Tag: Meditation

Gesture of Awareness

February 27, 2010
Posted by Sharon
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I have recently become acquainted with the most fascinating and inspiring book, Gesture of Awareness: A Radical Approach to Time, Space, and Movement.  The book is authored by Charles Genoud (2006) and published by Wisdom Publications.

The dedication of the book reads “It is over.”  which gives a strong hint to the reader that their experience with time is about to get shook-up and turned on its head.  How can it be over when the reader has just begun?

“But how can it be over before anything has started?  And can anything really start?  To start something     implies it will go on, will end.  That is the movement of time.  But is there truth in this sense of movement?  To start something is to step into time, and to step into time is to step out from reality into an   insubstantial world of images, of language.  Therefore, to start, to go on, to be over–may all be equally illusory. (3).”

I have been finding this radical approach to time to be helpful both in waiting out this month of record snow fall and in how I am viewing my academic pursuits.  It seems that there will never be an end to this snow and the challenges that it creates.  And, on most days, I am not sure that I can recall how I got on this academic wheel and I certainly don’t see an end in sight.  Yet, if there was never a beginning or an end to either this weather or my pursuit of a Ph.D, then I am free to just be here today—-looking out at the beautiful snowscape from my window and reading and writing and thinking.

In the Gesture of Awareness, the exploration is of the way that “physical sensations never depart from the nature of awareness.  The body is the main place of inquiry….  The body knows itself not as this sensation, or as that sensation, but as pure presence.” (11)  When yoga students are asked to become aware of sensation in the body, this is an incredibly challenging request and one that both instructors and students need to respect.  The first challenge is that, in so many cases, we are required to become numb to our bodily sensations or we have been taught that our bodies are shells for the more important things that we do as driven by our brains and the wants and needs that these brains create.  The second, and perhaps greater challenge is that it is so very hard to define precisely what “awareness” is.  How exactly does someone become aware of sensations in their body?  What is used to become aware—the brain, the mind?  And, what exactly is the mind anyway?  Where is it located and how do I use it in my sensation-seeking activities?

Genoud asks us if we are using meditation as a way to simply distract ourselves from life (27).  If so, then he questions the value of a practice that takes us away from life (27): “If meditation takes us away from life, what is the use of meditation? (27).”  Genoud asks if we can be open in our meditation, “Can we be open in our meditation–can we be open as we walk or touch another?  What does it mean to be open?”  (31).

Every page of this beautiful book is a gem and I highly recommend it to meditators, students of yoga, instructors of yoga and meditation and anyone who wishes to be inspired to see the body in a different way.  The ideas are profound, but presented in simple statements and phrases so that the reader can use this text for a lifetime of growth, peace and exploration of the body, soul and time.

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, owner and director of the Matrika Wellness Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania http://www.matrikawellnesscenter.com and the community-based yoga studio, Yoga Matrika, also in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania https://www.yogamatrika.com/.

Find information about purchasing the book here:

http://www.wisdom-books.com/ProductDetail.asp?PID=16150

Another review is here:

“Gesture of Awareness,” by Charles Genoud

Snow Daze Yoga

February 18, 2010
Posted by Sharon
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SNOW DAZE YOGA

This storm has brought tremendous strain, including financial strain, emotional strain and physical injuries to many adults, children, families and animals in our area.  There has been loss of life.

Please remain mindful when driving, be generous with one another and support your local small businesses as much as possible.  Be especially kind to the elderly and to young families who have been forced to find alternative childcare arrangements, lose work hours and spend way too much time with young children in confined spaces.

Stay safe and use any frustration or fears that you have as a direct connection to all living things that might be having these challenges.  We are all connected and these challenges are neither unique or permanent.

Yoga isn’t just what you do on your mat, it is also a way of living that calls on us to  honor our deep connection to all living things.   This snow will melt, but if we can use this opportunity to connect with humanity and offer generosity and care whenever possible, then the positive impact of this storm will last infinitely.

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk
Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika, an intimate, community-based yoga studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylania.

http://www.matrikawellnesscenter.com

Cabin Fever & Yoga in Pittsburgh

February 12, 2010
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There was one very brave student at tonight’s class.  She was new to Yoga Matrika and was curious about what the class title, Mindful Yoga, really meant.  I prattled on about Vajra Yoga and not making a distinction between asana practice and meditation and how we create a moving meditation through our practice……….but during our practice together, I started to question the whole thing entirely. 

