A Life of Charity

A LIFE OF CHARITY

I am about to head down to St. Petersburg, Florida where I will be performing to headline the St Pete Yoga Festival. So think of me next Saturday night, October 22nd, and send lots of happy thoughts of fun and delight. I will be sending you the very same. The following day, I will be teaching a YEM: Yoga as Energy Medicine workshop, then a full day workshop that week.

Performing is a great joy of mine, sharing the love I have for music, singing through a vibrant array of colours, movement and sounds. I am happy with my show and thoroughly enjoy it. I can't wait to share the new costumes with you. They are stellar! (Big thank you to Sunanda for that!)

Throughout the week, I will be in rehearsal with dancers/yoginis I will meet there. I have never met them before, let alone worked with them. They have been reviewing the choreography for my show, which we will go over and weave together this week, in preparation for the big night. So this week will be full of rehearsals for me, directing, blocking, coming up with alternate choreography, supporting technical lighting work and art directing. Then, on the night, I let all that go and step into the role of the artist, embody my character Natamba and perform. The life of an independent artist involves wearing many hats!

This show is a fundraiser for Embracing The World. Embracing the World is a not-for-profit international collective of charities founded by renowned spiritual and humanitarian leader, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, also lovingly known simply as Amma, or Mother.

Embracing the World exists to help alleviate the burden of the world's poor through helping to meet each of their five basic needs - food, shelter, education, healthcare and livelihood - wherever and whenever possible. The organization is founded on the belief that these needs are fundamental human rights, and that it is the responsibility of each of us to strive to ensure that one day every human being can live in dignity, safety, security and peace. The organization acknowledges that everyone - rich or poor - has the power to make a difference in the life of another. No selfless gesture is insignificant. Rather, it is selfless actions that hold the key to true peace - peace in the individual, peace in the community, and peace among diverse cultures, nations and faiths. For me, it is a true honour to support this remarkable, inspired organization.

Volunteer work and actions done with no desire for reward form the foundation of spiritual practice. We have all heard, when we give we receive. It is a popular saying because it is true. For spiritual aspirants, one of the quickest ways to realize the divine is through karma yoga, the practice of selfless service.

If you wish to overcome the interference energy of wanting and target it at its root, practice karma yoga. When you redirect your energy to giving rather than getting, to serving rather than wanting, your entire biochemistry changes and begins to vibrate at a higher rate. You feel more connected and fulfilled in ways never imagined. A richness begins to grow deep within that banishes unhappiness, permanently.

If you have not already, participate in your local food banks, shelters, old age homes and hospitals. Volunteer and get involved. Do it just because it shakes things up and asks you to look at life differently. There is nothing like volunteering to ward off complacency. You can also participate in an organization like Embracing The World by sending your charitable donations. By choosing to spend your money wisely, you can give opportunities to those who are far less fortunate than we are. What you give comes back to you multifold, in ways you cannot imagine.

This week, we launch the November issue of Parvati Magazine. I will let you know here when it is up and live. Make sure you check it out. It will be your blog food while I am away performing. There are great articles from a wide range of people.

I have answered an Ask Parvati question this week, but will post it next Sunday since I will be away. Once I return from the show, I will post my next Ask Parvati blog on October 30th. So please do keep sending your questions to ask@parvatidevi.com.

Enjoy!

Parvati

Ask Parvati 8: How To Find The Right Yoga Practice and Teacher For You

How To Find The Right Yoga Practice and Teacher For You

Dear Parvati,

I would like to get into yoga classes, but I feel overwhelmed by all of the choices and styles. How can I tell what kind of yoga class will actually be good for me and suits my body and temperament? What should I look for in a yoga teacher?

Various Kinds of Yoga

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old life science and art. It touches upon many topics and areas of inquiry, such as herbal medicine, meditative and contemplative practices, ritual, chanting, astrology and sound – just to name a few. The yoga most commonly known in the West is Hatha yoga, a practice that cultivates the experience of a balanced and unified state of being through physical exercises. The Sanskrit word yoga means to join or to yoke, to unify. All practices that are said to be yogic would have the development of a harmonious way of life and ultimate God-realization as their goal.

The balancing and purifying principles that are at the root of Hatha yoga have found broad appeal around the world, as the benefits of stretching, strengthening and relaxation are immediately evident, and the cultivation of inner peacefulness is available for those who are willing.

