditched ALL my cookies, not just the space-eating ones... and so I have had to be less lazy and actually log in to the boards to write this reply!

Cleansing is good, huh? ">

It's heartening that the words in our thread have brought good things to all of us! We need to hear and participate in such positivity and discussion in the current climate of institutionalized and media-sanctioned "hate the Other" (even if it is your fellow countryman, let alone a 'foreigner') This way, we can keep our resolution to be compassionate strong and vigorous.

We need to be brave enough to speak up about compassion at a time when it is not "popular."

I talk among my co-workers and peers about such things; after a few years, I think they are actually "hearing" what I'm saying. And as Donny pointed out, if you can get yourself around to thinking about compassion and recognizing it, or at least the need to feel it, even if you can't quite or don't know how to act on it, that is some small advance.

I tend to be pretty tireless in my consistency when "preaching" about compassion. I have so much to learn, but why not bring anyone who is interested along on the journey with me? We are all journeymen/women on that path!

Compassion takes many forms. For example: instead of the old 'easy way out' of just going with the Big Corporate Guns, you look around, you find out folks in your own community that can provide you with what you need; you don't quibble over a slightly larger cost, because it supports your neighbor.

So, putting aside getting everything soooo cheap (who really wins, I ask?) and being willing to spend a few more dollars to help build a sustainable community is also a way of living more compassionately-- at least to the way I see it.

I think there are literally dozens.. hundreds... of ways to be or try to be compassionate. But it does take an open heart, patience, and an ability to see beyond one's own little needs. Donny is right-- we are all born with openness.

We just need to work on breaking down the walls we've built (to great accolades and with great approval of society at large) to access what is our birthright, our treasure... our heart and soul.

It CAN be done. Yes, it can and only fear will stop you from attempting to open your heart. We all experience fear from time to time, but to live in it as a state-of-being, unconsciously (or not!) is not only bad for your health, it cripples the most wonderful aspect of being human-- our ability to care and love and create.

Namaste!

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I like that ahimsa heart stuff -- not to buy from sweat shop prison labor oriented profiteers -- not to feed that exploitive/abusive dynamic through our consumer activities. To consume less and to "right consumerhood" ">

What are the effects of our actions -- what kind of karma does it affect? How does impact upon the earth, future generations, and All Our Relations? Certainly that sensitivity and awareness would be something Mr. Jindel addresses as well.

"I was merely a conveyance, a vehicle. I was simply a conduit providing a clearer, more direct way of accessing it for some people. I considered that an incredible honor, one that I realized I was tainting with my anger and impatience."

Very excellent!!!

Regarding anger, if it arises then it is a learning experience. Create the space to ask "where is this coming from"? What is going on? Why am I angry? Is this a functional/favorable response or is this an old wound/memory that I have been carrying around inside that is now coming to the surface asking to be healed/resolved?


"And in that moment when I sensed that it was Not Me, that it was part of me that wanted attention, I studied it, acknowledged it, laughed at it and then with it... and when we were finished laughing together, not only was I calm, but I could think about what made me so pre-angry without any disturbance at all."

Very powerful! Yes that is not repression or denial, but acknowledgement and self knowledge. Just being with that process is very powerful and strengthening/liberating.

Forgive me for not responding sooner -- I didn't/don't have the time or grace to do your sentiments justice, truly.


I don't fear anymore about those things. I feel connection. I feel my breath. So when my pulse races or I hear those stupid voices of my conditioning or my programming try to run the show, I dip my hands in that vast well of connection, and I drink that water I find there. It is always there.

May I keep my hands clean enough for all of my days."

Ahoumm aum and aum again! In gratitude!
Donny

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10/05/2004

Well, it's been such a busy past seven days for me. Sorry I couldn't get here to 'expound' a bit more... hehehe...

But I'll give you a quick recap of last Tuesday; I'm headed to class tonight, with one more on Thursday. Mr. Jindel returns to India this weekend.

Last Tuesday night, he greeted us, beaming, and with a glint in his eye! He asked everyone if they were doing their "homework" of the asanas that he told us to practice.

