DAY 41: JUNE 22

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Thank You

Thank you to each and every one of you for showing up in whatever way you were able. Whether you were able to make it to the mat daily, to your meditation seat as often as possible, or took an extra breath when you could, thank you. What you do matters.

We are so excited to start planning the next 40 Days of Practice, and would love to hear from you! If you feel called, we would greatly appreciate you taking a few moments to answer a few questions about your experience:

…While the 40 DAYS OF PRACTICE: SPRING 2021 may be over, the practice continues…

The Practice Continues: Summer Sale

$100 - $200 + gst
Unlimited virtual classes between June 22 - August 31, 2021
(Available for purchase until June 30)

We believe that anyone, anywhere, should have the option to practice yoga regardless of age, ability, gender identity, race, religion, or financial standing. We are committed to our roots as a by-donation studio and offer accessible pricing through a sliding scale whenever possible.

We encourage you to choose a pricing option that feels right for you and appreciate anything that you can contribute. If you are able, selecting a higher pricing option helps to keep our studio running, makes it possible for us to pay our teachers and staff fairly, and contributes directly to our community by allowing us to share yoga through scholarships and a “pay-it-forward” pricing model.

We firmly believe that finances should never be a barrier to practicing yoga - if you are in need of further support, please reach out to vancouver@oneyoga.ca.

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Studio update!

We are so grateful to have had this time to connect with the lion community all around the world, and we have also dearly missed seeing you in person!

We have decided to give our small team some well-deserved time to rest and restore over the summer and plan to reopen our Vancouver studio, One Yoga for the People at the beginning of September. The health and safety of our students, teachers, and team remains our highest priority, and we will adjust this plan as necessary based on guidelines from Coastal Health Authorities. In the meantime, virtual classes will continue through the summer, and we can’t wait to see you on the mat.

In deepest gratitude for your love, commitment and ongoing support,
Ryan and the One Yoga team: Sam, Mallory, Monica, Phoebe and Taelor

CELEBRATE IN STYLE

In celebration of completing The 40 Days of Practice: Spring 2021, we are launching some new summer merch and you’re the first to hear about it!

Click through and check out our new exclusive one yoga x lululemon earth dye hoodies and joggers, our sweet inversion ‘YOGAFY’ tee’s, and of course, we’ve always got Ryan’s favourite inversion swings to support your practice.

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Thank you to each of our sponsors:
lululemon, Woodlot + Woash.

As a thank you to all of you who have shown up on your mat with us, we are giving away some fantastic prizes from each of our sponsors!

Prizes will be drawn at random for students who have participated, as well as those who have shared with us on Instagram. Winners will be contacted by email or on instagram, so keep an eye on your inboxes and DM’s!

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40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 40: JUNE 21

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Asatoma Sadgamaya

A Shanti Mantra (Mantra of peace) from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

असतोमा सद्गमय ।

तमसोमा ज्योतिर् गमय ।

मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय ॥

ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः ।। 

asato mā sadgamaya

tamasomā jyotir gamaya

mrityormāamritam gamaya

Oṁ śhānti śhānti śhāntiḥ

From ignorance, lead me to truth;

From darkness, lead me to light;

From a deathlike existence, lead me to new life.

Om peace, peace, peace

Happy 40th day

Much love and respect to our Indigenous family and friends.  Today is National Indigenous People’s Day in Canada.  It is usually a day of celebration, but this year is more about quiet reflection and mourning after the horrific discoveries in Kamloops.

Malina Dawn, Rishima (Ray of Light Music) and I will be offering a gentle session this afternoon for those who want to practice.
toDAY, jUNE 21ST, 4-5:30pst

June 21 also marks International Day of Yoga, as well as the Summer Solstice. I am so thankful for the light of yoga in my life. This season change is a time for transformation and light and we pray that people treat one another with more respect, truthfulness, love, kindness and compassion.

Om

Thank you for joining us for another 40 Day Sadhana. All though this 40 Day Sadhana has been difficult and heavy for many, I hope it has been a healing journey for you all. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing team at One Yoga and such lovely friends all over the globe. Thank you for the love and support and thank you for travelling with us. God Bless you all.

Good Medicine Yoga for generational healing

Join Malina, Rishma + Ryan at 4-5:30pst

Join Malina Dawn + Rishima Bahadoorsingh for a sweet + slow medicinal yoga practice. With Bhajan (devotional singing), Mantra, gentle asana and the sound of the drum leading you into relaxation, experience the healing effects of the Yogic science through the Indian and Cree Indigenous cultures while raising funds for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society.


