Peace is Cooperation, Focus and Meditation (May 2024 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar
Peace is not easy to come by. Sustained peace for one, for all, or for society as such does not exist. That is not to say that peace is not possible. If we work at it, it can and it does happen, however sporadically. We must distinguish between peace that the individual can create and feel for themselves, and the peace that we all work together to create. In a few days, it will be Cinco de Mayo. As you know, it is a remembrance of a war won by 2,000 Mexicans against 6,000 troops using no training at all but working together with cooperation, goodwill, friendliness, supporting each other with compassion.
Working together requires cooperation. How would we define it in yogic terms? As usual, we can turn to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. In his first chapter describing the way to self-realization he expands on cooperation.
Check out Chapter 1, Samadhi Pada, verse 1:33 to 1:39 regarding cooperation. To be able to live and work together we have to be able to control our minds. Therefore, the first method deals with consistent and ongoing meditation on four types of attitudes towards people. They are friendliness or ease in a relationship, compassion or support, happiness or goodwill, and neutrality or acceptance of those one may not like (1.33). Does this sound like cooperation? It is.
Patanjali’s wisdom is a practical path to finding one’s identity, within the illuminated mind! He gives clear instructions as to how to become that transcendent Self. As always, Patanjali’s methods are as simple and applicable today as they were around 400 CE.
Lastly, he suggests learning to focus on whatever you find pleasing and useful as a point of focus. Perhaps a flower or a scene. There are additional verses on meditation, how to develop it and practice it consistently.
Stick with it. Easy to say, but worth it however difficult it may be to maintain a regular practice.
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Find Your Peace Within (April 2024 Newsletter)
Image: Photograph of a Russian canal boat from the Prokudin-Gorskiĭ collection at the Library of Congress.
At the end of our yoga practice, we finish up by chanting, “Om, shanti”. Shanti means peace. It is the very first requirement in accepting ourselves with humility. How can we be at peace with others if we are not at peace with our own selves. To know oneself means to stop, look and listen. The subconscious mind has thoughts and behaviors that we do not pay attention to, or analyze, but act on regardless. Start with cleansing your own thoughts first.
Catch yourself when negative thoughts start. All negative thoughts are violent, because they take you away from that space of calm relaxed contentment. In a sense, it is self-injury. Ahimsa paramo dharma. (Ahimsa is non-violence, Paramo means supreme, and dharma means moral law or to support right behavior.) In the Sanskrit language, अहिंसा परमॊ धर्मः
How do we do that? Simple and yet so hard! Be focused. Be aware. Be present. Presence is attentiveness to what’s going on around you and in you. Watch your breath. Breathe normally but watch your breathing for about three minutes. Slowly deepen the breath, moving from a superficial in and out the nose to moving it deeper into the lungs. Try for three minutes. Go deeper yet into the belly. Three more minutes. While doing this breathing technique, place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.
Om Shanti ॐ शान्तिः, शान्तिः शान्तिः
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Step Forward, Leading Up (March 2024 Newsletter)
With every passing season we revisit the thought, “Am I headed in the right direction?” At times we are uplifted by our choices and direction, and at other times we can’t believe that we just meandered off the path we were on and impulsively went where the wayward crowd was headed. No matter what, it is all a part of the life experience. This is important! Every step we take is leading somewhere. If performed in good faith, it is onwards. The important thing is, what did I gain today that I did not have yesterday? Move on then, step by step in complete honesty. "For the Gods see everywhere."
It's easy to be distracted and sometimes difficult to return to living in the present moment untouched by the things that distract us. Stay in the moment. It will not return.
The Builders by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.
Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.
For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.
Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.
In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.
Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.
Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.
Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.
Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Photo Credit: Sipra Pimputkar
Sometimes Love Hurts (February 2024 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar, taken in Connecticut
We celebrate in February the shifting sun which, it seems, is slowly approaching us, getting brighter and warmer, and at this thought the world rejoices. We notice the birds and the tiny shoots of early spring plants beginning to make their appearance along with so many other creatures. We are all eagerly waiting to see what Buckeye Chuck, Ohio's weather forecasting groundhog, will predict for the next six months on February 2. Will it be sunny and warm or wintry and cold? It appears that if the current trend were to continue, we might expect warmer than usual temperatures. What does this have to do with yoga or Yoga-Well-Being or your life? In fact, quite a lot.