You see, that’s the problem with having an answer to everything—-you miss opportunities for reaching a greater understanding.  In this case, I was incredibly inspired by the clarity of this student’s practice and she taught me a lot about mindfulness.  So, thank you dear student, and hope you come back soon!

What I realised is that what I don’t know about mindfulness is a lot.  While there are so very many things that I hope that my Mindful Flow classes mean, the real mindfulness is in the interpretation.  I asked my student to choose an intention for her practice and to anchor that intention with awareness of the breath or awareness of sensation in the body.  As we moved through the Vajra Opening series, I made some slight adjustments and made requests of the student to move in different ways or experiment with various modifications. 

I was delighted to watch as this student’s mind literally moved from place to place in her body and she fully explored each asana.  Thanks to this student and her beautiful practice, I realised that it is possible to see mind.   A great gift to a yoga teacher on a snowy night after a long week of being indoors. 

I received a similar gift through my dear friend and colleague on the teaching team at Yoga Matrika, Kristie Lindblom.  She posted a beautiful entry in her blog about how she is personally experiencing this long week of a storm and nature enforced hibernation.  Again, a new lesson on mindfullness.  By staying present in the moment, Kristie rides out the storm, the cabin fever and the heavy nature of this weather.  Her mindfulness includes all of the wonderful things that are growing, changing, transforming and preparing for birth right under our very feet in this very moment.

Thank you dear student and Kristie for the lessons in mindfulness. 

When in Pittsburgh, study Mindful Flow with Sharon Rudyk at Yoga Matrika.  Don’t worry, when there hasn’t been a recent snowfall of over 20 inches, there’s normally more than one student! So, not everyone gets watched so closely.

Posted by Sharon Rudyk
Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika

http://www.matrikawellnesscenter.com
http://www.prenatalyogapittsburgh.com
https://www.yogamatrika.com/

Check-out Kristie’s Blog entry here:

http://searchingforsattva.blogspot.com/

Meditation for Haiti

January 15, 2010
Posted by Sharon
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SAFE and EFFECTIVE FINANCIAL DONATIONS to HAITI

My web home page is the New York Times, and I would be lying if I didn’t say that the images of injured children, devastation and large numbers of bodies being scooped and dumped by trucks have not taken their toll on my heart-mind.  This is a most challenging time for Haitians all over the world.  This is most likely an understatement and one that I may never, and definitely hope to never, understand the true depth of.  The New York Times has a list of organizations currently accepting donations and you can access it here: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/haiti-disaster-relief-how-to-contribute/?scp=12&sq=giving%20and%20haiti&st=cse

If you live in Pittsburgh, or even close, Quiet Storm, a local vegetarian and vegan restaurant, is hosting a benefit dinner:

HAITIAN MENU Jan 19

I want to offer Yoga Matrika blog readers some links to organizations that are accepting donations:

UNICEF
http://www.unicefusa.org/?gclid=CLzslMOfp58CFWkN5Qodrxrk1Q

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
http://doctorswithoutborders.org/

PARTNERS in HEALTH
http://www.pih.org/home.html

Obviously, there is GREAT need and money is a type of energy that we can send directly to these organizations who can make sure that care is provided to the almost 3 million survivors of this most terrible earthquake.

What else can be done?  We can meditate. 

There is a very important kind of Buddhist meditation that can be practiced by anyone, of any religion, any time, any place.  Human suffering in Haiti (you can read this Human Rights report to find out more) did not begin with this earthquake and there is suffering all around you—sadness, hunger, violence, inequity, pain.  While it is easy to focus on the pain and suffering that is shocking and remarkable, this meditation asks us to to focus on human suffering in general.  This meditation gives us power to acknowledge our own suffering, to wish something better for ourselves and to extend this wish to everyone, everywhere who is experiencing suffering. 

It can be overwhelming to accept that last week, before this earthquake, in Haiti, there were children being kidnapped (according to the Human Rights Watch report, as many as one kidnapping daily) and food riots as so many people were starving to the point of violence.  The United Nations estimated in 2008 that there were 170,000 children employed in domestic labor and only 50% of primary school aged children go to school with only 2% of the population finishing high school.  The reality is that there is great need and tremendous suffering in Haiti and around the world.  Rather than turn away, we have an opportunity and an obligation to face this pain and draw on the strength of our practice to build compassion and create peace and beautiful wishes for all living beings.