One last story (thanks for sharing with me Peter Elmas!) about the Tibetan Yogi Milarepa…

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(Parting Words)

One day, Milarepa warned Gampopa that the time had come for him to depart.

He told Gampopa, "You have received the entire transmission. I have given you all the teachings, as if pouring water from one vase into another. Only 1 pith instruction remains that I haven't taught you. It's very secret."

He then accompanied Gampopa to a river, where they were to part. Gampopa made prostrations to take his leave and started across. But Milarepa called him back: "You are a really good disciple. Anyway I will give you this last teaching."

Overjoyed, Gampopa prostrated 9 times, then waited for the instructions. Milarepa proceeded to turn around, pull up his robe, showing Gampopa his bottom. "Do you see?"

And Gampopa said, "Uh...yes..."

"Do you really see?"

Gampopa was not sure what he was supposed to see. Milarepa had calluses on his buttocks; they looked as though they were half flesh and half stone.

"You see, this is how I reached enlightenment: sitting and meditating. If you want to reach it in this life, make the same effort. This is my final teaching. I have nothing more to add."

~ Excerpt from Kalu Rinpoche's Luminous Mind: The Way Of The Buddha (1997)

Keep practicing!  

“Love Everybody and Tell The Truth.”

~ Ram Dass

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THE YOGI CODE

(according to Krishnamacharya)

Yama

Ahimsa (non-violence, not to cause any harm to others)

Satya (truthfulness, in thought, speech and action)

Asteya (non-stealing, not to aspire after another’s wealth)

Brahmacharya (mastery of the senses, fidelity to one’s spouse)

Aparigraha (non-coveting, not to possess in excess)

Niyama

Saucha (cleaning/purification)

Santosha (contentment/acceptance)

Tapas (practicing, control of body, keeping fit, restricted food)

Svadhyaya (study of self/study of sacred text)

Ishvara-Pranidhana (surrender to God, offering fruits of actions/humility)

We’ll see you again tomorrow, we’ve got one more daily entry for you, with a few fun surprises to share!

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 39: JUNE 20

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Samadhi 

समाधी

Samadhi is the 8th and final anga (limb) of ashtanga yoga. It means; Perfect absorption, bringing into harmony, bliss, oneness. According to TKV Desikachar it is complete integration with the object of understanding. Our ego disappears and our mental activities are integrated with the object and nothing else.

“Yoga is awareness, a type of knowing… Yoga will end in awareness. Yoga is the arresting of the fluctuations of the mind, as said in the Yoga Sutras: citta vritti nirodha. When the mind is without any movement, maybe for a quarter of an hour, or even a quarter of a minute, you will realize that yoga is of the nature of infinite awareness, infinite knowing…

The word citta in the Yoga Sutras means mind. The mind is present twelve angulas (finger-widths) above the navel in the region of the heart. The mind exists in that location like a bindu, like a pearl of light. The Prana, individual self, and the Divine all exist there. To know this, the fluctuations of the mind must be arrested.”

~ T Krishnamacharya

Here is the passage from the Bhagavad Gita that Gandhi and his community would meditate on to find peace and harmony:

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Living in Wisdom

The Bhagavad Gita

Arjuna:
Tell me of those who live in wisdom,
Ever aware of the Self, O Krishna;
How do they talk, how sit, how move about?

Sri Krishna:
They live in wisdom
Who see themselves in all and all in them,
Whose love for the Lord of Love has consumed
Every selfish desire and sense craving
Tormenting the heart. Not agitated
By grief or hankering after pleasure,
They live free from lust and fear and anger.
Fettered no more by selfish attachments,
They are not elated by good fortune
Nor depressed by bad. Such are the seers.

Even as a tortoise draws in its limbs,
The wise can draw in their senses at will.
Aspirants abstain from sense pleasures,
But they still crave for them. These cravings all
Disappear when they see the Lord of Love.
For even of those who tread the path,
The stormy senses can sweep off the mind.
But they live in wisdom who subdue them
And keep their minds ever absorbed in me.

When you keep thinking about sense objects,
Attachment comes. Attachment breeds desire,
The lust of possession which, when thwarted,
Burns to anger. Anger clouds the judgment
And robs you of the power to learn from
Past mistakes. Lost is the discriminative
Faculty, and your life is utter waste.

