Asia's Blog

Sweat out the workweek and start your weekend feeling healthy, happy, and fit!

Join Asia every Friday for 90 minutes of heat, laughter, challenge, and a complete workout. Each week we move through Ashtanga-inspired creative classes, integrating flexibility, endurance, balance, coordination, and strength in a rejuvinating mind-body workout.

If you only do one thing for yourself this week, make it this. You'll be so glad you did!

SIgn in for this Friday's class right now!

We're so excited!!!!!

We've been busy this past year integrating new materials and innovative teaching tools into Pranalife's Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) and we're excited to announce that we're planning to launch a new series of workshops and YTT courses this fall! We're bringing in amazing guest instructors and great learning experiences to support your evolving yoga practice and your career as a kick-asana instructor.

If you've been considering yoga teacher training or simply deepening your personal yoga practice, take a look at our YTT information. To apply, fill out our application form. When we get your information we'll contact you to set up a meeting where we can get to know you better and you can ask us any questions you have about the training before submitting payment to officially enroll.

To stay up-to-date with announcements about Pranalife YTT, sign up for our Yoga Teacher Training newsletter.

Work hard and have fun doing it. Meditate every morning on your goals so that you won’t waiver through the day. Commit to yourself and let the world figure it out. Live so that you can look yourself in the eye for a full minute without feeling anything negative.

It IS hard work: don’t let that stop you. Become fit for it so that it’s less hard and more enjoyable. It’s not for you or anyone to say whether your life and work are “good enough” or “the best” – what does that mean? What is the “best” version of you? Focus on what you create and let the quality of your experience be the measure of your success. This is karma - the action, and the result of that action.

Look outside yourself for information, not answers. When you find something called ‘an answer’ it’s simply the experience of another.

Trust that who you are is greater than you may currently see; this is faith. Stay focused on your goals and vision, even in the dark times; this is hope. Don’t lose yourself in what can become the daily drudgery of existence; work at feeling alive and engaged; this is love.

Trust. Have faith. Have hope. Live in love. It doesn’t have to look like anything that can be graded.

Yoga is, at its core, a deep-seated trust in one's self.  ~ BKS Iyengar, yogi and guru

Yoga is more than moving, breathing, stretching or relaxing. It's a tao, a way to stop suffering and be free. I have found this to be both true and more valuable than I could have understood when I began my practice 14 years ago.   

Before developing a complete yoga practice, I dramatized my life, living in all kinds of self-created stories. Before knowing the true power of yoga I often felt lost, angry, frightened, defensive and powerless. I roamed restlessly through my life unsatisfied, nursing old wounds and replaying older habits. I didn't know who I really was. Before I found yoga I was, in short, suffering.

But through yoga I began to create space for myself. In that space came a calm, centered sense of confidence. By finding balance between the forces of life I'm now able to access the power of all of them without being powerless to any.

Want to take your own yoga practice further? Sign up for our next Pranalife Yoga Teacher Training.

“If you want to master something, teach it.” - Yogi Bhajan

Yoga has been a resource for many approaches to success and happiness, and for good reason. In addition to superior physical health, mental clarity, freedom from suffering, and personal empowerment are the outcomes of a true, dedicated yoga practice. If you’re craving evolution, it’s time for you to take your yoga practice to a new level.

Pranalife Yoga Intensives and Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) is focused on giving you the information to live yoga and teach it well. It’s not important whether you can do full lotus when you begin; it’s important that you desire to have a powerful practice physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically that you can share with others. Put simply, this training is about becoming fit for life as much as it is about becoming fit to teach.

Take the first step - Go to our Yoga Teacher Training link to get more information, hear from previous graduates and find out about our upcoming modules. Looking forward to seeing you on the mat with us!

Saying, “I should do yoga” is like to saying, “I should wear pants.” It’s an excellent idea that stands to benefit you in a number of ways. But with so many different types of yoga, trying to pick the perfect kind can be difficult.

