Stuff, Stuff & Stuff ~ by Cynthia Land, LMT, RYT

I was recently surprised/not surprised to see Marie Kondo capitalizing on the fame of her decluttering books by selling items to, wait for it, clutter your house.  

Here's a recent article about it in The Atlantic. I get that she's pushing out her brand but it sure looks funny from my end.  

We in the West seem to be susceptible to all kinds of buying strategies.  If you tell us it's good for us or will help us to lose weight, we're likely to buy it.  Marie convinced us to buy her book to help us bring more joy into our lives.  The idea was to help us get rid off all the clutter in our homes, the things we were no longer using that had simply become a burden.  

In the practice of Yoga, with a capital "Y", we approach this idea of decluttering from the very first limb of the eight limbs of yoga.  The first limb has five parts and one of them is called Aparigraha, or non-possessiveness.  Sometimes it's translated from Sanskrit as non-attachment.  Many of us become attached to "things." "Don't take my Cuisinart, I can't live without it."

I confess to a deep desire for a Maserati Quattroporte.  I had this desire imprinted even deeper when my ex-brother-in-law bought one and I got to ride around in it.  That said, I realize this desire is unfounded and that my budget is no where near the reality of purchasing one, so I don't linger on this desire.  I just admire them.  Now you Tony Robbins types may say, "but Cynthia, anything is possible, you could start thinking big and saving for that car." And I will tell you that while I would love to have a Maserati, the owning of one, doesn't run my life.  I think of it in passing, occasionally.   I'd really rather think big on other things.  

On the other end of the spectrum, I see women blindly attached to the idea of relationship bliss that they destroy themselves to be with a man. Their notion of being single so abhorrent that they will attach themselves to men so deeply unhealthy just to prevent themselves from being single.  We are only starting to foster a woman's individuality and that she doesn't need a man/relationship to define or value herself.   Yes, I recognize I just compared my desire for a car and a woman's desire for a man but I wanted to show that one attachment can be manageable and one can be damaging.  So how do we get out of this mess?

Yoga suggests we practice letting go.  Let go of these attachments so strong they drive us to distraction, attachments so strong they cause us pain.  Obviously this is a practice, not something we just drop like a hot potato.  I too used to throw myself at men because I thought that's just what you did.  I felt so strongly that I HAD to be in a relationship or somehow I was less than my fellow woman.  My self esteem was lacking, that's for sure.  I sought counseling to put my mind in the proper perspective but I also meditated on letting go.  This is a process I have by no means perfected, but I keep meditating and my mind no longer holds on to things like it once did.  

Manual for Living ~ by Cynthia Land, RYT

The Gita Deck

Almost as long as I've been teaching the physical postures of yoga, I've wanted to study the ancient yogic tome known as The Bhagavad-Gita.  It is a yogic philosophical manual for living.  

Some find solace in The Bible or The Koran or name your religious book of choice.  I have never strongly aligned with any organized religion, but I have found alignment with many of the moral and ethical discussions found in these holy books.  The Bhagavad Gita really pares life down to the basics.  It actually comes from a much larger book.  The Gita, as it's lovingly called, comes from the Mahabarata an epic tale from ancient India.  If you think the current TV show Succession is good, it's got nothing on this wide ranging novel of the struggle of two royal families.  

I won't put too fine a bead on it, but suffice to say; at one point in the story the families decided to have a battle to end all battles.  One of the princes, Arjuna, has such a case of the jitters that he can barely get himself to the battle grounds.  His best friend just happens to be the Hindu god Krishna.  They've known each other since childhood, but that's another story.  Anyway, Krishna agrees to drive Arjuna to the battle ground and the Bhagavad-Gita is the conversation that ensues between the two once they arrive.  

The Gita discusses the difficulty of doing the impossible.  How does one go forward knowing you must accomplish a task so heinous you can barely step one foot forward.  This is what Arjuna must do in this story.  He must get out of his chariot and begin to kill his cousins.  Krishna understands the weight of the task but tells Arjuna that it is his dharma, or his life's journey, to go into this battle, there is no other way.  What's important to take away here is that we all have very difficult situations in our lives that must be done.  Situations where everyone seems to lose.  We do these things because they simply must be done.  

