I spent a night at Kripalu last weekend to serve on the Leadership Gift committee. While there I attended a presentation by Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul. In his talk and in his latest book, Writing in the Sand, he acknowledges the structural and psychological dangers inherent in many Spiritual communities while encouraging his audiences to delve deeply into the scriptures of their childhoods. I was raised a Protestant, but am convinced that my favorite childhood stories influenced my spiritual development as much as the Bible verses I memorized in school. This Easter week I will share DuBose Heyward and Marjorie Flack’s The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes in my classes.

DuBose Heyward was a white gentleman from Charleston, South Carolina who was fascinated by Gullah culture. Although he was a prominent business man, his novel, Porgy, 1925, may be the first in the South to portray Blacks without condescension. Ten years later George Gershwin used his libretto and his lyrics for nearly half of the arias in the celebrated opera Porgy and Bess. When I listened to the tale of The Country Bunny as a child I never considered race. None the less I was teary eyed (still am) to follow the success of the “little country girl bunny with a brown skin and a little cotton ball of a tail” in her competition with the “big white bunnies who lived in fine houses and the Jack Rabbits with long legs who can run so fast”. If you haven’t read this quintessential tale of compassion, wisdom, bravery, and yes, speed – get your cotton tail down to your nearest bookstore. Whatever your faith, this book is not to be missed!

Nor is my class:

Easter Lesson Plan (PDF)

Please click on the title of this post if you have questions or comments. I will be delighted to elaborate by e-mail.

I have been searching for early signs of Spring in New England. The Spring Peepers are chirping outside after dark and the birds are chattering during the day. In Hindu mythology, birds can be a link to the heavenly realm. Several of their gods employ them as their vehicles, so it comes as no surprise that a number of asanas are named for avian creatures. Brahma rides a swan or wild goose. Vishnu’s vehicle is Garuda, a beast with the head, wings, beak and talons of an eagle, and a human body and limbs.

This week’s class opens with another Rumi poem in which he links our every opening and contraction to the coordinated movement bird wings.

Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes./ If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. /Your deepest presence is in every small contraction and expansion, /the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings.

This poem invites us to expand and contract with the pulse of our breath and our gestures. We warm up by lifting and lowering our wings (arms and elbows) and feeling our rib cages stretch and condense with our movement. This simple experience leads us into Wah!’s Four-Part Broken Breath and then abdominal lifts, a seasonal gut churning and cleansing action. The vibrational buzzing of our lips, brrrrr, weaves through the class reminding us to exhale and to relax our facial muscles, especially our jaws.

Once our minds feel light and humming we move into standing balances inspired by the eagle and the crane or stork. Our vinyasa emphasizes soft swan-like gestures. Coming to the floor we return to our breath and to our abdominal muscles as we breathe into the floor to raise our legs.

In a A Wing and a Prayer ,a Yoga Journal article I saved from ‘08, Richard Rosen describes a mantra meditation based on the Sanskrit words for Brahma’s swan or wild goose vehicle,  hamsa, and the mantra, soham, which translates as “This am I” or “I am That”. Soham sums up the basic message of the Upanishads (the ancient Hindu texts that form the basis of Vedanta, India’s most influencial philosophy). Paraphrasing Rosen, this cryptic mantra acknowledges the aspiration to merge the individual self, aham, with the universal, cosmic Self, so. To quote him: “Tradition says that at a certain stage of practicing this mantra, you will experience this oneness and the syllables will naturally reverse to ham sa (the swan). At that point you become the paramahamsa, or supreme swan, who soars where mortals can never go. Meditative attention to your breath, then, can serve as a vehicle  for your own deliverance.”

We end the class following our breath in Sivasana, listening carefully to the sibilant sa sound on the inhalation and the aspirate ha sound on the exhalation. How do you hear the syllables? As hamsa, where your breath is your bird mount soaring to the heavens? Or as soham, where it is the bridge joining your individual self with the Self?

At bedtime, after a few deep breaths I find this meditation more interesting than counting sheep as I drift off to sleep. My breath becomes the gentle swish of bird wings.

Click below for the PDF of this week’s class:

Birds of Spring

One of the reasons I am drawn to the R.C. Gorman sculpure I feature throughout this blog is her apparent balance between effort, focus, and relaxation. Notice the upward lift of her torso in the “About me” photo in contrast to her limp foot in the featured photo above.

Science continues to reaffirm what the yogis have said for centuries. Mental stress and physical tension make us ill. Neuroscience is only beginning to teach us about the relationships between our brains and our bodies, but all the research points to the need to practice relaxation for our physical, mental, and spiritual health. I read Brain Rules, by Dr. John J. Medina on the plane on my way back across the continent last week. Dr. Medina’s research focuses on the genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders. He inquires into how the mind reacts to and organizes information and has a particular interest in the ways brain sciences may improve the process of teaching our children and the organization of our work places. His chapters on the need for exercise and sleep to combat the debilitating effects of stress reinforce ancient yoga prescriptions.