Everyone raised their hands. He asked if we were practicing everyday. Again, everyone raised their hands. Y'know... I actually believe they were being truthful!

Then Mr. Jindel smiled, proud of everyone, and said that we would be doing Surya Namaskar instead of reworking the asanas that we had been assigned to study at home. He said that if you do six full rounds of Surya Namaskar a day, that it will cover a great deal of ground, and you may need not do anything else. Of course, he's speaking in terms of how a regular person may incorporate yoga into a daily routine, not necessarily for someone who is a devoted yogi with a specific practice, such as those of us here at MIS (for one type of example.)

Much of the group, he has surmised, are not yogis in the sense that we may normally be used to, but are still, if they continue, students of yoga... for after all, don't we learn incredible amounts of information from our own bodies? I think he realizes that about 40% of the people in the class will not go on to take other yoga classes. Thus, the suggestion of Surya Namaskar as a complete routine for some.

Back to class work-- he had Marsha get into and hold each of the positions in his Surya Namaskar variation. My gawd, the poor woman! Actually, she looked fine, solid, content, cool... but the seasoned eye can see that what she was doing was taking effort, that it was gonna be a butt-kicker for us! He explained each position at length, too.

First we started with hands in prayer position, then raised them up overhead, straight arms and back, with no bending rearward, palms together. Hold.

(Not as easy as one thinks when one's posture isn't perfect, especially when one is not gliding through the position, but holding it!)
Next, we do forward bending. Hold.

(Ahh....!)

Next, we step right leg back, knee to floor, other knee bent past 90 degrees, hands to floor at sides of feet (try to get palms down fully!) and shoulders down and away from the ears; look up. Stretch side of body and underside of neck. Moderate backbend. Hold. He calls this "chariot driver" pose.

(Augh! Not so easy for me, due to neck issues-- I look forward and not up; it seems like the touch of inflexibility in my hips makes for a struggle to get palms anywhere near the floor!)

Next, step forward leg back, placing foot right next to rear foot, hands shoulder width apart, sit bones high in the air. This is similar to downward facing dog, but he called it a variation of a mountain pose. It is very much like an inverted triangular shape, a pike maybe-- with your pelvis folded over your legs creating the [clean] angle. He was adamant about fingers together and feet together, try for heels to floor. Hold.

(*sigh* I think this is the easiest of the postures, in some ways... like a rest position.)

Next, down, then up into cobra. And he wants you to go Deep! Hold.

(Okay.... y'know, after a good while, one's muscles tremble and shake like the wind is howling through one's skeleton!)

Next, eight points pose. Toes to ground; knees to ground; rear in the air; chest to ground; hands flat, fingers together at shoulder level, to ground; forehead (but not nose) to ground. Hold.

(Oh good lord, help me now! Can you hear me praying? No? Okay, let me see if I can find some compromise in this weak flesh to keep it going as long as I can. Let me be brave. Let me tremble. Let me be humble. Let me be strong. Let me melt down to the floor for a rest!!! )

Then, you cycle back through the positions in reverse order. Do the set on the other side; whatever leg you start with, you would do the other leg, to stretch the other side.

That is one full round.

Mr. Jindel had us hold these positions for quite a while. I kid you not. After we had completed two full cycles (took about ten minutes or so) he told us to relax. After we relaxed, he wanted us to do some more. He suggested that anyone who was winded or tired or struggling to just stay in savasana.

He actually asked two older women to rest during the next Surya Namaskar; you could tell that he knew no one was going to be the "first" to just "quit." The one lady smiled and gladly took his advice. The other was offended and wanted to argue with him. He just smiled and said "Okay, okay... you do the next one too. I won't argue with you."

~Interesting aside... Mr. Jindel speaks English excellently, with an accent. This particular lady, oh say about 67 or so, also speaks English very well, with an accent. I have no idea what it is, sounds a bit like eastern European in flavor... so to me, it's amazing that a man from India comes to America and teaches us his yoga, and here-- the beauty of America, which is never shown enough-- is another transplant, welcomed and having made her home in this country, is learning yoga from this man from India-- whose son and grandchildren are citizens of the US.