The Gita Deck

The conversation between Krishna and Arjuna continues, ranging from lust to sacrifice to the importance of maintaining balance in life.  Each chapter of the Gita focuses on a form of Yoga.  There are many versions of the Gita, all translated from the original Sanskrit.  I'm currently using a version written by Stephen Mitchell.  However, I was recently turned on to a cool tool; The Gita Deck.  This is a deck of 68 inspirational cards, all taken from The Bhagavad-Gita.  You can just shuffle the deck, pick a card and be inspired by something from the book.  Reading them is a great way to learn the Gita if you don't want to sit down and read the book 

Life is hard enough to get through, Yoga with a capital "Y" has helped me understand my body, quiet my mind and relate to the world around me.  The Bhagavad Gita, especially studied with others, has had a profound and long lasting effect on me.  

Saucha / Cleanliness ~ by Cynthia Land, LMT, RYT

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How many of you are going through your closets deciding what shirts bring you joy?  The Marie Kondo plan of simplifying is not a new one.  The yogic concept of saucha or cleanliness has been around for millennia and feeds into this idea of austerity.  If you understand the 8 limbs of yoga, much of it is about eliminating suffering. Within the first limb of yoga is the concept of saucha.  Here we find removing clutter also helps clear the mind which in turn helps reduce suffering. 

I need only glance at the mess on my desk to know that it brings me anxiety/suffering.  Where to start is always the issue. I’m tempted to throw everything in a burn barrel and start over. No, that’s not the answer but the solution often seems overwhelming. This has happened to many of us. We have become overwhelmed. We’ve accumulated so many things, whether they be papers, books, cars, shoes or problems that we don’t know where to start. Thank goodness for others who have come up with processes that work. 

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If you’ve ever watched any of the cooking shows, you’ll notice that chefs clean as they go, wiping spills and washing knives right after use. Much of life SHOULD go this way and yet the socks somehow can’t quite hit the hamper. Note that putting the socks IN the hamper takes a millisecond and creates a cleaner space in your room. Are you willing to give two shits for some happiness? Translate this into the dining room after a meal when instead of leaving dishes on the table you instantly put them in the dishwasher, or when you come into your home you leave your shoes by the door and put your keys in a pretty dish where you can easily and quickly locate them the next morning.  

Another process I’ve found useful is the 15 minute rule. “I’ll only do this for 15 minutes.” (Pinterest task list) Completely cleaning off my desk or cleaning my house is instantly overwhelming. But if I can tell myself, I'll just clean for 15 minutes then the task seems manageable. I use this method with a lot of things in my life. Even writing. I like it because I can see an endpoint and I don't feel as though it has to be perfect, I just have to get started. Getting started several days in a row, gets things done. Also, I don't limit myself to 15 minutes. If I want to longer, then I give myself permission to do as much as I like.  

One of the other yogic practices related to saucha is kriya or cleansing techniques. There are a litany of these and I won't go into all of them here. You can see and try a few by referring back to my blog from January. Suffice to say the yogis found living in the corporeal world a little trying. They're were constantly finding things about the body to clean. They cleaned their diet by often being vegan or fasting.  They did intense water cleanses of the digestive, respiratory and excretory systems. Some of these were done around the change of the seasons. All of this was done in an effort to remove any impurities that might hamper their ability to reach enlightenment. Today we learn from these techniques but we don't have to adhere to them.  

When it comes to removing clutter, we might also want to turn the spotlight on our relationships.  How are the people in our lives supporting us?  Do they bring us joy or suffering?  If they are bringing suffering, are we willing distance ourselves from them?  Some feel compelled to keep certain people in their lives because they are family or we've known them since childhood.  But if these people are toxic and preventing from us growing and succeeding it might be time to let them go.  I stopped talking with my dad for about a year when his PTSD got to a point where I could barely have a conversation with him without it turning into a full blown argument.  My parent's home was no longer safe for me.  We both went into counseling in separate ways but were eventually able to come back together and are now closer than ever.  

This spring I tell myself I will take everything out of my clothing closet and keep only what brings me joy, 15 minutes at a time. 