SweetFit is here to help. Our resident Yogi, Asia Nelson, has put together a guide to yoga that will help you figure out which type is right for you.

Read the full article - http://bit.ly/q842P4

http://www.sweetspot.ca/SweetFit/workouts/46734/whats_your_yoga_style/?gal=46733#gallery_header

"Recognizing that we can handle what life throws at us with grace and strength means we can approach life with the intention to love more, harm less, let go, hang on and learn. That’s powerful. When we understand our invincibility, we cease to react; instead, we simply choose."

Read the full piece on Elephant Journal -

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/10/invincible--asia-nelson/

One of the toughest things about being a yoga instructor is that yoga is such an intensely personal process, it's difficult to know whether your students are tuning out or going through major shifts inside. Experienced teachers can read some of the signs - tightening or softening in the jaw, quality of the breath - but unless the student is willing to share what's happening, it's a bit like teaching to a room full of black boxes. A teacher can come to wonder whether their classes are really making a difference.

For years after I started practicing yoga I doubt I gave any indication that anything my instructors taught was landing. My body was tight and my sarcasm was sharp. I was driven to accomplish something physical in class without understanding that it was my mind and heart that needed to be worked on as much as my hamstrings and core. Yet there were moments where I would break open, get it, be inspired, change. In the midst of looking like I wasn't getting it at all in those classes, I was.

At this point in my teaching career I've learned to assume that, as Morpheus says to Neo in The Matrix, "Some of these people are not ready to be unplugged," but I know from my own experience that some are ready for what they can become through yoga, even if it doesn't seem so from the outside. Before every class I teach now, I take a breath and remember how grateful I am for those classes, those instructors, those moments where I came onto my mat a human mess and had the opportunity to experience the deep transformation that yoga brings. My dharma is effortless when I start from that place, because I know that someone about to devote an hour of their time to this practice could be on the cusp of a change that will forever alter their course, heal their wounds, open their eyes, or give them a sense of true peace and stillness. It is my passion and greatest reward to create moments of opportunity for people to be transformed through this practice.

Below is a video that expands on some of these thoughts, from Seane Corn, who is one of my favourite teachers and someone who has walked this path and guided me along it in the process. Enjoy and Namaste.

Just got back from a week in New York. Here’s a taste of how it went:

Went to a taping of Iron Chef America (cheers to the most delicious item in that kitchen, whose name rhymes with Heaven Crush, for getting us in, and for being an integral part of why the week was so good); ate some amazing food (so many places, but two words direct from Bob Blumer: Vai Spuntino. Go, and thank me later); spent coveted time with one of my longest-running soul mates and met a handful of new people I plan to love for a lifetime; enjoyed the heat of a Central Park meander in July; explored Brooklyn for the first time (if you love funky design go to Building on Bond, and thank me later), drank some smashingly good cocktails night after eventful night, my fav being a little ditty called Absinthe Minded (if you’re a cocktail connoisseur, hit Employees Only, and thank me later); and indulged in a handful of other pleasures that make NYC one of my favourite places on the planet. Oh, and then I ate a whole lot more food.

Before someone asks, yes I went to Eataly. I wanted to shoot myself in the eye. What a gong show. We got there at 7:17pm. We got the text telling us space was opening up and we could come on in at 10:04pm, at which point we’d already contentedly diverted to Otto Enoteca. I’m sure the new beer garden is amazing; I will enjoy it when it’s not so high on the NY Hot List.

So what of this vegan+yoga challenge you may ask? The yoga is easy, especially because I had my own apartment in Brooklyn with plenty of space for some salutations and warriors, but I won’t lie: I had a tad more than one cheat meal a day while on this trip. I did scope out some very good vegan/vegan-friendly joints - Sacred Chow being a fave - but more than once during the week I dove gleefully off the wagon and into steak tartar or Alaskan crab or ribs from Spice Market. Oh my, those ribs …

For me, going to New York and avoiding meat is like going to an art gallery and purposely averting my eyes from the Picassos. But also great food makes me very happy to be alive, and I need some of that these days. It has not been an easy year, which might be the understatement of the year, and NYC was a delicious reprieve from which I did not want to return. In fact, at JFK on my way home it took an invite to the Sky Lounge for a few drinks from a charming man named Scott to keep me from flat-out sulking. This year has been full of ‘taking my lumps’ and I wanted to taste la dolce vida instead in all its forms, even if just for a week.