How do we achieve relaxation? Physical relaxation is a learned response that must be practiced. Initially we learn to distinguish tense and relaxed muscles by purposely tensing and releasing our bodies. In yoga we rotate our joints to increase the flow of synovial fluid, a transparent, viscid lubricant secreted by the membrane of an articulation, bursa, or tendon sheath. We stretch forward, back, and side to side to elongate and contract opposing muscles as well as to feel the sensations of tension and release. We twist both to stretch and to “squeeze and soak”  our internal organs, compressing and releasing them to force an exchange of stagnant blood with a  fresh supply. Meditation is a tool for becoming familiar with our mental states. Once we become aware of the background noise of our habitual anxieties, anger, fear, and desire we can loosen their grip on our minds and focus instead on the realities of our relationships and situations in the present moment. As we become more familiar with the felt sense of relaxation or release we can be more aware of tension creeping into our bodies and minds throughout our day and consciously let go more easily. While more aware of my stresses, I’m still working on letting go on a daily or even hourly basis.

I begin this week’s class with a brief meditation on the sound of a rain stick followed by Jean M. Watts quieting poem from Women Pray, edited by Monica Furlong. She begins with the words, Join your hands gently. I have memorized her poem and find it helpful to literally place my hands together at intervals during the day to remind myself to let go. When my hands are joined I can’t type, feed myself, play with my iphone, or otherwise distract myself. In the time it takes to recite her words, I feel a shift in my energy. To physically warm up in this class I use my own version of Ken Cohen’s Qigong series, 8 Brocades (a video), but I recommend following along with his video. His book, The Way of Qigong, is a classic introduction to the Chinese energy healing technique. Yesterday the monthly Kirtan at Watering Pond was led by Eddy Nataraj and I found his style so gentle and relaxing that I chose his CD to accompany the class. His MySpace site is full of videos and music.

Relaxation Lesson Plan

The Three Bears, a Little Golden Book

The porridge in the big bowl was too hot. The porridge in the middle-sized bowl was too cold. The porridge in the wee little bowl was just right – so she ate it all up.

Goldilocks is the perfect example of desire run a muck. She seeks the most comfortable chair (and breaks one). She is choosy about her porridge and the beds as well. I hope the bears wake her up to the dangers of her desire…. Buddhists recognize that the more we try to satisfy each desire the more desires arise. Wanting, or grasping, can lead to as much suffering as dislike and fear. We need to distinguish between needs and desires and seek contentment whenever we can. The other youngster, baby bear’s,  belongings are just right. In my mind he represents contentment. Am I stretching Buddhist metaphors to say that he exhibits the Middle Way? He is sad to see his chair broken and his cereal consumed, but he skips lightly up the stairs to check out his bed.

In this class notice your likes and dislikes. Can you let go of expectations and simply experience the sensations that arise in your body without judgment? How much effort are you putting into these explorations? Can you find the middle way between extreme exertion and lassitude? How much effort focuses your mind without cutting off the flow of energy through your joints and muscles?

Thank you Joyce for letting me play with the bears!

Three Bears Lesson Plan

To my Valentine and my Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Walter! Come home swiftly and safely, and may your baggage arrive at the same time! My son has been studying abroad in Bolzano, Italy and he’s coming home next week for his semester break. Hurray!

In the meantime, I am flying to Seattle for the memorial service of a treasured cousin. Susan and her family sheltered and nurtured me the year I studied Geology at the University of Washington. I spent weekends in their log cabin on San Juan Island, picking apples for cider, kyacking, and generally enjoying God’s paradise. As a young woman, Susan was an x-ray technician on the US Hygiene, an early medical boat that delivered health care to native Alaskans. Later on she contracted Polio and lost the strength in her legs. Undaunted, she pioneered the sport of kyacking, leading expeditions among the San Juan Islands and as far as Vancouver Island. As long as I knew her she was gardening, in raised beds and finally in taller container pots on her deck, or learning a new craft. Susan left a profound mark on San Juan Island and although she will be mourned, this weekend will be a celebration of her spirit. Jim and Jeannie, I love you and I am delighted to be on my way to Friday Harbor to reconnect.

Connection is the theme of my Valentine’s yoga class. It is one thing to be able to go off somewhere quiet by ourselves to relax and another to be able to remain centered in community. Each Valentine’s Day I invite my students to attempt familiar postures with a partner. Initially there is some awkwardness and giggling, but usually the women report that it feels good to trust a partner and go a bit deeper into an asana with support. Unity Breathing, back to back, often helps students feel the movement of the ribs in the back of their bodies more fully. Does anyone have suggestions for partner, chair yoga postures for my Positively Silver’s at the Veterans Center?