Talk about a melting pot! Fortuitous circumstances, and the beauty of diversity! I love it, I truly do. I'd love to know more about this lady, but I'll just imagine interesting and good things.

So we go into our next round of Surya Namaskar, which he said we'd do a bit faster. Yet, when we got to palms overhead position, he just stayed silent. Finally, he says (with mischief in his voice) "You see, I am checking your stamina!" and he laughed. He finally gave the command to go to the next position, forward bend.

Whew!

At the end of class, he told us that we should do Surya Namaskar at our own pace, but always to pay attention to alignment and proper positioning instead of speed or number of repetitions. He said to move to the next position when we are satisfied that we got to where we needed to be in the position we were holding. He said, yes, of course, you can do it on in-breath and out-breath, but suggested that we save that for later, when we feel very solid and steady in the positions.

Marsha was happy to address our anxious concerns regarding holding eight points pose-- she smiled and said, yes, this is a hard one, it will take some practice and some time. Okay, so we weren't dropping like flies for no reason! It wasn't just the women who struggled with that pose, either.

At the Q&A in the last five minutes, two of the women in class seemed to want to argue that they learned sun salutation differently, that it was down dog not mountain pose, that we shouldn't have our feet together, yadda yadda yadda.

I just sighed. I almost grew agitated. C'mon, now! For heaven's sake... there are so many variations on Surya Namaskar! But it highlights how people make the one, single way that they learn something (yes, even yoga!) so very proprietary, as if it were the Universal Cookie Cutter (that's a phrase I coined for my conversations with friends and co-workers, feel free to use it unashamedly!) of life.

I guess I also felt it was disrespectful if not borderline rude to argue with the guy, who was sharing his vast knowledge. But it was between the students and the teacher, not between me and them. He was firm, polite, and steadfast. You really can't argue with a fellow who is 80. He's too smart.

So, I just sat silently, shrugging without moving. Paid attention to my face to make sure it wasn't being used to transmit 'disapproval' or 'unhappy with ___' or 'irritation' or any of the other semi or unconscious displays of our ego that manifest there.

I say (my advice here...) that one should monitor their faces regularly, for the heart will often follow the face, but the face is often being commandeered by the ego and the will, thus acting the unwitting middle man for the wrongful control of the heart. If we work at face yoga, if we work at removing that link between the mind and the face and give the face back to the heart, we still need to monitor for the old squatter comin' 'round again... steady vigilance is needed to keep that invasive entity at bay!

JMO, of course. It works for me, though. Try it sometime, let me know how you feel it.

Needless to say, I was a bit sore the next day; again, it was a pleasant sort of soreness, which wore off with movement and usage of the old body parts anyway.

Okay, gotta stop hogging the bandwidth over here at MIS. I hope we find more gems tonight. You know I take you all with me, don't you?

Thursday will be the last class. But the teachings and simply absorbing Mr. Jindel's presence is a real gift.

See y'all later!

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You have been very generous in sharing and so it seems was Mr. Jindel. I, for my own part, am very grateful.

It is amazing that an Indian man yogi can travel thousands of miles away from home and share "yoga" with another woman who herself had traveled thousands of miles from her original home, yet they met in yoga.

I believe that this whole experience was a blessing for Mr. Jindel, for Marsha, you, and all the other participants as well as people like me who hung their breath (not without ample reward) on each and every word.

By the way I also first learned surya namaskar the way Mr. Jindel described and yes, in my original tradition also what is called by the Krishnamacharya tradition, downward facing dog, was called tadasana, mountain pose. The people and the techniques vary widely, but that universal love -- that shines through once in awhile thank God! That warmth I can feel deeply in your posts.

Many thanks!


JAI BHAGAWAN!
Donny

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10/06/2004

Before we began class, the borough coordinator stood at the microphone and greeted Mr. Jindel, expressed the gratitude he felt for his presence, his willingness to share his knowledge, the difference it has made in improving the borough's yoga program, how many people have been drawn into involvement, how their offices were swamped by phone calls after the paper article. He mentioned that Mr. Jindel usually only visits the US every ten years, and that we were incredibly lucky to have him with us this time around. He was smiling hugely, and with genuine gratitude.