The Isha Upanishad states, "Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord. Thus working may you live a hundred years. Thus alone will you work in real freedom." Recognizing that all that surrounds us is provided by the Self, (That which is forever, the designer of nature and all life), for the self (I, who am the fortunate recipient of life). We must bow to nature and protect it. The world around us cannot survive the constant onslaught on nature and the environment. Deforestation, pollution of land and water bodies, the continued break down of the natural ozone barrier that protects us from the harmful radiation of UV rays of the sun, endless trash production resulting from packaged goods...these are some of the things hurting and killing natural life. Extinction is a sad word to have to use in this month's newsletter which should be full of love, but it has already started happening at an accelerated rate. Nature is love, nature is life.
Please nurture nature. Do the simple nature preserving things, and know your conscience is clear.
What can we do about it? We have heard about this repeatedly for more than half a century, yet we still continue to create garbage. Find simple ways to avoid all that packaging around foods, cosmetics, clothes and everything else. Stop using aerosol sprays. Can we not request stores and businesses to make it simpler? We can start small. Reuse what you can, turn down what you cannot. Learn to compost, use recycling when you can.
Learn what your locality recycles and how to properly dispose of hard to recycle items. (The city of Columbus has many useful resources for its residents; other municipalities have similar guides.)
Many enterprising individuals and businesses are successfully preventing further damage to the environment through creative use of stuff no one wants. Find them. Help them help make it better.
I'm excited to see the new series An Optimist's Guide to the Planet with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, on streaming starting February 8, as it promises to tell stories of people making a difference, all around the globe.
By making it a daily endeavor to live well, you will also love well. Feel secure, safe and nourished from the sweet contentment of doing the right thing and enjoying its fruit. That is love. Love yourself and all others. Be present, look around, see and hear. Be still and be silent now and again. Life is actually quite easy and simple and full of love. Lovely!
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Happy New Year from YWB!
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar, Rise of the full Super Moon over the ocean at Fairfield, CT
Happy New Year from all of us at YWB!
Namaste and Season’s Greetings!
As we look forward to 2024, we may find ourselves
already clear about the path we need to take, and the direction we need to go in the new year. But life is not so clear cut. Be open to possibilities and redefine the terms we take for granted. What is love, what is a relationship, how have these may have changed over the last year/years. Life is dynamic and future events are uncertain and unknown.
In the New Year may you be happy, healthy and safe. -sipra
After A While
by Veronica A. Shoffstall
After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn’t mean leaning
and company doesn’t always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren’t contracts
and presents aren’t promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow’s ground is
too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Halfway? No, never (December 2023 Newsletter)
A year filled with activity - some new endeavors, some that have become a way of life. You may have become more aware that much of the work was just busy work without any soul satisfying rewards. Perhaps you started on the path to Self Realization. Some days meditation is difficult, and we put it off for another day, and yet another day. Full commitment is what is ultimately important in the attainment of personal fulfillment and dream realization. This is commitment without compromise. Difficult but simple. There is no other way, nor half way.
Do Not Love Half Lovers by Kahlil Gibran
Do not love half lovers
Do not entertain half friends
Do not indulge in works of the half talented
Do not live half a life and do not die a half death
If you choose silence, then be silent
When you speak, do so until you are finished
Do not silence yourself to say something
And do not speak to be silent
If you accept, then express it bluntly
Do not mask it
If you refuse then be clear about it
for an ambiguous refusal
is but a weak acceptance
Do not accept half a solution
Do not believe half truths
Do not dream half a dream
Do not fantasize about half hopes
Half a drink will not quench your thirst
Half a meal will not satiate your hunger
Half the way will get you no where
Half an idea will bear you no results
Your other half is not the one you love
It is you in another time yet in the same space
It is you when you are not
Half a life is a life you didn't live,
A word you have not said
A smile you postponed
A love you have not had
A friendship you did not know
To reach and not arrive
Work and not work
Attend only to be absent
What makes you a stranger to them closest to you
and they strangers to you
The half is a mere moment of inability
but you are able for you are not half a being
You are a whole that exists
to live a life not half a life
With the holidays upon us, let’s not get caught up in the frenzy of shopping and cooking. Love and life can both be accommodated with a little buying and a little cooking. Do what feels right, and not because it’s expected of you. The recent pandemic has broken down the expectations of tradition somewhat. Lower your own expectations from your family and friends, and work. That is a good thing. Go fully in the direction you want to move, with new dreams to dream, and achieve the fullness of life now, through the holidays and into the new year.