That being said, after a few days I did find myself voluntarily wanting to get back to my vegan options. I do actually want to make the personal revolutions in my life that this site is about. It’s important, even more important than New York beef it seems. If you know me, you know that’s a pretty big deal for me to say.

So now I’m home and reality is once again setting in with a thud. Yet I am more contented than ever to chose a grapefruit over a cupcake. Let the revolution continue …

Going vegan this month has been a refresher course in essentials. What can be pared away to get back to the very basics - of food, and of us? Eggs Florentine is a delicious development in flavours; simply enjoying steamed kale with a dash of salt reminded my taste buds what each of those two flavours were and what they were together. In the same vein, my life at 34 is a combination of sweet and bitter, well-cooked and raw. With so much of it stripped bare now on my plate and in my life, what have I tasted of each day’s essentials?

As always human, I had forgotten as of late the value of those simple experiences, the basic tastes of life. I was upset that my bread lacked butter, that my meat was not cooked just so as I like. I looked for a cook to blame. I felt sorry for myself when my wine ran dry.

As always human, I then began to remember the delicious simplicity of flavour, what can be tasted directly from its source like a berry freshly plucked on a summer’s walk. I have this year been struck with reminders that winter is always on its way. When I heard it I went silent. I appreciated. I recalibrated.

Fruits change in flavour depending on what stage of development they’re in. If they’re plucked too early, they’ll be sour; too late and they’ll have lost their flavour’s power. Still-sour, I rest in the sun now and wonder: will I ripen or rot? Do I die, or do I dare?

Day 3: I can officially blog with a clear conscience now that I’ve done my run + workout + yoga (originally planned for 7:10am but snoozed through). All felt awesome, I’m happy to report, but even better is what followed - 

I did a brief seated meditation after yoga, and about halfway through I had a subtle, profound experience. I felt a connection to what meditators call my ‘third eye’. My mind instantly went quiet.

Meditation is a weird and often wandering path to insight, but I’ll give it this: It works.

So what did connecting to my third eye feel like? At first it resembled looking into the face of God. I felt myself seeking assurance that I would not be given up on, that I was worth the time and effort my enlightenment seems to be taking. Then it seemed to be the face of a ‘Divine Coach’, and I felt myself wanting confirmation that I have what it takes to make the team.

Then, as I stayed focused on my breath, observing, present, it ceased to matter whether I had Divine approval - from a God or a Coach of any sort. If I know I won’t give up on me, and if I trust I have what it takes to live the life I’m imagining, that’s all I’ll need.

“We Are the One’s We’ve Been Waiting For”

A Hopi Elder Speaks

“Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.”

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time!”

“There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

— attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder

Hopi Nation
Oraibi, Arizona

When asked by the myriad people who seem confounded that I would go vegan why I would make such a choice, I finally articulated my best, truest response this weekend:

Going vegan is like drilling deep and narrow instead of grazing shallow and broad. I focus on certain foods and I get creative learning how to enjoy them. Honing in on the healthiest segment of my diet helps me easily emphasize it when I’m back to eating an array of food

.

There's no denying it: I've done more than one cheat meal each day while in New York - oh my LORD the food is so amazing -  and so will be adding another week onto my vegan challenge to make up for it. There you go, Holly, you won't be entirely on your own for August. ;)

I'm also going to remove the one day a week where I eat what I like b/c my daily cheat meal (which is still pretty healthy, just not strictly vegan) suffices to satisfy my concerns about getting the complete nutrients I need until I better understand how to do that as a vegan, and lets me stay 80-90% vegan through the process.