He then introduced the mayor of Franklin Park, and this dignitary took the microphone.

Mr. Jindel said "Please, Ladies and Gentlemen, stand and applaud the Mayor." He motioned to us and smiled, so how could we refuse him? We stood on our mats and clapped. Yeah, apparently even the Mayor's wife went along with it!

The Mayor wanted to thank Mr. Jindel, and furthermore, he presented him with a certificate, which he read aloud to us, then held open for Mr. Jindel to see. They shook hands, and the Mayor told him that he wished that he could get Mr. Jindel back more often than ten years, and that they had talked.

As we all know, Mr. Jindel teaches at a men's prison back in India (see article link in my very first post) and he indicated that he might consider coming back to Pittsburgh if somehow, someone would find a way for him to go into the prison here and begin a yoga program like the one he teaches in India.

The Mayor promised to do everything he could, to get Mr. Jindel to return... and you know, I saw in his face that he was really sincere. I only hope that the sincerity lasts and doesn't get forgotten in the process of regular, daily politics.

Yet, it was very nice to see these white-bread, country club upper middle class officials being so charmed, so respectful, so filled with humility while standing next to Mr. Jindel!

When the Mayor handed the microphone to Mr. Jindel, he asked if the Mayor was going to join us, and we could make him a spot. The mayor's eyes opened wide and he shook his head.. "Oh no, my wife will show me what she's learned!" He smiled, then took his leave.

Mr. Jindel continued by emphasizing that he'd be very interested in coming to "the Pittsburgh Jail" to teach yoga, and that he hoped that the Mayor would do something to give him a chance.

This is where class began...

Everything settled in then. Mr. Jindel said that it is important to understand the significance of what we do in our daily lives, and that included yoga. He asked if the class was interested in the significance of yoga, that he would explain it to us in the second part of the class if we wanted him to. Many students nodded or indicated that they wanted to hear him speak.

We started with the traditional practice of saluting Lord Sun, as Mr. Jindel put it once. We cycled through both sides, nice and strong, holding moderately long, but not as long as last week. It felt good, much smoother than before. I suspect that when we do the long holding (and continue the practice at home when possible) of each position, that the next time we go through the entire cycle, we have built additional strength that makes our movements that much more graceful and the effort gives way to greater comfort and benefit.

While we moved slowly through our salutations, Mr. Jindel, with obvious pleasure and surprise, kept complimenting everyone, exclaiming over how well we were doing... "Yes, you are getting it!" he would say, or "Oh, you all look very very good!"

You have to admire someone who isn't afraid to display their pleasure in something so 'insignificant' without any concern for whether it looked dignified, proper, cool, or tough. He was letting the reality of his heart through in his voice-- magnificent motivation for a student!

When we finished our sun salutations, Mr. Jindel invited us to sit down, he was ready to talk about the significance of yoga. It's funny... he was in a mathematical mood! He used many geometry and numeral concepts to create his analogy between life, yoga, and the world. Some students found his approach odd, but I was simply curious.

What was really odd is that I've been studying all week for an exam, and for my own refreshing process, I've read a bit about the history and concepts behind the Hindu-Arabic numeral system (zeroes, place holding, relearn how to do counting in binary, hex, etc.) so it was liked he walked in through a door freshly opened in my own mind-- by what coincidence? Life flows in such incredibly complex and magical ways... and if, as Joseph Campbell counseled, we follow our bliss, then those doors open all along that hallway, at just the right moment. Magic is in the air! It is there for all of us, if we can become true and honorable to ourselves!

You see, Mr. Jindel inspires me further, and I end up veering a bit from my goal of describing the class. Bear with me...

Okay, back to class...

He started with a white board and a black magic marker, and started jotting numbers down, indicating how when one column fills up, it must zero out and move to the next column. This he called having too much to use and sharing with your neighbor. He performed several odd calculations (I couldn't see the board very well, I was at a funny angle and he was using a handheld board, not a wall board-- so I had to use my imagination to create pictures in my head) and each time, he would ask a question based on what he'd done. One such question was "Okay, now can you still see the 41? No? That is right. It is gone, or is it? No, it is right over here, next to the 139."