Valentine’s Day Lesson Plan PDF

The partner yoga postures in this lesson plan can all be found beautifully illustrated in Rachel Schaeffer’s book, Yoga for your Spiritual Muscles, in the chapter titled Connectedness. One of my Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training instructors, Ann Greene models the poses with her husband Todd Norian.

Keb’ Mo’, a blues singer, hits just the right note for students separated from their families and lovers on Valentine’s Day. When you are on your own, you can love yourself.

Canada Geese are waddling into the post in place of Brahma’s vehicle, the swan. Brahma is associated with creation and the vibration of OM. I think of him as the conductor who raised his baton and initiated the music of the spheres. As I stalked the leery geese with my camera they marched off to the beach. Some beat their wings, threatening to depart – not so different from my fledgling yoginis, balancing on one foot in Stork. When we pay attention, there are rhythms everywhere.

Hafiz’s poem, A Wild, Holy Band, from I Heard God Laughing, Renderings of Hafiz, by Daniel Ladinsky captures the essence of kirtan and served to set the context of this weeks class.

…. I have awakened to find violin and cello,

Flute, harp and trumpet,

Cymbal, bell and drum–

All within me!

From head to toe, every part of my body

Is chanting and clapping! …

For with constant remembrance of God,

One’s whole body will become

A Wonderful and Wild,

Holy Band!

I put extra effort in creating a play list of chants, jazz, and world music for this class. My students always comment when I chose unpredictable yoga music. The Hispanic students take the Latin selections personally and feel acknowledged, even though I am partial to Bossa Nova and Latin rhythms anyway. I discovered Josef Lateef when I was studying jazz flute and especially recommend his mysterious, Eastern sound for asana practice. During Sivasana we chilled out to John de Kadt’s drumming piece, spoken poetry overlaying percussion.

Invocation    5:04    Krishna Das     Invocation    New Age
Shyam Bolo Jai    5:53    Wah!    Jai Jai Jai    World
Third Movement: Moresca    2:55    Yusef Lateef    Concerto for Yusef Lateef    Jazz
You’re Somewhere Thinking of Me    3:23    Yusef Lateef    The Complete Yusef Lateef    Jazz
Esa Noche    3:27    Cafe Tacuba    Music From The Coffee Lands    World
M’Ban Samba    2:21    Raimundo Sodre    Music From The Coffee Lands    World
Stay With Me    5:19    Yusef Lateef    The Complete Yusef Lateef    Jazz
Maria Lando    5:35    Susana Baca    Music From The Coffee Lands    World
Don’t Blame Me    4:58    Yusef Lateef    Eastern Sounds    Jazz
Kothhbiro    5:33    Ayub Ogada    Music From The Coffee Lands    World
Love Theme from “The Robe”    4:02    Yusef Lateef    Eastern Sounds    Jazz
This Rhythm is Not Mine    6:44    John de Kadt    This Rhythm Is Not Mine    New Age
TrackTibetan Bowl I     0:56    Steven Halpern    Music for Savasana    New Age

Try the class…

Rhythm Lesson Plan PDF

Walt Whitman titled his masterwork devoted to the optimism and vitality of Americans “Leaves of Grass”. Why? I am only speculating, but grass in some form grows all over our country. When trampled it rises back up, demonstrating flexibility, strength, and resilience – all qualities Whitman admires. Grass survives cold and dry weather by resting dormant, yet emerges bright and green when the seasons change, just as individuals need to rest to renew their strength. The blades of grass poking through the snow in the image above make me smile as I imagine their bravery. They seem a fitting metaphor for Namaste, the effort yogis make each day to seek and recognize the light in themselves and others.

In the opening poem for my class,  Danna Faulds writes that Courage is starting where there is no secure outcome, no sure result. Many of my students are coming to Yoga for the first time and their first breath with me is an act of courage. This theme also served as an excuse to honor the strength and courage of the women and men who come to my classes for physical, mental, and spiritual recovery.

Feel free to practice the following lesson plan in stages. One of my classes was able to practice the entire flow, but with others we practiced the Ujjiya breath and only a few poses. If the postures are not familiar, perhaps spend one session reading the poems, breathing, and experimenting with the warm-ups. Add a few poses at a time as the week progresses and feel free to ask for more details. Let me know if other poems, images, music, or asanas speak to Courage in your own practice. I will attempt to make short videos of anything that is confusing or write longer descriptions in the comments. Balancing an attractive stream of posts with enough information to make the lesson plans functional is a visual challenge.