How is your sadhana? By Cynthia Land, LMT

Several years ago I traveled out of town to witness for myself a “realized” being. I don’t know what I expected but she was super low key even though she was placed on a high pedestal. I didn’t sense energy coming off of her or see a huge aura. She just seemed like a pleasant, plump Indian woman. The friend who brought me had been visiting with her for several years, catching her during these "world tours." He went up to speak with her, and that is when she asked; "how is your sadhana?" Sadhana refers to your practice of yoga. That includes all the tenets, not just asana. So I ask you today; “How is your sadhana?”

Of course your response might then be, what does sadhana entail? Strictly defined it is a spiritual practice.  If we believe that Yoga (with a capital Y) is a path to spiritual enlightenment then having a spiritual practice would fall in line.  Now before anyone begins bristling at the possibility this might become a religious discourse, please don't close your mind just yet. One of the beautiful aspects of Yoga is you are invited to have your own beliefs. In fact, some famous names in Yoga are unabashed Christians (Paramahansa Yogananda) and some are Hindus. I am likely neither. At this point in the game, let's just assume you have a belief in SOMETHING and leave it at that. And even if you don't, we can still have this wonderful practice. You will find that very little of the yogi life has to do with how well you perform downward facing dog.

  

One of the main things we can work with is from The Yoga Sutras and it's called the Eight Limbs of Yoga.  These are painted in Sanskrit up on the walls of our studio.  I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Yoga Sutras. There are many translations from the original Sanskrit and one will speak to you.  For our purposes today, I will not run through the Eight Limbs.  I recommend doing a Google search and seeking out PDFs for more details.  You'll be surprised at what you find but the main gist runs through all of them.  

Our focus here is understanding the daily practice of a yogi. Guided by the Eight Limbs we begin each day rededicated to living in such a way that gets us closer to stillness of the mind, that usually means sitting for meditation. For some, however, that might mean starting with an asana (pose) practice.  An asana practice might be followed by a pranayama or breathing practice before settling down for meditation. Note that all this can take place in two hours or as little as 45 minutes. Each practitioner must determine their own needs. This is why working with a teacher can be so important.  A student might start off needing a very strict practice to understand the fluctuations of both body and mind before being able to sit quietly.  

When I became a teacher I went to a 30-day teacher training retreat and really began to understand how loud my mind was and how fidgety my body was. Morning meditation was challenging because while my mind was just waking up, my body wanted to get up and run around. Evening meditation was easier physically because I'd sort of let my body run out all of its jitters but my mind was active and wanted to talk at me.  I had to learn to settle my body as well as settle my mind.  Today this is easier but I still prefer a morning meditation to an evening one!  

And so we go through the day.  How do we stay in line with the Yamas and Niyamas? There is an opportunity for self-study (svadyaya) and truth (satya). When in conversations with others, are you standing in your truth as you speak truth?  How about when taking part in an asana (pose) class, can we practice Bramacharya (right energy) and non-harming (ahimsa)? There are so many places in the day to poke your head up through the clouds of automatic actions and check in on yourself.  

If we have not been truthful or have in some way been harmful we don't have to shame ourselves or pay some kind of penitence, we just need to become more aware and awake to our behaviors.  We cannot change that which we cannot recognize. There is a good chance when we sit in meditation we will see with glaring clarity all the places we have been weak in the Yamas and Niyamas and that's okay.  This is progress.  If you are new to this practice you shouldn't be surprised that thoughts are coming thick and fast.  If you are seeking serenity and are willing to change, let the thoughts arise.  Notice the thoughts, perhaps even write them down at first so you can get them fully out into the open.  

In the practice of pranayama/breathing, you will start to notice places where the breath does not move. With focus and effort, you will eventually get the breath to move into some dark corners of the body which may unearth things you never knew about yourself. Maintain courage and continue your practice and explore further. The same will be true with the practice of pratyahara or withdrawal of the senses. As you remove external stimuli and all that's left is your inner truth, you will be left to face it. Get in there with klieg lights! Remember, we're going for the jewels of serenity, truth, and enlightenment.

With time and awareness, you will come to know yourself in a way you never thought possible. Some aspects of yourself you will not like and wish to change and some aspects you will come to love and want to enhance. Be patient with yourself, take a daily dose of compassion for yourself and others who do not have a sadhana and stay on the path of your own spiritual journey.