But when you move amidst the world of sense
From both attachment and aversion freed,
There comes the peace in which all sorrows end,
And you live in the wisdom of the Self.

The disunited mind is far from wise;
How can it meditate? How be at peace?
When you know no peace, how can you know joy?
When you let your mind follow the Siren
Call of the senses, they carry away
Your better judgment as a cyclone drives
A boat off the charted course to its doom.

Use your mighty arms to free the senses
From attachment and aversion alike
And live in the full wisdom of the Self.
Such a sage awakes to light in the night
Of all creatures. In which they are awake
Is the night of ignorance to the sage.

As the rivers flow into the ocean
But cannot make the vast ocean overflow,
So flow the magic streams of the sense world
Into the sea of peace that is the sage.
They are forever free who have broken out
Of the ego-cage of I and mine
To be united with the Lord of Love.
This is the supreme state. Attain to this
And pass from death to immortality.

The Bhagavad Gita, the “Song of the Lord,” is India’s best-known scripture.
This passage has been translated by Easwaran for meditation.

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The Art of Sitting

"Proper alignment is the RESULT and the CAUSE of becoming centered"

~ BKS Iyengar

Below are alignment cues from BKS Ieyngar himself in Light on Pranayama:

  • The head and neck are held erect and perpendicular to the floor in meditation and chin lock for pranayama. 

  • Spine upright and back ribs and muscles firm and alert. The breastbone, naval and pubic symphysis are in alignment.

  • Eye brows, ears, tops of shoulders, collarbones, nipples, floating ribs and pelvic bones at hip joints should be kept parallel to each other.

  • Press thigh bones down into hip sockets.

  • Rest both buttocks evenly on floor.

  • Stretch the skin from quadriceps toward the knee.

  • Bring hamstrings closer together - this will lift anus and genitals off of floor and the spine begins to stretch up from here.

  • Torso vigorously active,  and legs and arms dormant.

  • Neck and head are in a pure state of alert calmness.

  • Torso will collapse if spinal or intercostal muscles lose their grip or if vertebrae are not fully stretched.

  • Remember that extension cultivates the field which brings freedom, freedom brings precision, which in turn creates purity and this leads to divine perfection.

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 38: JUNE 19

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Dhyana 

ध्यान

Dhyana is the 7th limb of yoga. It is meditation or contemplation. Dhyana comes from the root dhyai, “to think deeply.” It signifies deep thinking on a sublime or uplifting object. It literal means to constantly think of something. When the flow of the mind is with the same object for the duration of your practice it is called meditation.

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“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play... When we dance, the journey itself is the point, as when we play music the playing itself is the point. And exactly the same thing is true in meditation. Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.”

~ Alan Watts

If you would like to learn more about meditation please listen to this talk by Alan Watts, and / or check out the old school documentary:

40 day wrap up celebration!

wITH Ryan Leier


tomorrow, Sunday June 20th
8-10am PT / 9-11am CT

 
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40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 37: JUNE 18

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Dharana 

धारणा

Dharana means concentration, holding, or focus. Patanjali describes it as ‘binding the mind’ to a place. To focus the attention on a place or an object.  He gives a number of options.  The only qualification is that it must be uplifting.  It could be a candle, a light in your heart, or your eyebrows, or the chakras, or Om.  You keep minding the mind, bringing it back to the object of attention over and over until you bind the mind.

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Yoga is the movement from distraction to direction.  Many commentators of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras define yoga as concentration. Dharana is the 6th anga. In fact, according to Patanjali unless one is a natural born yogi, success of the first 5 angas (limbs) of yoga must be accomplished before dharana is a real possibility.

One look at a text, an email, a sound on your phone can rob you from focus and direction and take away momentum of focus.  

Stay alert. 

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”

~ Alexander Graham Bell

Arjuna’s Arrow is a story from Hindu mythology (Mahabharata) about the greatest archer of all time.

Arjuna’s Arrow

Arjuna had razor sharp focus, and his teacher, Drona Archarya, was the greatest teacher who ever lived. Drona had many students, but Arjuna was the one who excelled the most in archery. According to the tale, one of Drona’s other students criticized Drona for favoritism, and Drona responded by challenging all of the students to take part in an archery contest. He asked them all to try to hit the eye of a wooden bird.

