Ashtanga Yoga Seattle

12/06/2018

The yoga of Patañjali is not karma yoga. Though following your “path” or “mission” might have some values, this is not what Patañjali teaches.
Let us look at the sutras 2.12,2.13,2.14.
2.12: karma is created by the kleshas or afflictions. This karma will be experienced now or later.
2.13: as long as the kleshas are present in us, karma will manifest itself in the way and place wile are born, our longevity, and our life experience.
2.14: this manifestation will be painful or pleasant depending on our actions, whether virtuous or non virtuous.

We have to be very careful before acting. The kleshas can be present in a much more subconscious way than we might think.

The goal of yoga is to remove our kleshas. In this way our actions will not create any karma anymore. Because this task will most likely not be possible for us, Patañjali stays positive and reminds us that we can create good karma through virtuous actions. It is important to remember that good actions, when kleshas are still present in us, are not the goal for Patañjali. These actions will create good karma but karma nevertheless. We will enjoy and use up this karma sooner or later. Eventually, if we haven’t worked on diminishing our kleshas, we will create karma again , falling in the wheel of samsara.

10/01/2018

Still think Krishnamacharya made up vinyasas? That this was all copied from gymnastics? That there were too many poses for it to be “spiritual”?

Christopher Tompkins is one of the only scholar/practitioner I have recently become aware of who has researched ancient texts in ta**ra to bring light to these fallacies.

Part 1 of a 3-Part Course with Christopher Tompkins and Shiva Rea Take an extraordinary journey into your own yogic heritage.

11/20/2017

Fragility or sensitivity?

Throughout my years of practice, I have heard many times how people tend to feel more fragile. It becomes harder to do other sports and physical activities such as tennis, running, skiing, etc... We tend to be more affected by other people's behaviors.
That is what I call sensitivity. The body or physical consciousness is heightened by the practice of yoga. It knows better what is good or not for itself. We are taught to become disconnected from our body and so we forget what can or should be done to it. The practice is there to remind us. over the years, my body has become more grounded than ever like the roots of a tree. Always growing towards the sky, the leaves may be seen as fragile, but when we look at the tree, even the strongest human cannot uproot it and still, it is sensitive to light, water, and earth.
The mind or emotional consciousness functions the same way. We are ever more sensitive to people's actions and words. But is this fragility or simply feeling and perceiving what is there to perceive? The emotions are simply there to remind us that we have reconnected to the heart. As long as we don't identify with them, they will come and go, forever, like the waves of the ocean. This is a chance for us to discover that we are not our emotions but only a place where they can land and leave.

11/20/2017

11/20/2017

Bhagavad Gita
Chapter II:

Verse 40:
On this path, effort never goes to waste and there is no failure. Even a little effort towards spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear.
nehābhikrama-nāso’sti pratyavayo na vidyate|
svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt|

Verse 47:
You have the right to work but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.
Karmaṇy evādhikāras te|
Mā phaleṣu kadācana|
Mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo’stu akarmani|

Verse 48:
Perform work in this world as a man established within himself: without selfish attachments and alike in success and defeat. For yoga is perfect eveness of mind.
Yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāni|
Saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya|
Siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga ucyate|

05/31/2015

Awesome class today!! Lots of people and high energy. Practicing ashtanga with ashtangis will help you focus and will help you cultivate tapas. There is something special about being with other people in the same room while doing the same thing.
I have always found it funny the closeness that we, students, create with other students in the room. We don't even know their names but somehow we feel like we've been through so much together.

05/29/2015

My sutra of the day.
Chapter 1 sutra 33.
maitri karuna muditopekśanam sukha dukha punyapunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam.
"By cultivating an attitude of friendship toward those who are happy, compassion toward those in distress, joy toward those who are virtuous, and equanimity toward those who are non virtuous, lucidity arises in the mind."

The first time I read this sutra, I thought "well of course, everyone does that! Nothing to do here." And then I realize. Think about your friend who is going through a rough time. Even though we might share their pain, how do we feel later on in the day? Well, the day is usually lighter. We think our life is pretty good after all. In some ways, we're kind of happier than we were the day before. How about the friend who got this awesome promotion? We are very happy for them, but later on in the day we tend to feel a little crappy. We start thinking about all the problems we have in our lives.

This sutra is precisely describing this behavior. We feel bad for the tough lives of others but not that bad. Actually, we feel happy about our lives afterwards. We feel happy for our prosperous friend but not that happy. We tend to feel down and somewhat sad about our lives afterwards.
So we need to cultivate this happiness for the happy ones. A long lasting positive attitude towards them. We need to cultivate empathy and compassion for the ones in distress. A long lasting compassion towards them.

05/19/2015

The opposing forces,
Apana vs. prana.
Stay light but grounded.
Nancy Gilgoff sees people as light and dark.
Richard Freeman describes us as a tree: always trying to reach the sky as the leaves do, and always staying more grounded towards the earth like the roots.
Be heavy as a rock and light as a feather.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 verse 48: yoga is perfect evenness of the mind.
A strong uddiyana bandha will keep the prana and apana forces connected.