Happy Holidays!
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Perception and Perseverance (November 2023 Newsletter)
Photo credit: Tai Pimputkar, taken a week ago at a beach in Fairfield, CT
Hello fellow yoga practitioners! My name is Karen Mastriani, and I am connecting with you all regarding Yoga-Well-Being and my own personal interest in yoga.
I never found an exercise routine that stuck! Over the years, I paid memberships and let them lapse, never completing more than a few classes.
In 2010 I decided to try yoga and started in a studio in Grandview. It had meaning and I felt a connection to the practice, the studio and the people there. As things often do, the studio changed, and I did stay away for a time due to outside circumstances with family.
I started back at the studio again and found a friend from the original studio was now a teacher at the newly owned studio! I was glad to start back up again and then proceeded to follow this teacher, Veda Cafazzo, wherever she taught. I have learned so much from her over time. One of the things I learned, through Veda’s teachings, is that Yin Yoga works for me! Veda is always learning about Yin and meditation and sharing these things with us. She makes class interesting with themes and new ideas in every class.
I now know that Yoga-Well-Being is my Yoga Home. I have tried many classes there, regular daily classes with sipra, Kris Wilson, SadaNam Singh, as well as many workshops. Always interesting, always instructional and filled with information, exercise and mindfulness. I love learning new things and this studio has many things to offer!
Mindfulness has been one of the main things I have learned over my years of yoga classes and find that mindfulness practice helps with all things; good, bad or indifferent! It has opened my eyes to yoga classes as well as how I approach my practice. I have met like-minded people through this studio and these classes, as well as have grown with my own knowledge of my body and well-being. As I continue to learn and be mindful of all things around me, I continue to grow and change and enjoy things in life so much more.
Karen Mastriani
Namaste,
Karen Mastriani
Practice and Community at YWB (October 2023 Newsletter)
Photo credit: David Ohmer, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Five years ago when I turned 65 years old, I started on a self care journey after a very long hiatus from any form of exercise. I was fortunate to wander into a yoga studio, Elevate Yoga, owned by SadaNam Singh. There with the teachers’ support, guidance, and patience I not only gained strength and flexibility, but also peace of mind. During this time I was in a very stressful job and didn’t realize how stress was affecting my physical and mental health as well as home life and work life. Yoga classes gave me the ability to free and rest my mind for total relaxation. Many of the breath techniques and meditation carried over into personal and work life. In fact, co-workers noticed the difference. No matter what was happening, I could remain calm. I no longer thought I had to control or worry about outcomes. With the knowledge and techniques learned from Kundalini I would have the strength to meet whatever challenges I faced.
As a result of the pandemic, the studio was closed and did not re-open. I felt lost and grieved missing the sense of peace and fulfillment to which I had become accustomed. As studios began to re-open I tried a variety of in-person classes. Something always felt missing. While the exercise felt good, most were inconsistent in intention setting, or practicing pranayama and meditation.
Fortunately, SadaNam reached out to me and said he would be teaching Kundalini at Yoga-Well-Being. He had known Sipra for years and had tremendous respect for her personally and for her philosophy toward yoga. He encouraged me to try classes at the studio. When Yoga-Well-Being re-opened I did start taking classes. I soon realized I had found a new home! Yoga Well-being offered what I had been missing—the meaning of yoga to “yoke the mind and body”. I re-found peace of mind as well as physical release.
While every class style is different, there are commonalities. Teachers encourage use of pranayama for centering as well as during performance of postures. Every class includes a component of meditation, sometimes guided, a reading, or quiet reflection. I appreciate how every teacher reaches out to those in class (in-person or virtual) and asks, “is anything bothering you today,” and either ensures inclusion of postures or offers modifications during class to address those needs.