In the yogic tradition, there is a saying: The paths are many, but the truth is one. Whether you choose Iyengar, Ashtanga, Scaravelli, Sivananda, Kripalu, Bikram, Kundalini, Vinyasa, Yin Yoga, Anusara, Moksha, Jivamukti… you are ultimately doing a hatha yoga practice, which is using the body as a tool to experience a harmonious relationship between spirit and matter. There are many different types of hatha yoga practices, because there are many types of people. It is not appropriate, for example, for someone who tends to run hot to do a heating yoga practice. Nor is it appropriate for one who tends to be heavy in body and mind to do a practice that is particularly slow (non-dynamic).

For example, Ashtanga practice is very popular today. It is a powerful practice and has many benefits. It is a practice that cultivates heat and, as such, is appropriate for some, but not everyone. The heat generated in the practice is an internal heat geared to purify the physical body but also the subtler channels and the spiritual body. A particularly feisty go-getter type person may be attracted to the heat in this practice, feeling that they like the vigorous workout. However, this can often add more heat to an already overheated system. So, though a person may run from the boardroom and slip into a yoga class, and dash off to their next appointment, in effect they have not truly paused to do yoga. They have kept their heated go-getter engine on throughout the yoga class and on into the next thing. I have seen, in the years of my yoga therapy work with individuals and with groups, many people who have experienced the ill effects of being in the wrong practice for their type. Choosing the right practice is very important.

Different Styles for Different Body Types

Ayurveda, the herbal medicine branch of the overarching body of yoga, is a sister to Hatha yoga. It breaks down the human constitution into different types. When you are looking for the right yoga class for you, it is useful to have a sense of your type. Ask yourself the following:

·       Are you thin, find it hard to gain weight, wiry, nervy, agitated, with energy that comes in sparks and flashes, more of a sprinter than a distance runner?

·       Are you fiery, muscular, determined for the long haul, competitive, maybe even aggressive, with a burning appetite for life?

·       Are you slow, calm, stable, steady, sturdy, reluctant to change, with the potential to be stubborn or lazy?

Just as people’s body types can break down into these three different groups, yoga practices can also be broken down into these three different groups. People that tend to be wiry and nervy do best with slow, nurturing, grounding and comforting practices, such as Kripalu, Sivananda, Scaravelli, restorative, integral or Yin yoga. People who run hot, and are competitive by nature, are likely to be attracted to more physically intense yoga practices, which is okay as long as the primary directive of the practice is not to generate heat. Anusara, Iyengar, Sivananda, Scaravelli or viniyoga would be good practices for this constitution. If you have a heavier build, tend to be slow by nature and would benefit from a little more inner fire, then Ashtanga, Jivamukti, power yoga, Kundalini, Bikram and Moksha yoga can be good practices for you.

When there are specific injuries to the body that need to be addressed, restorative yoga classes can be good. Pre- and post-natal classes are excellent support for the birthing process.

There is no harm in trying out a variety of practices. The ill effects of which I speak in this blog are effects that happen over a long term. If you are generally fit and generally in good health, there is no ill effect in trying any style of yoga to see how it feels, as long as it is done in moderation. It is advised, however, to eventually stick with a practice. Because the effects of yoga are deep and lasting, they happen over time. So a consistent practice with the correct method, with a skilled teacher and a willing student, will yield maximum results.

Finding a Teacher

Because the instructor is guiding you through the development of an intentional body-mind relationship, going to a yoga class can feel for me like wearing somebody else’s body. Though for some, going to a yoga class can be seen as just a great way to “get fit”, there is something much deeper going on. I seek teachers that embody at least an aspect of yoga, that is, that they exhibit and live by a deepening body-mind connection that serves the greater good of all. I have seen many very popular yoga teachers that I feel seem disconnected from who they are and what they are doing, and as such they do not exemplify yoga for me. If you are not sure, try a class, and see how you feel afterwards. Do you feel grounded? Do you feel too heavy? Do you feel elated? Do you feel too high? Do you feel energized? Do you feel too peppy? Notice how you feel. Above all, you should feel balanced. That is, grounded and inspired, rooted and expansive, relaxed and alert. The way this balanced feeling is developed through a yoga class is by the awareness of one’s spine, and the way vital life-force energy moves through it. I would stay away from any teacher that uses terminology such as “push” or “pull”, or who acts with too much force, and who does not bring your awareness back to your breath and to the movement of energy in your spine. Though many years of teaching can indicate a more skilful teacher, I have also seen young teachers who seem to naturally “get it” and are genuinely inspired by the yogic path. So, though credentials matter, what matters most, again, is this feeling of balanced connection.

In my years of teaching, I have experienced a shortage of teachers who understood the value of a practice inspired by a surrendered relationship to the vital life force that runs as a vast mystery within. Yoga is not an external practice of bendy poses that turn your body into a pretzel, but the development of a deep internal relationship with the self and the Divine. This is why, through the natural development of my practice, my personal teaching style, YEM: Yoga as Energy Medicine, arose. When we are willing to listen within, our greatest teacher is our humble relationship to the cosmos that exists as a guiding force within ourselves, expressed within our body. At best, your yoga teacher mirrors that relationship back to you, as a guide to help you get out of your own way so that your finite body may embody the eternal Divine. A teacher is not to be copied, but is to inspire your own unique personal path.

I wish you much grace as you explore the riches of yoga.

Finding Light in the Dark (Practice during a Solar Eclipse)

After I posted my last blog entry, I noticed a comment asking me what "return to the One" meant. Thank you for the question. I loved and appreciated the interest and will happily answer what I do know of this in a blog post very soon. In this blog however, I feel it more apropos to contemplate what illuminated action means when transiting through a solar eclipse.

This past Sunday, our planet experienced a solar eclipse. This happens when our Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. The Moon fully or partially eclipses our view of the Sun. The effect of an eclipse can be felt a few days on either side of the eclipse time, so we can still feel the effects right up until Wednesday of this week.

Traditionally it is considered an auspicious time for introspection, meditation, spiritual practice and soulful evolution, a time in which progress in these areas can be made. It is not considered a time where it is recommended to pursue worldly affairs and business. How come?

Most of us identify with our world through the lens of matter, form and physical substance, filtered by our field of emotions. We are attached to our egos, our will, our emotions, our bodies, our thoughts, our perceptions believing that they are who we are. For most, this is what we know to be real.

From a worldly perspective, the sun is the center of our universe. In this way, our ego and will is the center of our own personal universe, driven by our likes and dislikes. When we go through a solar eclipse, we lose sight of our common vantage point, the energy of the sun, which influences our personality, ego and individual will.
For this reason, it is not considered a favorable time for practical and business affairs. It is a dark time when our perception is obscured and things are more difficult to fully see, feel, understand and perceive. So it is not a good time to spontaneously buy what you think is your dream home. Somehow, something is eclipsed from view and will not come to light until after the sun has returned to illuminate areas that were in the dark.

Conversely, for a spiritual aspirant, an eclipse provides an optimal time for spiritual progress and work that is done in the light of selfless service. For precisely the reasons above, the darkening of the worldly tendencies dulls our attachment to our ego and will. In the dark of the eclipse we can access, with much greater ease, the light of pure consciousness that is animating the entire universe. Most of the time, the access point to that infinite light is overshadowed by our attachments to the temporal light of the sun, our physical universe, our limited perceptions and ego. In the darkness of the eclipse, we can see the spiritual light more clearly. The veil of illusion is thinner so that we may peer through it and gain insight into our true nature. In this way, an eclipse is a powerful time for profound and lasting release of our attachments to our ego and limited sense perceptions and open to that infinite light of pure consciousness.

If you have a guru, mantra or spiritual practice, it is an ideal time to dive much deeper. These are the days to "step it up", meditate longer, surrender more, open wider and then wider still. The progress made during the eclipsing of the ego drive, when one roots one's actions in selfless service, will then fuel the connection to that infinite source of light when the tempting attraction to the temporal light of the sun returns and that window into the mysteries of pure consciousness is harder to find.

If you don't have a mantra, guru or active meditation practice, how can you take advantage of this cosmic window into pure consciousness? Find a quiet time before the end of Wednesday. Allow yourself to sit quietly. Then consider the thought that you are in the dark. Consider that from the physical points of view. An eclipse is affecting the Earth. You are now in shadow more than ever. Your body casts a shadow. Your mind is full of shadows, shadows of dissatisfactions, unfulfilled desires, the nagging feeling of lack, and lingering, painful emotions. Consider that much of your life is driven by the desire to escape those feelings, a painful void within. Consider that much of what you think you want would not in fact bring you happiness, because there still would be shadow. There is shadow as long as life is driven by the ego and limited will. There will be suffering until we release our attachments to our perception that we are disconnected from Source.

Then consider the notion that you are part of a much greater picture. Consider this in relation to your place with those around you, then your place on the planet as a whole, then your place within the universe. See if you can open to the possibility that beyond the life you think you live, the likes and dislikes you believe you have, the things in your life that you feel define you, there is an infinite expanse of pure possibility. Allow yourself to expand and go beyond limiting self-perceptions. Surrender them to the light. Let them go into the darkness of the eclipse, like a cosmic recycling bin. Allow yourself to expand. Imagine, sense or feel that you are in fact an infinite ray of that infinite field of light. You always have been, but you have not seen it because of your attachments to your ego and limited perceptions. Allow yourself to expand more and then even more. If you are a visual person, sense yourself becoming that light. Stay in your body. Feel your body. This is not about leaving to find some other place. Allow this light of pure consciousness to fill you up. This is who you are. There is no need to try to go "out there" and find it. There is no "making" it happen. You are not the doer. The infinite field of light is. All you have to do is allow this expansion to unfold.

Whether or not you feel lighter, allow yourself to feel the possibly of something beyond, much bigger than your daily life, something so vast it is beyond reason, something so infinitely full of love and possibility, you are eternally loved and received. In this quiet place, allow your soul to flower and your mind to be. In beingness, there is expansion.

This is a time of possibility. We can allow pure consciousness to become the driver of our lives rather living in the shadow of a longer lasting eclipse than the one we are temporarily experiencing: the bondage to our attachments to that which obstructs our view of who we truly are. Let us awaken to the Reality that we are infinite beings of love and light.

May we all realize the infinite light of pure consciousness,

Jai Ma,
Parvati


Please free to visit me at www.parvatimusic.com or www.parvatihealth.com




































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Positive Possibilities and Impossibilities

Through my spiritual practice, I have come to understand that consciousness - is. Yet in each moment, we have the possibility, through deepening our awareness of what is, to co-create with the consciousness that arises in each moment. In this process, there are two primary directives or energy tendencies. One is a movement towards the Positive Possibilities, the other towards the impossibilities.

In this blog, I would like to share briefly what I understand it means to live in the Positive Possibilities and what it means to live in the impossibilities. I hope you find the information useful. I welcome your questions and comments.

May all beings everywhere be happy.
Lokah samastha sukhino bavanthu
Parvati

Living in the Positive Possibilities:

Living in the Positive Possibilities is not about "being positive", an attitude that willfully conjures up a state of mind to overcome, with effort, a sense of adversity. "I am feeling lousy but I will try to feel positive." A world based on the Positive Possibilities is a world where each one of us knows that we are a loved, welcomed and an integral part of a much greater intelligent whole. Our very essence is experienced as love, which is the essential energy of life itself.

What is meant by “love” is neither the common notion of sentimental romance nor the feeling of being attached to things, but the expansive, ever present reality of wisdom-compassion. A person who is fully resonant in the Positive Possibilities knows within each cell that he or she is wisely interconnected to all things in a way that the limited mind, or ego, cannot grasp or comprehend. A person resonant in the Positive Possibilities understands that to love oneself unconditionally is to love all things equally.

I wrote about this in my song “Precious” after an awakening experience I had when I lived for a year in India. (You can take a listen, if you feel so moved, through the audio player on my website: http://www.parvatimusic.com/media/audio/). I realized “As I love myself, I love all things equally”. The only reality is love and love is all things. There is no separation. There is only a continuum of love that expands through all time and space. That is reality. A person resonant in the Positive Possibilities lives these truths moment to moment and understands that to do that which is respectful and loving to oneself is good for all. The Positive Possibilities is a connected and interconnected state of being.

The Illusion of the Impossibilities: 

Living in the impossibilities is like living life in a box, with walls built out of fear and disconnect. The ruler of that domain is a distorted sense of self, based on struggle, suffering and the belief in separation. This distorted self is determined to control and manipulate reality to suit its belief that there is no love, that one is not welcome on the planet.

The notion that the impossibilities are real is based on an erroneous perceptions of reality. How could this perception be real when all of Nature, all of existence is pure consciousness arising? Like an eddy stuck on the side of a beautiful, strong, flowing river, the impossibilities swirl around within itself, in an effort to self-perpetuate. One perceives daily events as against oneself. Life is experienced as a continual struggle, which perpetuates the sense of disconnect, loneliness and fear.

Consciousness stuck in the impossibilities is at the root of human suffering. In this state, one feels disconnected from love and therefore from life itself. The perception of this disconnect takes on a life of its own. One consciously or unconsciously attempts to prove that the disconnect is real and further the notion of disconnect. There is no evolution in that state, as the impossibilities keep one stuck, out of flow and out of the experience of eternal love. In the impossibilities, painful emotions such as judgment, loneliness, loss, guilt and shame, are born.

The Path of Possibility:

The way out of impossibilities is to fully realize that it is an illusion, perpetuated by our own attachment to an erroneous perception of reality. When we notice we are feeling mired and stuck, we can challenge the impossibilities by asking our self: “Is it true that I am not loved?” When we are open, ready and willing to release attachments to the impossibilities, the answer becomes: “No! The very essence of life itself is love. And I am of life. I am of Nature. I too am the stuff that is Nature. I am connected to everything, everywhere, always. I am love!”

The way out of the impossibilities is to fully under-stand -- to stand under, to be rooted in the Knowing that the impossibilities are not real. It is to see what a trip we are putting on our self! Life in the impossibilities is like staying stuck in a box, wondering where all the love has gone, when the love is in fact everywhere, all around and within. When we begin to understand that the impossibilities are not real, that they are an illusion, we no longer cling to them. They have no power, because the only power they had was the power we gave them. So we begin to let go of our attachment to them.

When we fully realize that the impossibilities are illusion, we let go and begin to be open, ready and willing. In that release, there is space, an ability to witness that which is. In that space of witnessing, possibility arises. In that moment, the Positive Possibilities are born. In that moment one can see that all along the sun was shinning. It was I who was standing under the rain cloud, wondering why life was so dark.

All Is Yoga

That which we see and experience as life is pure consciousness arising. I find the space to witness that arising in my meditation practice. My spiritual practice is the source of wealth and richness in my life. It is what brings and nourishes my experiences of joy, ease, rooted expansion and abundance.

The words I share in this blog are to me like light sprinklings, the flutter from the joy I feel in my practice. All entries may not be about joy per se, but they will be a reflection of my inner world, which is fueled by my spiritual practice.

The creative impulse and expression that move through me, be it in song, writing, composing, producing or performing are also a reflection of my practice. They arise and descend through this body/being in the internal/external experience of space developed in meditation practice…in that which is. Through this “isness” arises a creative voice, to which I am of service.

To me, all is Yoga. There is no separation. All situations and circumstances in my daily life are opportunities for transcendent awakening and the flowering into “I am” consciousness. It is not to say that I continually meet those opportunities. At times I do. At times I don’t. The more I practice being open, ready and willing to be here, to be now, the more I do. It is not to say that all I encounter is sweet and lovely. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is not.  The more I meet this moment, the sweeter whatever I find feels because in that moment, I find life itself.

Yet what I perceive to be sweet or not, ultimately does not matter. It is not my job to determine what the nature of reality is, to try to label it or catagorize it, fix or arrange it. It is my job simply to meet that which is. Through the courage to meet that which is, expansion occurs. That which was sweet, sour, salty, pungent or bitter becomes fuel for transformation into I Am consciousness, returning to the One. When I practice non-resistance to what is, I awaken to the jewels of this moment. I learn to allow myself to expand and meet this present moment, rather than contract, run and hide from it.

I share in my song “Open To This Love” on my show and upcoming album "Natamba" some words about this process. I sing: “The present is the present, depending on intention. Take the dare and be aware of how deeply you do care. Believe and conceive. Surely you’ll receive. Feel the joy even cry. There are no reasons why. Just open.”

May all beings be well. May all be happy. May all be at peace. May all be free.

Om Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

Om Shanti, shanti, shanti

Om Sri Gurubhyo Namaha

Hari Om

Please feel free to visit my expression of yoga at:

Parvati Music

Parvati Health

Positive Possibilities