MAKING A WISH: Loving-Kindness Meditation for Haiti and all Living Beings

STEP 1: Sit quietly in a chair or on the floor (if this is comfortable for you)

STEP 2: Notice the quality of your breath and do a scan of your body from your toes through the crown of your head, just noticing how you feel, any sensations in your body and places that feel open or closed.

STEP 3: Make a sincere wish for your own safety, happiness, health and well-being.  You can use phrases such as: May I Be Free of Fear and Harm; May I Be Content as I Am; May I Be at Peace with What Comes.  Or, you can just make an honest wish for yourself in your own words that is meaningful to you.

STEP 4: Extend this wish gently to all living beings starting with the people that you care about the most, see them all bathed in the light of your sincere wish.  Then, extend this wish to all the people that you know, including neighbors, friends, colleagues, the person who serves your coffee in the morning.  Then, extend this wish to everyone in your city, state and country.  Take your time.  Be honest in your wish and sincere in your desire that everyone be granted this wish. 

Step 5:  Call into your mind’s eye Haiti and the world.  See the light and energy of your beautiful wish bathing Haiti and the entire world in a beautiful light.  Be sincere in your wish that all living beings in Haiti be granted peace, health and freedom from pain and suffering.

This is different from prayer in that you are sending energy not from a higher being, but from your own heart and mind to everyone who might need it.  Although our American culture has made a commitment to certain beliefs about time and space, this meditation teaches us that we are also humans with energy that knows no boundaries and we have power to release energy in ways that defy these artificial boundaries we have created or believe in.

To Haiti and to everyone in the world who is in pain, suffering, sad, lonely, thirsty, hungry or in need.  Please know that there is a little woman and a strong community of yogis here in Pittsburgh who sit in the quiet power of our minds and send you light, love and happiness.  May you receive our solemn wish for relief and may it give you comfort and strength as you move forward into life.

Written & Posted by Sharon Rudyk
Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika and Prenatal Yoga Pittsburgh
https://www.yogamatrika.com/
http://www.prenatalyogapittsburgh.com
http://www.sharonrudykyoga.info

Yoga Works

December 10, 2009
Posted by Sharon
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I’m just about as committed, or perhaps even MORE committed,  to the “Why?” as anyone.  I think it’s a rather good question to be asked about anything from WHY is the Nobel peace prize winner suggesting that we increase our war activities to WHY do Pittsburghers call sprinkles, “jimmies”.  Or, the yoga owner gasps, WHY should anyone do yoga?  Just as committed as I am to the WHY, I’m simply frustrated at the infinite number of things that I can’t seem to comprehend or the number of WHY questions that I can’t get a satisfactory answer to.  Will someone just give me the satisfaction of a BECAUSE… every once in a while? 

If there is one thing that I know to be true and that is that YOGA WORKS.  I mean, it works for EVERYONE—children, moms, men, women, older people, teens, injured and sick, athletic and healthy, flexible, idiots and genius alike (generally subjective measurements anyway!)—–yoga works in all cases and without exception.  Why?  I have no idea!  I’m relatively convinced that any answer is only the beginning of an answer or even a fraction of the answer.  I don’t care if you got this answer by measuring brain activity, hormone levels, blood chemicals, stress level, decrease in headaches, reported relationship satisfaction, increased fertility, etc.  However you get your answer to the why of yoga, it’s only part of the story. The most terrifying thing about this kind of inquiry is that I wonder how many questions I have asked and found an answer to that I really only know the fraction of—maybe WHY just isn’t the right question and every BECAUSE is merely a PERHAPS in disguise?

I can think of two reasons why yoga decreases stress, makes us feel stronger and lighter and gives us energy and a feeling of bliss and joy:
1) We are moving in the most honest of ways and using our body to express, explore and respond to the environment around us instead of privileging the BRAIN and simply dragging the body around as a useful, but mostly frustrating appendage.  So many people tell me that they can’t do yoga because they aren’t flexible or because they aren’t “the type.”  If yoga was about touching your toes, then I can assure you gentle reader that 20 million Americans wouldn’t be doing yoga!  And, I might ask, who is the yoga type and how do you know it doesn’t apply to you if you never try?  As you are reading this, I happen to know that you are a live human and you have a body.  This being the case, you are, in fact, just the right “type” for yoga.  All you need is to be breathing and have a body and yoga will work for you!