The sense of connection to my teachers continues to grow. I get something different and unique from each class I take. At this point I am enjoying six classes a week covering: Yin, Restorative, Flow, Mind/Body Healing, Kundalini, and Breath/Body. I appreciate how Veda is a continuous learner and brings background information and new techniques to her Yin and Restorative classes; no Yin class is the same! Kris makes every class fun and offers multiple modifications while encouraging one to “listen to your body”. Somehow she manages to give a great workout without seeming to---may feel a little “sore” next day and can’t figure out why as we didn’t do anything “difficult” in class! SadaNam will always be my Guru. He is a master Kundalini teacher known and recognized in the yoga community. Whether he is teaching Kundalini or Mind/Body/Yin, a sense of spirituality is woven into every class. His gong bath and music performance at the end of each class produce almost an indescribable sense of relaxation.
Cheryl Wolfe
I appreciate and am grateful for the sense of “community” within the yoga classes I take at Yoga-Well-being. The person on the mat next to you (in-person or virtual) is not just another student. Friendships are developed. We care for and encourage one another in our journey. As Kris always says at the end of class, “Individuals of like mind coming together to practice Yoga.”
Namaste,
Cheryl Wolfe
Pulse (September 2023 Newsletter)
In Yoga, there has always been a recognition of the power of the breath. We all know the benefits of a clean and clear flowing breath. When we breathe easily, we don't even think of it. When, however, we have allergies or a cold, or the weather is too hot and humid or freezing cold we begin to think about it because it becomes difficult to breathe.
Pranayama, the science and technique of breathing is a separate and distinct part of yoga, and yet it is not. Every movement in a yoga practice needs to be mindful of the breath. If you can stay with the breath and align it with your breath, you will find a natural, dance-like movement to your practice.
Here is a way to think of your breath. Instead of visualizing an inhalation as the expansion of the chest or belly, think of it as the expansion of your insides to its max, reaching into the cells of the outside skin. Suspend the breath on the completion of the inhalation (kumbhaka). Exhale slowly and visualize the physical body dissolving, while the breath travels inwards to the center of your being. Hold, on completing the exhalation (kumbhaka). The inhalation connects us to the environment, which is THIS, all that is recognized by the senses; the exhalation connects us to THAT, which represents the Ultimate Reality but one that doesn't really have any describable elements.
Notice how calm it makes you feel. Walk, sit or lie down comfortably. Close your eyes. Pay attention to each breath. Try is several times a day, if only for a few minutes each time.
Namaste,
sipra
Reason: Rational and Reasonable (August 2023 Newsletter)
We are Rational Beings. Under normal circumstances, our actions should make sense and appear logical to another person, as should actions that are based on that reasoning. But it is not quite as simple as that. We need look no further than our political behavior. Each one of us has given it careful thought based on our perception of what is rational. But our perception can be quite defective since it is based on what we already believe to be true, accurate, and reasonable. These so-called rational conclusions are those of the individual and not necessarily accurate. ‘Rational‘ thought is actually based on the individual’s own beliefs, learning, and what they have been taught to believe is true.
The Sanskrit word, ‘विचार’ vichara, or ‘तर्क’ tarka (sounded with short ‘uh’ sounds) means reason. It needs careful consideration of all aspects of any thought. Vitarka is a combination of the two words vichara and tarka and in Buddhism is a practical concept in the practice of meditation.
Vitarka is practiced in 5 stages of Buddhist meditation:
Vitarka is the name given to the first step in meditation. It is the active mind and active body attempting meditation under circumstances of daily stress. Sit quietly and pay attention to the personal body and mind
Vichara is step two in the meditation process. It is shifting one’s focus to the mind alone. The rational, thinking mind is at play. Sit quietly and comfortably and try to follow a thought to its conclusion. Use a physical or mental image for focus.
Priti is finding joy in meditation. There is sudden delight as the quiet mind shifts from feeling and thinking to stillness.
Sukha: Contentment in meditation and the meditative state
Ekagrata: Total Focus. Ekagrata means single mindedness. This is the state where one can simply be present in the present moment.
Sitting in stillness is hard to do, but this gradual teaching oneself how to quieten oneself is worth the effort. Try it for just a few minutes in the morning before plunging into your busy day's activities. Try it again at the end of the day. Don't set a timer, don't use your devices. There'll be days when it works and on other days it gets nowhere. Nevertheless, just sit still in silence.
Namaste,
sipra