If there's one thing I'm learning when I stop eating in NYC and observe, it's that New Yorkers are good at getting to the point and getting what they want. I plan to be more New York from here on in, not just when making better vegan choices (I will name-drop Sacred Chow and One Lucky Duck here - go!) but making good choices, period. Whether it's veganism, getting that book written at last, deciding what my next five-year plan is, or just making my mind up about that guy - I'm at a point now where I just need to get doing the damn thing. There's a time to ponder and consider, and then there's just stalling. A lot of my life the past few months has been considering and healing, but it's been moving into stalling. Time to get'r done.

Speaking of which, this is my last whole day in NYC and I ain't spending it behind a computer. Lots of love to you all! Namaste.

Last night I ate at chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Spice Market with three of my favourite people on the planet. Tomorrow I'll be in the audience for Iron Chef America. Wandering Chelsea Market and the Meat Packing District's beautiful pizza options ... oh lord, why on earth would I decide to go vegan when I knew I'd be in NYC for a week?

Because what better time to explore vegan options than in a city where you can get anything you want and some of the best chefs in the world can do it so well? So far I admit I've cheated a bit more than the one meal a day and I have finished off the occasional brunch or supper with a long-drawn esspresso, but overall New York is really a city teeming with fantastic vegan options and I'm excited to try them.

Talk about taking it to the next level. I will report back with any new, amazing vegan spots I find. So far all I can say is -

One. Lucky. Duck.

In more ways than one. ;)

I'm so excited to get this challenge underway. So far 2011 has been a tough year, with plenty of it falling under the category of "major setback" (aka "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger") so I'm ready for an experience that once again brings positivity and bonding to this yoga community and supports each other to everyone's benefit. This is what Pranalife Yoga was created to do and I'm so happy to have a fresh, new way of expressing this vision with the newest crew of Pranababes.

For this Gutsy Yoga Challenge I will NOT be doing yoga every day for 30 days straight, nor will I be doing a 100% vegan diet.

What I will be doing is:

1. Two (2) regular yoga classes/practices per week.
2. Three (3) home workouts (which incorporate yoga) per week.
3. Sustaining a vegan diet for all but one of my daily meals.
4. Taking one day off each week.

Setting Myself Up for Lasting Success

I've done 30 days straight of yoga before. My Ashtanga practice improved and I learned a tonne but I also aggravated old injuries and ultimately did not sustain that commitment. I do yoga because it feels good, I love it and it keeps me healthy; I want to keep it that way.

As for the vegan diet, this will be a learning curve so I won't go 100% vegan until I understand how to get enough of the right balance of nutrients. I'm also a foodie, and eliminating so many of the foods I love is a tough one. I don't want this to be a month-long mourning period for all the flavours I've left behind. Instead, I plan to incorporate many of veganism's healthy practices into a long-term diet that likely will go beyond its limits.

Having one free day each week comes from diet experts like Tim Ferriss and Bill Phillips, who suggest that a cheat day gives people resolve to stick with the diet and can help maintain a more balanced metabolism. My experience with a cheat day is that it's more of a psychological support; if I know I can cheat I won't rebel, and when it comes to the cheat day I'm too competitive to actually indulge much so it tends to be a minor deviation from the diet's norm.

I love the idea of coupling yoga and veganism because they address prana at its most basic: energy in and energy out. I also love that we are banding together to do this challenge to support our fellow Pranababe Holly Lotz as she takes greater control over her Crohn's Disease. Read more about her journey here.

PS - I am pairing the Pranalife Yoga "Gutsy Yoga Challenge" with my first Good to Great in 28 habit change. Learn more about Good to Great in 28.

What is the Gusty Yoga Challenge?

Get a yoga butt and clean out your gut! For the month of July Pranababes are pairing a regular yoga practice with going vegan for 30 days.

Each Pranababe is making a commitment that's personal and achievable. Some of us will do 30 days of yoga straight, others will commit to yoga 3x/wk for the month. Some will be strict vegans, others will take one day off a week or one meal off each day. The point is to make a change that gives us a boost now and can be carried on for a lifetime.