2) Yoga is a vacation.  When you practice yoga, you lighten your load—you slow down the breath, you take off your shoes and socks, you notice sensations in your body and you shut up.  I don’t mean that you just stop talking.  I mean that you stop talking, people stop talking to you and you can finally hear yourself think.  For beginners, this is a terrifying moment because when you hear yourself think for the first time you can be overwhelmed to discover just how many thoughts you are having every minute or even every second.  This flood of thoughts, ideas, feelings, desires, stories and much more just flood over you and once you become aware of this you start to say, “THINKING” and return your awareness to your breath.  Ahhh—now isn’t that delightful?  It’s not something you can say to your boss–right?  Boss sticks her head in your cubicle and starts talking really fast about some immediate emergency double secret deadline and you can’t just say, “THINKING” and turn away!  But in yoga, you even get a vacation from yourself and all the trappings and trimmings you have determined as elements of that self.  You lighten your load by slowing down, removing obstacles to calm and getting out of your own way.  You CAN say to yourself, “THINKING.”

So try a yoga class and move your body and breathe and, well, get out of your own way! 

Posted by Sharon Rudyk, Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika (https://www.yogamatrika.com/) and Prenatal Yoga Pittsburgh (http://www.prenatalyogapittsburgh.com) in Point Breeze, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15217. 

I’d like to give an appropriate reference to Pema Chodron, a most wonderful writer and teacher who suggests the concept of saying “Thinking” to yourself during meditation when you start to lose your focus or awareness.  My personal favorite Pema Chodron title is, “The Wisdom of No Escape,” but you can try any title for excellent meditation information and practical advice and instruction.

Yoga for Writers

November 23, 2009
Posted by Sharon
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Movement & Memoir
Facilitated by Dana Killmeyer
January 30, 2010

2:00 to 4:30 pm
$25 pre-registration, $35 at the door (space allowing)

Movement and Memoir is a hybrid class blending elements of yoga and somatics with creative expression, primarily autobiographical writing or journaling.  We will focus on observing our environments, both internal and external, as a catalyst for releasing tension and broadening our awareness.  Finding inspiration in our senses and perceptions, anatomy, literature, performance, music, art, meditation,and social critique, we will explore various aspects of observation and expression, stillness and animation.  Expect a gentler, more introspective yoga practice with an emphasis on breathing, as well as wrists, shoulders, and lower back–areas that tend to get overused and neglected after long periods of sitting.  Please bring a notebook and an open mind.

Dana Killmeyer is a Pittsburgh-native and University of Pittsburgh graduate.  She has written two books: Paradise, or the Part that Dies and Pendulums of Euphoria, both published by Six Gallery Press.  Currently pursuing training as a yoga teacher with Joanne VandenHengel (3rd Street Yoga) and as a Somatic Movement Educator with Mark Taylor (BodyMindMovement), Dana draws from a well of experience as a teacher, researcher, writer, and organic farm apprentice.

Zen Sitting Group of Pittsburgh

September 19, 2009
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Update 4/16/12:
Please note that the Zen Sitting Group of Pittsburgh no longer exists as the leader has moved away from Pittsburgh.  This is an older post from 2009.

 

The Zen Sitting Group of Pittsburgh (ZSGP) meets at Yoga Matrika  on alternate Sundays.  Please see the schedule and more information about ZSGP below.  

What is ZSGP?  What is Zen practice? Who can participate? 

The Zen Sitting Group of Pittsburgh (ZSGP) is a member of the Society of Mountains and Rivers (SMR), a network of Zen Buddhist sitting groups and affiliates of the Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO). The MRO’s spiritual founder and director is John Daido Loori Roshi, abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York. WWW.MRO.ORG

 Zen practice can help us to wake up to who we are and to live out of that understanding. The questions that we take up during the course of our practice are the questions of our human existence: What is life? What is death? How can we truly be alive and live and die in a way that is real and fulfilling?

 The door of ZSGP is open to anyone wanting to enter deeply into these questions. Newcomers and experienced practitioners are welcome. Beginning instruction in zazen (sitting meditation) will be offered at each sitting for those attending ZSGP for the first time. If you are attending the ZSGP for the first time, please call head to arrange beginning instruction on your visit.

Suggested Donation is $5. No one is turned away for lack of ability to donate. All donations are used to cover the cost of the use of the sitting space.

 Sitting Schedule

 We meet on alternating Sundays starting from  9:30 AM-11:30AM at Yoga Matrika located at 6520 Wilkins Avenue in Squirrel Hill (closest intersection is Beechwood and Wilkins and the space is next to WHEEL DELIVER)  for zazen and a liturgy service. On the second Sunday of each month there will also be a senior’s talk by the group leader, Hogen Green. These talks on the Dharma will focus primarily on the relationship of Zen practice to daily life.