Courage & Confidence

music: Ram Chant, sung by Vandita Kate Marchesiello

If you click to Vandita’s website you will hear a relaxing excerpt from her CD. Vandita helps to coordinate the Teaching for Diversity program at Kripalu and has been very generous with the proceeds of her CDs to support teachers who wish to bring yoga into non-traditional settings.

Circles draw me in. My mind can rest inside them, quietly. Triangles, on the other hand, seem to suggest a grounded physical body. Swishing my arms and legs  in a Snow Angel I feel one with the cool snow! The sculpture I use for my profile picture appears quiet and steady, in great part due to her conical shape. The wind can swirl around her while she rests, alert and unmoving.

The lotus pose, if you can open your hips and knot your legs, is probably the most stable, still posture I know. Even when I sit in a more simple, cross-legged Sukhasana, I am aware of my wide base and triangular shape, narrowing up towards my head. I often choose to meditate in this posture, taking time to check my alignment before I focus on my breath, a mantra, or other focus. This simple awareness of posture can well be a meditation in and of itself. Try it.

Notice your own triangular shape. Feel the weight on your sitz bones and your buttocks. Let your knees and legs be heavy and rest them on a blanket or a pillow if they do not reach the floor. Sitting up on a cushion can also help you lower your knees. Can you balance your shoulders over your hips? Allow your chin to circle and explore space until your neck feels comfortable and your head balances on your spine. Simply sit and feel your triangular form.

After a few moments of sitting quietly, do you feel your breath filling your triangular posture? Play with it. Imagine you are breathing in from your wide legs towards the crown of your head. Exhale back down. When you sit cross-legged, there may be a triangle of space inside your legs. Visualize the triangle of your nose and imagine air spiraling up from the spaces between your legs up into your two nostrils, and up into the “inner eye” in your scull. The spirals of breath form conical shapes, moving up through the nostrils, to a point at the apex of your body triangle. Simply sit and be aware of the breath spiraling up and down for a few more moments. How do you experience the prana of your breath? Are you more awake and grounded?

As a warm-up, try the Snow Angel variation of the Bridge. Begin lying on your back with your knees bent, simply circling your arms up overhead and then along the floor carving a snow angel in the imaginary snow. After a few repetitions, reverse. Then press your feet and shoulders down into the snow to lift your hips and back as your raise your arms over head, lowering them as your inscribe the circles. Note the conical shapes I carved in the snow in my Vermont Snow Angel. As yet another variation, try lifting one arm at a time along with your hips as you breathe in. Glue the arm to the floor (snow) overhead while exhaling and lower your hips, inhale and raise them again. On the following exhalation lower both the arm and the hips. Repeat with each arm individually several times and then lift both arms together. Remind yourself to play. The purpose of warm-ups is to explore and enjoy gentle, repetitive movements as we loosen our joints and muscles and relax our nervous systems.

Each posture in our practice is an opportunity to meditate on our alignment and this focus keeps us in the present moment. Our initial standing asanas will serve as warm-ups for the Triangle. Standing hand to foot balances will invite us to create triangles with our arms, legs, and torsos. Finally, don’t worry if your supine twists don’t form perfect triangles. As I commented earlier, perfect triangles are rare in nature.

As you lie in Sivansana, allow your arms and legs to splay outwards and be aware of the spaces and energy between your limbs and head. Feel your energy merge with the triangular spaces…. Trace the outline of your body in your mind’s eye and notice where your body ends and the space around you begins. This sounds easy, but without checking with our eyes or our our touch, it is difficult to sense our boundaries. Relax!

Does any appropriate music performed on a triangle come to mind? Eternal OM, by Dick Sutphen, representing the creation vibrations of the universe, seems suitably abstract for this theme.

Triangle Lesson Plan

I begin this class with a poem by a dear friend and student of Theosophy, Claire Blatchford. She invites us to enter into the silence.

The featured posture in this class is Shiva Nataraja, or Shiva as Lord of the Dance, and the closing words are an excerpt from a poem by Ruth Peel about his dance. In traditional sculptures, Shiva Nararaja stands with his right foot on Apasmara Purusha, a personification of ignorance, and lifts his left knee across his body, twisting within a ring of fire. For me, this form embodies the dance of life. Shiva represents creation, sustainability, destruction, illusion, and release or grace in a unified swirl of activity, all the while maintaining his balance. We struggle to depress our ignorance as we seek for truth within the daily turmoil and fire of our lives.

Still Point Lesson Plan PDF

I photographed tree roots for this theme and found myself practicing bird postures. Each morning I look out at ducks floating in the harbor or geese foraging in the snow for shoots of grass, so I’m not surprised. The more intent I am on grounding, the more I lift off!

Victor van Kooten has handwritten the text and illustrated several Yoga Notebooks that illustrate the principle of grounding with sensitivity and humor. His pictures are worth a thousand words!

Grounded-Detailed PDF