Why are we doing it?

This challenge was initiated by Pranababe Jennifer Bowles, and we've dedicated our efforts to fellow Pranababe Holly Lotz. Holly is making a big change in her life that's coinciding with our vegan challenge - to reduce the negative effects of Crohn's Disease on her life. She's keeping a blog of her full summer challenge here -

http://cultivatingtapas.tumblr.com

The Thrive Diet (our guide book for the vegan challenge) suggests eliminating caffeine; so I've proposed that the Gutsy Yoga Challengers donate the $2-5/weekday that we'd normally have spent on coffee to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation in tribute to Holly at the end of our 30 days.

This cause is also close to my heart because my brother has dealt with the impact of Colitis for years now. It is remarkable how careful people with these diseases have to be about what they eat and how they live, and even then solutions for each person are so unique to the individual that it can feel like a pointless guessing game. It takes a certain kind of strength to do what Holly's doing, and I'm so excited that we can be a part of supporting her.

Want to be a part of it?

The more, the healthier and this kind of challenge is easier to do with support! Use our Contact Us link at the top right of the site to send us your info and let us know the details of your commitment. You can blog about your experiences if you wish, and we'll add any financial contribution you make to the final Pranalife donation, which will be done in tribute to Holly on the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation site.

Yoga's discipline of bramacharya is often misunderstood as "restraint" or "celibacy" in that way that can make you feel like you're on a spiritual no-carb diet. This is a small and far cry from the intention behind this part of the yoga discipline, and it's about time it stopped being perceived as the bully that makes us give it the Wagon Wheel from our spiritual lunch.

At its core, bramacharya means seeing everything from an expansive, abundant, Big Self perspective. The discipline keeps us from becoming petty, from contracting around what we see as our own scarcity, or behaving in ways that make us less than the loving people we're capable of being. It moves us towards living as what yoga calls our "divine" self, embodying the most powerfully benevolent expressions of humanity. Bramacharya is about being divine, seeking to see the divinity in everything, and committing to interacting with one's self and the world from that perspective.

So what does living by the tenet of bramacharya look like? As an example from my own practice, I've become unwilling to foster relationships where someone's - or no one's - divinity is beeing seen. In any interaction, I pay attention. If I feel expansive, hopeful, compassionate, focused on living and loving well, then I'm on the right track. If not, it's time to make a change, no matter how much it might matter to my ego, my financials, or even my long-term goals. Ultimately, if there's no mutual support of each other's evolution, I'm wasting my time where it could be spent giving and receiving that support elsewhere.

Practicing bramacharya has become more valuable to me than worrying about being liked or understood, than making sure someone else is happy at my own expense, or forcing a situation I may want when I can see it's diminishing someone. Bramacharya gives me a blueprint for what it really is to be treated as a divine being having a human experience, and that has given me deep insight into the true nature of the relationships into which I have invested.

So, I encourage you to not see bramacharya as a kind of spiritual diet with all kinds of restrictions. Instead, consider yourself and everyone around you as divine beings having human experiences and see how it changes your perspective. I'd love to hear about what you discover! Comment here, or find me on facebook and twitter through the links at the bottom of this page. Namaste!

Pranalife Yoga Director Asia Nelson's article on vulnerability has recently been published on Elephant Journal! Spread the love by Tweeting this link, sharing with your friends, liking the aritcle, commenting, etc. The more the word gets out, the more likely this piece is to get to someone who really needs it today. Namaste! -

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/04/drug-dealing-ex-boyfriends-threatening-to-kill-your-family-lessons-on-vulnerability-asia-nelson/

Blake Martin is a gifted teacher who makes movement and anatomy concepts so clear you'll wonder how you have been in your body so long without understanding so well how it works. I chatted with him about his studies, interests, and beginnings with yoga. Here's a taste -

 Pranalife Director Asia Nelson chats with Blake Martin:

Pranalife Presents Blake Martin from Lindsay Stewart on Vimeo.

This section of the Tao te Ching was posted in the comments below Brene Brown's talk and I love it, so I've re-posted it here as well. Thanks to B Tak Wai Chan for posting it on the original site:

"To be whole, let yourself break.
To be straight, let yourself bend.
To be full, let yourself be empty.
To be new, let yourself wear out.
To have everything, give everything up.

Knowing others is a kind of knowledge;
knowing yourself is wisdom.
Conquering others requires strength;
conquering yourself is true power.
To realize that you have enough is true wealth.
Pushing ahead may succeed,
but staying put brings endurance.
Die without perishing, and find the eternal.

To know that you do not know is strength.
Not knowing that you do not know is a sickness.
The cure begins with the recognition of the sickness.

Knowing what is permanent: enlightenment.
Not knowing what is permanent: disaster.
Knowing what is permanent opens the mind.
Open mind, open heart.
Open heart, magnanimity."

~ Tao de Ching

Director and Advanced Teacher Trainer of Pranalife, Asia Nelson, is the Yoga Expert for the new Rogers Digital Media wellness website Daily Squeeze. Daily Squeeze is “a uniquely Canadian destination for the latest, best scoop on health, fitness and wellness” (from sweetspot.ca’s About Us page). Daily Squeeze is the most recent in a series of successful websites from RDM, including sweetspot.ca, SweetLife, SweetMama, SweetHome and MySweetBaby.

As their Yoga Expert, Asia will posts helpful blogs, giving advice on the latest and best in yoga, and is a part of the site’s discussion panels and contests. We’re very excited to be a part of this Canadian wellness resource!

While Pranalife Yoga classes and training throughout KW continue without change, they will no longer be at the uptown Waterloo studio, though I remain supportive of having a Pranalife-inspired studio space for the yoga community to enjoy.

When I have secured a new location for classes, I will post that information.

Your constant support has meant the world to me over the past five years and has been at the heart of Pranalife's success. Indeed, you are Pranalife.

If you have questions, concerns, or simply want to touch base with me, you can contact me at asia@pranalife.ca or at 519.722.7262. I will continue to communicate with you over the next few weeks and Pranalife's social media guru Melissa and I will be updating via the following:   www.pranalife.ca www.facebook.com/pranalifeyoga www.twitter.com/pranalifeyoga   Thank you again for all your love. Namaste.   Asia Nelson, Director - Pranalife Yoga asia@pranalife.ca 519.722.7262 www.pranalife.ca

A crew of us have been privy over the past few weeks to some excellent research and tips on being a better 'better half' during our Pranalife Yoga 30 Day Valentine's Challenge. From learning how to build a strong foundation in our relationships to keys for increasing intimacy we've all become, well, better people and certainly better 'better halves'.

Today's information was so good I just couldn't keep it to the 30 Day crew (you can become one, too - sign up for a Pranalife Profile and check the 30 Day Challenge box to get in on our next one). So, here it is, re-posted publicly for you:

Pranalife Yoga's 30 Day Valentine's Challenge: Doing Better Battle

When the Pranababes approached me last year about doing a 30 Day 'Sexless in September' Challenge to focus on yoga's tenet of bramacharya (often simplistically translated as 'celibacy'), my first reaction was that it would be great for driving traffic to the site; say “sex” and “yoga” on the same page and you’d be amazed how the numbers spike. But brazen marketer aside, how would we make use of 30 days of consciously choosing celibacy?

It turned out to be a great opportunity to explore the real meaning of bramacharya, which is more than some Puritanical concept of suppressed sexual desire. It’s about relationships - with ourselves and with each other - and having an intention to improve those relationships. At its heart, it’s  about exploring the nature of how we connect and how we can connect as more divine beings.