 Autumn Schedule:

Sunday August 23: Liturgy, Zazen, Senior’s talk By Ron Hogen Green
Sunday, September 6: Liturgy, Zazen
Sunday, September 20: Liturgy, Zazen, Senior’s Talk
Sunday, October 4: Liturgy, Zazen
Sunday, October 18: Liturgy, Zazen, Senior’s Talk
Sunday, November 8: Liturgy, Zazen
Sunday, November 15: Liturgy, Zazen
Sunday, November 29: Liturgy, Zazen, Senior’s Talk

 

zensittinggroupThe group’s leader, Ron Hogen Green, MRO, is a senior lay student of John Daido Loori Roshi, abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery. Hogen studied Zen with Roshi Philip Kapleau between 1978 and 1991, then became a student of Daido Roshi in the Mountains and Rivers Order that same year. Hogen was in full-time residential training at Zen Mountain Monastery from 1995 until 2007, serving as a senior monastic. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Cindy Eiho Green.

 Contact the Zen Sitting Group of Pittsbugh:

Ron Hogen Green

Hogen@dharma.net

Tel.  (412) 421-5176 

 Resources

 Training in the MRO: http://www.mro.org/zmm/training/

Lay and monastic training in one of the West’s most established Zen Buddhist lineages

 
Meditation Instruction: http://www.mro.org/zmm/teachings/meditation.php

Clear, simple instructions in zazen (sitting meditation), the core of all Zen Buddhist practice

 

Retreats and Programs At Zen Mountain Monastery: http://www.mro.org/zmm/retreats/

Register online for weekend introductory retreats, week-long intensives and more

 

Monastery Store: http://www.dharma.net/monstore/

The Monastery Store is the online catalog of Dharma Communications, offering meditation supplies in the form of sitting cushions, books, audio and audio-visual teachings and altar supplies. The Monastery Store mission is to support home practice.

 

Mountain Record: The Zen Practitioners’ Journal is a quarterly published by Dharma Communications http://www.mro.org/mr/mountainrecord.html

For the last twenty-seven years, Mountain Record has offered powerful teachings of realized Buddhism from masters East and West, past and present, as well as essays, poetry, media reviews and art.

 

WZEN Web Radio: http://www.wzen.org/

WZEN is an original webcast produced at Zen Mountain Monastery, including discourses by Abbot John Daido Loori, Roshi, and talks by the teachers of the MRO, as well as a diversity of other programming relating to a life of spiritual practice.


Dharma Communications: http://www.dharma.net/

The educational outreach arm of the MRO, DC presents Zen teachings in a range of media

Qigong and Yoga: What is Zhong Dao?

September 4, 2009
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It’s always a risk to put a class on the schedule that has a name that no one recognizes.  I have taken just this kind of risk by creating Zhong Dao.  But, the name is such a perfect reflection of this combination Qigong Energy work and Yoga class that I just can’t call it by any other name!

First, I think that we can examine what the different elements of the class are for clarity.  One aspect of the practice of Zhong Dao is inspired by Qigong.  Qigong is a system of exercises that allow the practitioner to “learn how to control the flow and distribution of qi to improve the health and harmony of mind and body (Cohen 3).”  What precisely is qi?  Qi (pronounced: chee—as if you were going to say cheese without the “se”) has been translated in many different ways, but one that can be helpful for beginners and is especially appropriate for this context, is that qi is life energy.  Gong means to work.  Qigong is a “wholistic system of self-healing exercise and meditation, an ancient, evolving practice that includes healing posture, movement, self-massage, breathing techniques, and meditation (Cohen 4).”

Second, what is the connection between this Chinese Qigong practice and yoga?  “In India, the life energy, prana, is described as flowing through thousands of subtle-energy veins, the nadis.  One of the goals of Yoga is to accumulate more prana through breath control exercises (pranayama) and physical postures (asana) (Cohen 26).”   One system of Yoga that has incorporated Chinese yin-yang theory is Yin Yoga.  One of Paul Grilley’s students, Sarah Powers, has written a beautiful book called Insight Yoga that shows the Chinese energy patterns (meridians) and yoga asana that activate different energy meridians in the body.