His first student, called Yudhistar, tried the shot, and said that he could see the sun, the clouds, and the trees when he aimed at the bird. He missed the shot. The second student, Ashwathama, tried the shot and could see the bird, the branch on which the bird sat, the mango near the bird, the leaves, and other surroundings. He also failed the shot.

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Arjuna was the last to try the shot. When asked what he could see, he replied that he saw the eye of the bird. He did not see the tree, the branch, or even the bird. He saw nothing but the eye and hit his target. The moral of the story surrounds Arjuna’s focus and how it made him great.

~ Rachel Donovan

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”

~ Bruce Lee

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 36: JUNE 17

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Ishvara Pranidhana

ईश्वर प्रणिधान

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Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender to the Lord or actions done in spirit of service rather than personal gain) is the 5th and final of the niyamas (cleanliness, acceptance, discipline, self-study, surrender).

Ramaswami describes it as surrendering the fruits of your actions and making offering to the Lord (think of the core teachings of the Bhagavad Gita).

Iyengar states the power of Samadhi comes to those who take refuge in God.

Baron Baptiste puts a mystical spin on it. He teaches:

“Be like Moses at the Red Sea. Realize you are in over your head and unconditionally surrender everything over to God.”

VINYASA

with Cambria Olding

Tomorrow, Friday, June 18th
6:30-7:30am PT / 9:30-10:30am ET

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40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 35: JUNE 16

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The Two Monks and a Women

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A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side.

The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman.

Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his journey.

The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them.

Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could contain himself any longer, and blurted out “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?”

The older monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”

This Zen story implores us to be here, “Now”, in the present moment and to let go of what does not serve us. Our judgements, resentment and anger takes a lot of energy and sometimes keeps us from abiding in peace. Look to find peace and contentment in this very moment.

In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Svatmarama explains that following too many rules may be detrimental to yoga practice. Kindness and compassion are more important than some rules.

Gassho

VINYASA

WITH maria filippone

TOMORROW, THURSDAY, JUNE 17
5:30-6:30pm PT / 6:30-7:30pm CT

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 34: JUNE 15

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The Great Vow

II:31 जातिदेशकालसमयानवच्छिन्नाः सार्वभौमामहाव्रतम् ॥३१॥

jāti-deśa-kāla-samaya-anavacchinnāḥ sārva-bhaumāḥ mahā-vratam ||31||

“The Yamas make are the Great Vow
that everyone can make
regardless of social status, age, place or other circumstance.”

The yamas should be followed and practiced by the yogi all the time, without exception. They are not Patanjali says that practicing the yamas are the mahavratam (great vow) of the yogi. These vow as are not confined to class, place, or time. They are to be followed all the time without exception.

Sukkhasiddhi The Great Yogini

Sukkhasiddhi The Great Yogini

Ramaswami states:

The yogi takes this vow:

I will never harm any person. I will never harm any being.

I will never say anything false.

I will never steal on any occasion.

I will maintain brahmacharya on all occasions.

I will not accumulate things.

There may be an exception because of conflicting dharma. This was the case for ahimsa and satya. It may happen here as well. For instance, if the harming of one may save a hundred then it may be the right thing to do. But generally the yogi does not find himself in this situation.

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 33: JUNE 14

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Aparigraha

अपरिग्रह

Aparigraha (non-accumulation, greedlessness) is the 5th and final of the Yamas (non-harm, truthfullness, non-stealing, continence, and non-accumulation). It means you only take what is necessary. Anything beyond what you need you don’t try to accumulate. Aparigraha is for the yogi, it is not for the business person.

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Here is a story from our teacher Srivatsa Ramaswami:

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Vinyasa

with Janet Stone

Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 15
6:30-7:30pm PT / 7:30-8:30pm CT

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40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 32: JUNE 13

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Excerpt from an Interview
with Meneka Desikachar

Do you have a favorite story from the Vedas?

My father-in-law (T. Krishnamacharya) used to tell me, God is always inside you, so you do not have to go to the temple to find him there. I liked that very much. He also told a story to accompany that idea. Long, long back God was moving like us in this world. But because people knew he was God, they used to chase him everywhere. And even though he was providing everything, they were so greedy, they only asked "give me this", "give me that". So he got fed up and he said I have to hide myself from these people, so that they don’t find me. So he went inside the heart of each one. And only those, who don’t look for more outside, but start looking for God within, will find him. 

What is for you the most important text for Yoga and Therapy?