In our next 30 Day Yoga Challenge we're going further: For 30 days we're challenging ourselves - and you - to become a better lover, friend, kin and co-worker (no, we won't encourage you to sleep with your boss, but you may just learn how to get that promotion regardless). The Pranalife 30 Day Yoga Valentine's Challenge will launch with a Partner Yoga class at the Pranalife Yoga Studio on Saturday, February 12th from 12:00-2:00pm with Kristina. From there you'll receive a full month's worth of tips and tools to succeed in relationships of all kinds, and there's a 30 Days of Yoga studio pass special in it for you when you sign up. Commit today at www.pranalife.ca/30daychallenge.

My favourite way to describe yoga's ethical guideline of bramacharya (usually translated as "moderation" or "sexual restraint") is that it’s the art of remembering that we’re all divine beings having human experiences. So what does that really mean?

It’s entirely too easy to deal with people on a basic human level. I react to things people say about me. I decide I like/don’t like someone based on what they do. I bypass what a person is telling me they’re about because I’m just interested in what I want them to be to me. Philosophy and psychology often call this the “ego” element of our personality. And what’s the effect of dealing with others on an egoic level? Usually frustration, disappointment, manipulation, fleeting moments of satisfaction, and a consistent message that my locus of control is in the hands of those around me, always changing and inconsistent.

The Yoga Sutras explain that humans get into trouble in part because we misapprehend things that are temporary as permanent, and vice versa. We see a person's appearance and actions and think that’s actually what we’re engaged with, when really it’s the living and breathing and thinking and feeling part[s] within that matters. It’s not that our physicality isn’t real; rather, it’s not the essential element of our what makes us "us". Bramacharya is about engaging that essential aspect of people.

I think of it this way: There’s a part of me that feels pretty much like it has for as long as I’ve lived. I have more experience, yes. I’ve been here a bit longer, sure. But the thing that stays permanently “me” isn’t the physical, tangible stuff. It’s soul-based. It’s what I'm calling “divine”. When I think of myself as a divine being - an essential Self that’s not just my physical form but a Beingness expressing itself in this current physical form - then I find I pull out of small-mindedness, temporality, and entanglement.

When I focus on you as "divine" then I see you as a possibly-infinite presence and not just some crazy driver or poor Customer Service Rep. I can see you figuring out this human experience - and the skill or lack thereof with which you’re navigating the process - and consider how I can support your Greater Experience here. It becomes less important for you to fill my needs. It becomes kind of silly to worry about your habits or what you say about me. It becomes more intriguing to consider what you as a Bigger Being might be doing on this little planet.

Most of the people who hold major influence in my life and create experiences with me worth remembering are - consciously or not - holding a larger vision of me. Their influence on how I feel about myself is my number one best way to break through barriers, to feel safe and seen enough to I forgive, to envision amazing and impossible things. It is divine, inspired living and for me that’s at the heart of bramacharya.

Thanksgiving - a time to prepare for the seasons changing, a time to gather around your family and friends, a time to overindulge, rest, and relax. Oh, and give thanks.

Giving thanks as a ritual is part of nearly every culture and tradition on earth, and yet it is only truly examined by a few. But studies show that being grateful can improve your physical health, as well as your sense of well-being. In yoga gratitude meditation is a critical part of cultivating your personal practice. It relates to the eight limbs in many ways.  When we practice gratitude we are cultivating Bramacharya. We are recognizing the preciousness of life, and our own personal divinity. When we give thanks for even the obstacles and crises in our lives, we are meditating upon Isvarapranidhana, acknowledging that our path is our path, without creating expectations about the fruits of our journey. Sometimes the most difficult situations in our life lead to the greatest growth. Flowers grow quite nicely if you add a steaming pile of shit!

This thanksgiving, you may wish to take a few moments to practice gratitude in your own way. Create your own ritual, or try one of the practices from this excellent list on Zen Habits.

For the record I would like to state how grateful I am every day for my wonderful family; the Pranababes; and the good fortune that I have to be able to practice and share and cultivate a life full of yoga.

Namaste, and have a safe and happy long weekend!

I just read this article in Men’s Health about a guy who gave kórima - the power of unconditional living - a literal run for it’s money and came out with the kinds of realizations I’ve suspected were true all along but haven’t had the huevos yet to try. After this article, I just might …