Zhong means middle or center and Dao means path or way.  Therefore, this practice is the middle way and a way to create a sense of balance and ease in the body and mind.  This practice is designed to relieve stress and tension in the body so that there is equilibrium in the spirit, the immune system is supported and optimum health can be maintained.  We do some gentle stretching and energy warm-ups followed by a practice of the Eight Brocades and end every practice session with a healing meditation.

Hope to see you on Saturdays for Zhong Dao at 10:30am!

Here are some excellent references for Yoga and Qigong:

The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing.  Written by Kenneth S. Cohen.  Ballantine Books, New York: 1997.

Insight Yoga.  Written by Sarah Powers.  Shambhala Publications, Boston & London: 2008.

Yin Yoga: Outline of a Quiet Practice.  Written by Paul Grilley.  White Cloud Press, Ashland, Oregon: 2002.

Happy Happy,

Sharon Rudyk
Owner and Director, Yoga Matrika
https://www.yogamatrika.com/
http://www.prenatalyogapittsburgh.com

YOGA MATRIKA is located at 6520 Wilkins Avenue in the Squirrel Hill/Point Breeze neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  You can reach Sharon by calling (412) 855-5692.

August Sound Yoga

August 25, 2009
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Last night, as I listened to the sounds of insects singing outside my open August window, I exclaimed my profound love for the night sounds of this month in Pittsburgh.  I have been reading a lot about sound yoga and thinking about ways to include sound and chanting in my practice and teaching on a more regular basis.  Listening to these beautiful night sounds that are so very unique to the end of summer, I felt a sensation of hope wash across my forehead and through my throat and heart. 

Please join me in an exercise in sound yoga!

At some point in your day or night, make a commitment to taking 15-minutes to soften your ears into your environment and experience sound vibration.  See where the sound vibrates the most and notice the quality of your breath as you listen.  Soften your jaw and relax the muscles and bones of your face.  Without judgement, let the sounds enter you.  Listen without hearing and hear without listening.  Notice if you start to build attachment to any particular sound or aversion to another and see if you can return to an open experience of sound without judgement.

Be a vessel for the end of summer vibrations.

Enjoy!

Guide for the Advanced Soul

July 14, 2009
Posted by Sharon
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I once had a roommate in New York that I never met. 

It’s a sort of complicated story and one that wouldn’t be all that interesting to repeat.  Suffice to say, I am now the owner of two of his left behind belongings that have changed my life.  One, is a pink crystal ball.  Seriously.  And, fortunately for you patient reader, not the topic of this essay!

The second, is a small book titled, A Guide for the Advanced Soul: A Book of Insight.  It is created and handwritten by Susan Hayward and published by Little, Brown and Company in 1984.  The intention for the book is that you use it as a guide when you have a problem or need guidance to help you make your decision.  After a brief period of meditation, you put forward your request to the universe and randomly open the book.  The guide’s instructions indicate that, “The first words you read will tell you what you most need to hear.”

Even the instructions are of interest to me.  They are interesting because they draw upon our ability to read something powerful and feel as though we have been told something or had it whispered to us or that we’ve used our ears to absorb something.  That’s how powerful the meaning of the words on the page are to us.  So powerful that as we read them, even as we use our eyes to scan the page, the part of our brain that listens—hears something.  This, as the instructions to the guide suggest, is intimately attached to the meditation before the reading.  It is the meditation that stills the mind and allows for us to access our intuition.  It is the intuitive self that reads the words and is able to make sounds of them.

I am particularly attached to “my” copy of the book because my roommate, whoever he is and wherever he is now, folded down the corners of some pages.  The pages that were speaking to him loud and clear.  Perhaps the very pages that told him that returning to New York, even to retrieve his belongings, wasn’t the right thing to do.  Sometimes, I cheat.  I don’t follow the directions.  I just open the book to the quotes chosen by its previous owner:

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”  ~Albert Einstein

“To change one’s life: 
* Start immediately
* Do it flamboyantly
* No exceptions (no excuses)”
~William James

“Man cannot discover new oceans until he has courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~ Unknown

Sometimes, yoga classes turn out to be our guide.  We just feel a little stuck and we need a class, so we just go to whatever is on the schedule and are disappointed to find out that it’s a different teacher than who we expected.  After class, we realize that this particular instructor met our need uniquely well.  That their words, style and tone were precisely what was required to advance in our practice, be creative about a project, to return home to wrestle the kids to bed………Or, maybe you’ve recently found a new teacher that is working just right for you now.  That’s just like folding down the pages.