For me the Yogasutra and the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is very spiritual yet practical. The Yogasutra is also practical, but also good for the intellect. We need to put that into practice what we read in these teachings. This is the most important thing.

One wisdom that you have learnt from your teacher that has accompanied you through your work and life?

If you have really learnt yoga well it should change you. You have to try to apply a little bit of it in your life and try to become a bit better than you were yesterday. It should make you a better person. It might be difficult, but we can try our best. It will take a long time and many births. 

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40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 31: JUNE 12

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According to The RZA

“Jewels are minerals, compressed pieces of earth, stacks of crystalline carbon.  What gives them the shine is their history.  It’s the same with man.  When a man recognizes himself, he recognizes his true jewel and his body expresses that wisdom.  He becomes a jewel himself.  If his mind is sharp, the way he walks and talks has a certain beauty about it.  Attain wisdom and you have all the bling you ever need.”

~ RZA

Here are the 12 Jewels of Islam 

“Linear logic measures only the four dimensions: length, width, depth, and time. But in the fifth dimension, energy surpasses time. Light surpasses time. Time is just a controller of certain planes. It’s not the master. The true master is consciousness, and I mean true consciousness—not simply being awake—I’m talking about the consciousness that never sleeps. The part of you that is aware of your consciousness. There’s a part of you that’s always there, always consistent, that represents your true self—the part connected to God. That’s who you gotta get in touch with.”

~ RZA

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 30: JUNE 11

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Svadhyaya Cont.

Knowledge of Self.

“Knowing others is wisdom. Knowing yourself is Enlightenment.”

~ Lao-Tzu

“In order for one to find God, he must first look inside himself. Through are the key to life, just as a man thinks them. One thought can change the world. So brothers and sisters, don’t let the Devil tell you that you can’t change things, because you can. THe only thing you can’t change is the truth, for the truth is that which in time changes things back to their original state.”

~ RZA

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“The knowledge of self is the most important thing, because how are you going to know God if you don’t know yourself? How are you going to know anything if you don’t know yourself?... The word "knowledge" itself, we like to break it down into two different words, "know" and "ledge." You've got to know the ledge. Know the limitation of things. Know where they go, know where they start from. We say knowledge is the basic foundation of the universe. But everything is first based on something being known. Then, when it's known, then it can be manifested."

~ RZA

[Sunday Session]

Tend to you

with Ariffa Lalani

tomorrow, sunday june 13th
8:00-9:30am PT / 9:00-10:30am CT

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40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 29: JUNE 10

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Svadhyaya

स्वाध्याय

THE study of the scriptures, self-study

Traditionally svadhyaya was the study of the sacred yoga scriptures (Vedas, Upanishads, Yoga Sutra), to get to know the truth. If one wants to be a yogi, they should study relevant yogic and spiritual texts. Svadhyaya also means to study thy self to get knowledge of self.

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“All the scriptures tell us one thing: ‘Know thyself.’ If you have known yourself, you have known everything else.  Know That by knowing which, you will know everything else.  The Bible says, ‘Seek that kingdom within you.’  It is not outside.  Seek That within you.  Once you have found That, then everything else will be automatically added unto you; you don’t have to go looking for outside things, they will all come to you. So learn that first.”

~ Swami Satchidananda

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Vinyasa with Sanchia Legister

tOMORROW, friday, june 11
6:30-7:30am PT / 2:30-3:30pm UK

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40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 28: JUNE 9

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Brahmacharya

The fourth Yama is Brahmacharya.

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Brahmacharya is continence, control of the senses (moderation), wise use of creative energy. Brahma (creation, god) Charya (to move, to walk the path). It is to utilize our live force for our highest purposes.

Brahmacharya in the olden days means a student or one who studies the vedas, traditionally the students maintained celibacy. Some traditions this does mean celibacy (to monks and nuns). According to Krishnamacharya, Brahmacharya means to not transgress the institute of marriage (faithfullness).

“To most people, Brahmacharya simply means that if you want to be a spiritual person then you should be permanently celibate. However, since it would presumable be a good thing the the whole world wanted to be spiritual, we would soon have a planet populated by dogs and cats and cows. If God has intentions, I can’t believe this is one of them. Sexual self-control is something else.”

~ BKS Iyengar

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 26: JUNE 7

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Pratyahara Cont.

Pratyahara can be practiced by doing Savasana (corpse pose) and Sanmukhi: 6 (shan) gates/ports in the head/face (mukha) mudra (seal). Thus allowing the mind a rest from distraction of the senses and the sense objects.