Point being, he wasn't doing mathematical problems to prove a theorem, but to demonstrate that they all contain each other in such various and almost infinite combinations, spilling over into other place holding columns, giving to neighbors. He would scratch out some numbers, wipe the board clean, do some more. There were a few people in the middle and back rows that were unhappy with the turn the class had taken, but I was thrilled. I looked around briefly and saw quite a few people following along with interest, some smiling broadly. Many had no idea where he was going with his discussion, but were feeling challenged by the atmosphere of answering math problems!

Mr. Jindel likened addition to sharing or giving to ones neighbor; subtraction to taking without return. He also talked about parallel lines, asked if anyone knew the definition of them. Then he said "A parallel line is a line that is equidistant to another line, differing from that line only in a constant amount of distance; they never meet." He asked if crossing lines meet. Someone said yes, and he said No, they only cross at that one point, they dont meet. This is how it is with an enemy.

He went on to play cat and mouse with the responders in the class, finally coaching them to seeing that two parallel lines dont meet, but if the gap can be closed, if one moves them slowly and carefully together closer and closer, that they merge and meet. Then he asked if that would make the line twice as wide.

Someone shook their head no and he said Thats right. What is the definition of a line? It is the line that connects two points, and has only length, but no breadth. So the message he wanted to convey is the meeting, the joining, the union of two dual entities into one. He asked "How can such a thing be? Length but no breadth? But think of your mind. Can you see your mind? No, but you can see your body."

He likened yoga of the body and mind to the lines meeting. He also likened the joining of the organs, the nerves, the muscles, the tissues, the bones, joints and mind to the numbers-- all contributing, sharing, borrowing and gifting each other.

Like I said, he was in a mathematical mood!

But he really hit on all cylinders after this math analogy set-up. It was obvious that he felt strongly about what he began saying at this point no more cat and mouse, teacher and student, but someone who lives and believes his hearts instructions.

He said that yoga is the union, the natural, the knowing of the mind through the body. He said that the body is tangible, able to be seen and felt, grasped with all our senses. He stressed that the body is a full equal with the mind, and should not be like a slave, mistreated when it cannot respond exactly the way the mind wants it to.

One cannot see the mind. One cannot touch the mind or make contact with it in a physical sense. He also pointed out that the body has limits that the mind does not. The body has a finite speed, the mind can go from Canada to India, to the USA in seconds. So, the union is achieved when the mind stops mistreating the body, but instead respects it, learns the limitations, and also learns the unknown capabilities of the body as well. Union of opposites.

He says the best way to really learn the mind, to study it is through yoga asana, where use the physical body that we can touch and learn and inhabit to reach the mind, make the union. This unity must be created with consciousness and awareness, by building a relationship between the mind and body.

He likened it to a situation where you take a walk at the same time everyday, and you see a neighbor also walking. You could just nod and say Hello, then pass along. Or you could cultivate small, gradual, slow conversational exchanges with this neighbor, that over time might make you very good friends, but if you only settle for the nod and the hello, you will never build a relationship. So your yoga practice must also progress, slowly and steadily, to give the new relationship time to grow naturally, progress and blossom with strength and affection.

Some things Mr. Jindel said, that I paraphrase, closely but not exactly:

By studying your actions in an asana, closing your eyes and feeling your body and mind working together, it is the same building with awareness and intent a good, steady relationship between the two.

You should always smile, be pleased, be content with what you have in your life, be calm, be happy all this in spite of the pain and discomfort. Learn to love the pain.

You should be motivated and motivate others by love, by respect, by regard and affection, not distance and hostility.

You are unique, God has given you all, everyone of us, faces and voices of our own. Yoga will allow you to express yourself, to be yourself, to give to the world something unique, something new, creative, to justify the gift that was given you of your life.

Be a lighthouse, do not be guided by the light of others, be open to the miracle of Mother Nature, that takes the smallest seed and over time, through storms and wind, heat and cold, becomes the tallest of trees, a banyan tree. Be the lighthouse, give light to the world around you; to copy others is to falsify what God has given you, that is unique to you alone.

Yoga is the power of addition, an addition of love.