Paul Harvey refers to Sanmukhi or Sat Mukhi Mudra as:

A means to ‘Listen’ to

the Space within the Heart.

Krishnamacharya in Shanmukhi Mudra

Krishnamacharya in Shanmukhi Mudra

With practice of pratyahara the senses can be brought under control.

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 25: JUNE 6

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Pratyahara

प्रत्याहार

The fifth limb (anga) of the eight limbs (ashtanga) of yoga is Pratyahara.


We’ve gone through the first 3 yamas (non-harm, truthfullness, non-stealing), the first 3 niyamas (cleanliness, acceptance, self-discipline), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing) and now we arrive at pratyahara.

“Pratyahara is withdrawing the senses, mind and consciousness from contact with external objects, and then drawing them inwards towards the seer [self].”

~ Yoga Sutra 2:54; Iyengar

 
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Pratyahara means to restrain or withdraw the senses, to withdraw or close the sense organs (indriyas) that often distract the yogi. Prati means against, or stopping. Ahara means to take something in. This word, ahara is usually used for food. Pratyahara literally means “to fast from the senses”. The food for the ears (sound), the eyes (sight), etc. The period of time where you shut everything out and go inward is called pratyahara.

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 24: JUNE 5

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A STORY OF 2 FROGS

as TOLD BY PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA


A big frog and a little frog fell into a milk pail with tall, slippery sides. They swam and swam for hours trying to get out. The big frog, exhausted, moaned, "Little brother frog, I am giving up!" and he sank to the bottom of the pail.

The little frog thought to himself, "If I give up I will die, so I must keep on swimming." Two hours passed, and the little frog thought he could do no more. But as he thought of his dead brother frog, he roused his will, saying, "To give up is certain death. I will keep on paddling until I die, if death is to come, but I will not give up trying, for while there is life there is still hope."

Intoxicated with determination, the little frog kept on paddling. After many hours, when he felt paralyzed with fatigue and could paddle no more, he suddenly felt a big lump under his feet. His incessant paddling had churned the milk into butter! Standing on the butter mound, with great joy the little frog leaped from the milk pail to freedom.

 
 

Remember, we are all in the slippery milk pail of life, like the two frogs, trying to get free form our troubles. Most people give up trying and fail, like the big frog. But we must learn to persevere in our effort toward one goal, as the little frog did. Then, we shall churn an opportunity by our God-guided, unflinching will power, and will be able to hop out of the milk pail of trials onto the safe ground of eternal success.
By not giving up, we develop will power and win everything we undertake.

Breathwork as Ceremony

with Malina Dawn

Tomorrow, Sunday, June 6th
8:00-9:30am PT / 9:00-10:30am CT

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 23: JUNE 4

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TAPAS

तपस्

Self-discipline, enthusiasm, ardour austerity, control of body, breath and senses, control of tongue and restricted food.

The third of the niyamas (“all the time” or daily personal observances) is tapas.

Tapas may be understood in different ways.  Tapas literally means “to heat or to burn”.  As gold is purified by heating and removing its dross, a yogi is purified by a well planned regimen of purification (tapas - generating heat, asanas and pranayama). 

Tapas has a wide range of meanings according to the teachings.  Iyengar defines tapas as “self-discipline and a burning desire to remove impurities.”

Ramaswami defines tapas as austerities and complete control of the senses.  According to Iyengar and Ramaswami’s teacher, T Krishnamacharya, it is also moderation in food and speech.

“Speaking the Truth (rtam) is tapas. Following the right path /conduct (satyam) is tapas. Study (srutam) is tapas. Being calm/equanimity  (santam) is tapas. Keeping  the senses under control (dama)  is taps. Controlling the mind (sama) is tapas. Giving / Charity (daana) is tapas. Doing prescribed religious duties (yajna) is tapas. Meditating (upasyai) on the ultimate reality Brahman is tapas.”

~ Mahanarayana Upanishad

 

40 Days of Practice Resources:

 
 

DAY 22 : JUNE 3

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REMEMBER

~Joy harjo

Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star's stories.

Remember the moon, know who she is.

Remember the sun's birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.

Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother's, and hers.

Remember your father. He is your life, also.

Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.

Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.

Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.

Remember you are all people and all people
are you.

Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.

Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.

Remember language comes from this.

Remember the dance language is, that life is.

Remember.

 

40 Days of Practice Resources: