yoga

JOYFUL LIVING

YOGA

Gazing Inward: Yoga for Your Eyes

spring 2010 ■ published by the himalayan institute ■ yogaplus.org

Breathe Easy20 Ways to Heal Allergies

Restorative YogaReal Hope for Chronic Pain

In Food We TrustBeyond Local and Organic

A Conversation with Rod Stryker

Enlightened EgoIdentity in Meditation

Tantra’s Essential Practice

Sacred BodyFearless Mind

for more information, visit www.advaita.org.uk

Professor John Langdon, widely credited as the founder of the contemporary ambigrammic art form and whose name and work have been used by Dan Brown in

his bestselling novels, has devised an ambigram representing the concept of advaita or non-duality.

Effectively meaning ‘not two’, advaita reveals that the nature of both ourselves and the universe is essentially One.

The Book of One by Dennis Waite, from which Professor Langdon drew his inspiration, is essential reading for those wanting to investigate the ancient wisdom of advaita.

Utilizing both classical and contemporary sources, The Book of One provides a comprehensive overview of this teaching.

Dennis Waite is a distinguished writer in the field of advaita. His previous work, Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita, is already a modern-day classic.

Professor LangdonUnveils A New Symbol

The extensively revised, 2nd edition of The Book of One is available to buy from Amazon

www.arthmediasolutions.com

SPRING 10

CONTENTS

YOGA+JOYFUL LIVING MAGAZINE . ISSUE 109

Cover: Yoga teacher Katrina Amato

photographed by Jasper Johal

©2010 jasperphoto.com

Sacred Body, Fearless Mind: Living Tantra (Part 2)Harness prana shakti—the inner divinity—with a potent tantricpractice that will charge your mind with vitality, insight, and thepower to heal. By Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

In Food We TrustIndustrialized food harms the earth and our bodies. Thankfully,there’s a wave of passionate innovators who are growing a healthierfood culture, one radish at a time. By Jake Miller

Untying Our Wings: The Way of Non-AttachmentThrough the practice of dispassion, we can loosen the knots thatkeep us earthbound—and soar to new spiritual heights. By Eknath Easwaran

+DEPARTMENTS

JOYFUL LIVING9 Yoga Threads

Your guide to eco-shopping, local

banking, and springtime ayurveda;

plus Rod Stryker on his practice

16 From Our KitchenDelightful Dhokla

By Jon Janaka

26 Total HealthNatural Allergy Relief

By Carrie Demers, MD

30

36

42

Himalayan InstituteMEMBER SERVICES6 HI View

President’s Letter

70 HI BulletinNews for Members

73 Program Guide March–July 2010

Yoga and meditation seminars, retreats,

teacher training, and more

YOGA IN ACTION5 A Yogi’s Legacy

Remembering Swami Satyananda

Saraswati (1923–2009)

54 Skillful ActionConfessions of a Meditator

By Irene Petryszak

ETC.4 Editor’s Note

7 Mailbox

64 Books & Media

CONSCIOUSNESS18 Points of PracticeThe Enlightened Ego

By Rolf Sovik

48 Yoga Sutra 2.15Original Pain

Translation and commentary

by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

96 From the SagesIsha Upanishad (verse 1)

Translation and commentary

by Swami Rama

PRACTICE22 Heart of HathaApana Vayu: The Anchoring Breath

By Sandra Anderson

52 In PracticeGazing Inward: Yoga for Your Eyes

By Jennifer Allen Logosso

58 Asana SolutionsYoga for Chronic Pain

By Kelly McGonigal

+FEATURES

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4 yoga+joyful living spring 2010 yogaplus.org

From the inner city to the White House, fromthe farm stand to the kitchen table, Americans are adding a healthy serving of mindfulness to their meals. Last year’slauded documentary Food, Inc. showed scores of viewersthe darker side of agribusiness, while First Lady MichelleObama promoted healthy eating on Iron Chef and planteda high-profile organic garden on the South Lawn. She hadplenty of company—43 million vegetable gardens sproutedacross the country last spring, up 19 percent in just one

year. More and more, we’re looking at the food on our plates and in our shoppingcarts and contemplating how it affects our health, environment, and society.

I snapped out of my own food coma four years ago. For longer than I care to admit, I’d been an unconscious vegetarian, subsisting almost exclusively on frozenvegetables and imitation meat products. But when I found myself working in theorganic garden at the Himalayan Institute, my relationship to food was turned onits wilting ear.

Early spring kicked off my schooling in the art of growing and connecting withwhat we eat. We tilled rye and other cover crops into the soil as “green compost.”We seeded Lincoln leeks and Cipollini onions in the greenhouse and transplantedthem into nutrient-rich beds. We dug up parsnips that had wintered over, andwatched asparagus shoot up through the earth. After weeks of anticipation, weharvested armloads of Royal Oak Leaf lettuce and Italian Wild arugula.

But what truly awakened my appreciation for nature’s bounty was communingwith friends and fellow seekers—praising a new salad dressing or discussing themiracle of mycorrhizal fungi—while eating this fresh wholesome food in our din-ing hall. This experience of sharing, of building community around food, is thethread connecting the five visionary food advocates profiled in Jake Miller’s feature(page 36). Whether they’re crusaders of food justice or farmers on a spiritual mis-sion, these voices of the edible revolution are united in their effort to nurture a foodculture as healthy as biodynamic bok choy.

For us aspiring yogis, the collective shift toward health and sustainability for-tifies our own awareness of how intimately food connects us to the web of life.When we eat food close to its source—fresh, unprocessed, locally and sustainablygrown when we can get it—the richness of its prana, its life force, is palpable. Andas Pandit Rajmani Tigunait illustrates in his feature (page 30), increasing and con-centrating prana in our bodies is the key to a fruitful practice of tantra.

Speaking of fruitfulness, Yoga+ recently won a Folio Eddie award for the thirdyear in a row—a gold one at that—so you can be sure there are plenty more seedsof authentic knowledge in this issue for you to sow in your own practice and sharewith a community of fellow seekers. Bon appétit! ■

Natalya Podgorny, Editor [email protected]

EDITOR’SNOTE

Kat

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LeS

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founder

Swami Rama

editor

Natalya Podgorny

editor at large

Shannon Sexton

{ editorial board }

Rolf Sovik, PsyD

Rod Stryker

Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD

Deborah Willoughby

managing editor Crystal Ketterhagen

senior editors Sandra Anderson,

Irene Petryszak

assistant editor Jancy Langley

editorial assistant Kathryn Heagberg

contributing editors Anna Dubrovsky,

Linda Johnsen, Doug Keller, Carrie Demers, MD

{ art }

creative director Jeanette Robertson

art director Barbara Gerhardt

senior designer Jacqueline Bogdan

design associate Darlene Clark

contributing designer Stephanie Lora

production coordinator Vincent Tedeschi

photo editor Loreda Everett

photographers Jagati, Maureen Cassidy,

Andrea Killam

{ business office }

executive director Matthew Douzart

marketing director Todd Wolfenberg

business manager Zachary Ketterhagen

circulation manager Laura Brownell

advertising coordinator Jennifer Wood

{ patrons }

Dada Doulatram Boolchand

Ramesh Daryanani

Harshadbhai Desai

Beverly Foit-Albert

Indru Malkani

Manu Sawilani

{ advertising }

Goodfellow Publishers’ Reps.510-548-1680

Deena E. Brown, ext. 305E-mail [email protected]

Geoff Goldstein, ext. 302E-mail [email protected]

Marketplace and ClassifiedsLiz Dalbianco, ext. 301

E-mail [email protected]

{ subscriptions }

Phone 800-253-6243 ext. 4E-mail [email protected]

yogaplus.org/subscribe

Published by the Himalayan Institute

spring 2010 issue 109

Yoga+JOYF U L L I V I NG

yogaplus.org spring 2010 yoga+joyful living 5

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It is with great respect that we observe the passing of SwamiSatyananda Saraswati, a renowned spiritual teacher and thefounder of the Bihar School of Yoga in northeast India, who lefthis body at midnight on December 5.

Though Swami Satyananda lived and taught in India formuch of his life, his influence and scholarship has reachedaround the world. His many books—Four Chapters on Freedom:Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sure Ways to Self-Realization, and Kundalini Tantra, among others—have beenanchors on the bookshelves of devout practitioners since he be-gan publishing nearly 40 years ago.

Born in 1923 to landowners in Almora, India—a small citynear the northern Nepali border—Swami Satyananda beganpracticing yoga at the age of 15; at 19, he found his way to Rishikesh, where he met his guru, Swami Sivananda Saraswati.After 12 years of sanyas training, Swami Satyananda began trav-eling extensively throughout India as a parivrajaka.

Following Swami Sivananda’s death in 1963, Swami Sat-yananda established his headquarters in Munger, and puthis travels and studies to use as a teacher and a leader. He

founded the influential Bihar Schoolof Yoga—an ashram and teaching facility well known for publishingtranslations and commentaries of tra-ditional texts—and Sivananda Math,a philanthropic organization that pro-vides scholarships, infrastructural de-velopment, and food aid in rural India. It was during this pe-riod that Swami Satyananda wrote and translated prolificallybefore retreating to a life of meditative seclusion as a parama-hamsa in 1988, where he remained until his passing.

As his disciples report, Swami Satyananda took mahasamadhi, the final great union with undifferentiated Con-sciousness, while doing japa, or mantra meditation, with asmile on his face. To commemorate this occasion, followersand friends performed a shodashi puja—a 16-day ritual wor-ship. Though Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s physical pres-ence has left the world, his devotion to yoga philosophy, prac-tice, and education leaves an enduring legacy for which we are profoundly grateful. ■

AYOGI’SLEGACY

Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923–2009)

Transforming Lives

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Inner Peace


HIVIEW

Here in the foothills of the Poconos, the sun’s crossing ofthe celestial equator—the beginning of spring—brings dramatic changes. AsMarch gives way to April, refreshing rains and soft breezes herald winter’s end.Water cascades down sloping fields, cleansing everything in its path. The debrisis carried into the streams, and sediment gradually settles, revealing sparklingclear water and brightly hued vegetation.

In ancient cultures, these springtime events contributed to a rich mythology.The Greeks told of Persephone, who was carried off to the underworld for halfthe year, but whose reemergence brought forth new life and abundance. TheRomans celebrated the goddess Flora, a name that now signifies plant life. TheTeutonic celebration of the deity Eastre (a name related to Easter as well as tothe hormone estrogen) signified renewal and fertility. And the ancient Persiansworshipped the sun god Mithra at the vernal equinox, hoping for redemption.

While some of this mythology is preserved in current religions, much hasvanished—and seems unlikely to return. Historically, myth was commonly interwoven with superstition, sometimes resulting in fanaticism and bigotry.Worse, myth was taken for science and governed people’s lives at the expenseof common sense.

But myth also acted—and continues to act—as a bridge to a higher reality.It connects us with personal spiritual truth. In this sense, the advent of springis a metaphor for purification, redemption, renewal, and growth.

Encased in a climate-controlled office, it’seasy to lose touch with the grand passage ofspring. Becoming oblivious to nature’s rhy-thms is as great a misfortune as being too wed-ded to the mythology about them. Spring is abenediction. During its passage, purificationand renewal surround and infuse us, bringingthe promise of transformation.

Here at the Institute, the great themes ofspring are already at work. For some, the no-tion of purification means spring-cleaning,both within and without. For others, this is atime for the renewal of rituals and practicesthat winter has dulled or buried. And for stillothers, there is redemption in the air—atone-

ment for unwise actions and the opportunity to cast off unproductive habits.Here’s hoping that you will find time for a leisurely walk in the full radiance

of spring light; that the sun’s rays will warm your spirit; and that in one mythi-cal way or another, spring will blossom in your mind and heart. ■

Rolf SovikPresident, Himalayan Institute

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Safer Backbends?Though the article “SaferBackbends” by Doug Kellermainly focused on how toalign and support the pel-vis during backbends, fortadasana he recommendedthat “the pelvis be lockedinto a stable, unmoving posi-tion at the sacroiliac joints...by slightly scooping the tail-bone down and forward.”

However, in a teacher-training session, JudithLasater once demonstratedhow tucking the tailbone intadasana actually weakensour standing posture. She dida simple experiment that Idid with my students afterreading your article: I askedone of my students to standwith the tailbone tuckeddown and forward (counter-nutated). I stood behind her,pulled down on her shoul-ders, and her knees buckled.Then I asked her to standwith her tailbone pushingback and her pubic bonemoving downward (nutated).I pulled down on her shoul-

ders, adding more of myweight than previously, andcouldn’t budge her. If such a simple experiment canprove that standing intadasana with the pelvisnutated adds to the body’sphysical strength, why aremany of us still teaching ourstudents to stand with thetailbone tucked down?

Cecilia MicallefBrighton, Queensland, Australia

Keep in mind that nutation andcounternutation refer to the sub-tle action of the sacrum, not agross movement of the pelvis. Toisolate and position the sacrum,the practitioner needs to engagethe actions of mula bandha, asdescribed in the article. Since thesacrum is nutated when neutral,a slight counternutation (or“scooping of the tailbone”)

is appropriate to stabilize thesacrum in tadasana and providesupport for an upright spine. If,however, one dramatically tucksthe tailbone down and forward,thereby tipping the top of the pel-vis back, it will result—as you

rightly pointed out—in a de-stabilized posture.

Doug Keller

Hands-on AssistsThank you, Katherine Pew,for your article, “A YogaTeacher’s Guide to Adjust-ments.” I have been teach-ing yoga regularly for almosttwo years and I am still re-luctant to physically assistmy students. My trainingincluded many assistingtechniques that have helpedwith my own practice, so I know I have the skills togive hands-on adjustments.With every class I becomebetter able to read students’bodies. Thank you for shar-ing the insight of a skilledteacher and inspiring me totake my teaching one stepfurther and become morehands-on.

Cherie EbertIdaho Springs, Colorado

Eco-Mat AwarenessThanks for the well-orga-nized piece on greener yoga

mats (Yoga Threads)—Ijust gave up on my old oneand was having troublemaking sense of all the newoptions. It would have beennice to know a little moreabout where each mat wasmade and the emissionsinvolved in the process;maybe as more yoga prac-titioners and prop compa-nies realize the importanceof sustainable manufactur-ing, more information willbecome available. Untilthen, keep us in the loop! ■

Gael Naly

Montecino, California

From asana questions to green suggestions, readers respond to our winter issue.


MAILBOX

Deborah Willoughby’s article, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” left me glowing; I felt as thoughI genuinely connected with her experience. I, too, have struggled as a spiritual pil-grim—often impatient and restless with my practice, striving for a peace thatseemed elusive. That peace has come to me slowly, in stages. Ms. Willoughby’srichly articulated article rang true: pilgrimage to sacred sites may connect us to theDivine; but in the end, when the pilgrim is ready, she can realize the sacred any-where—be it halfway across the globe or in her own backyard.

Shirley Lindbergh, New Haven, Connecticut

We love hearing from you!To prove it, we’ll send you a free relaxation CD if weprint your letter. E-mail us [email protected] orsend your comments to Mail-box, 952 Bethany Turnpike,Honesdale, PA 18431.Please include your fullname, address, and phonenumber. We may edit yourletter for length and clarity.

Yoga teacher Rod Stryker doesn’t stay inone place (like his home in the mountainsof Colorado) for very long—he keeps hisbody moving, from Miami to Maryland,Seattle to Charlotte, and everywhere in be-tween. But seated in a sunlit room on a fallday in Pennsylvania, it’s clear from hissteady blue eyes that, despite the geo-graphic staccato of his teaching schedule—his mind remains still and calm.

“I’ve always had a sense of what waswaiting for me,” says Stryker, who, at theage of 19 began an ambitious homespunpractice that quickly became a life calling.He spent several months struggling alonewith B.K.S. Iyengar’s Light on Yoga beforefinding himself, for the next 17 years, learn-ing and teaching with Mani and Alan Fin-ger in L.A., where he discovered somethingthat has sustained his practice all theseyears: the “germ,” he calls it—that drivingforce to follow the yogic path. “It was thebiggest gift they gave me.”

After that seed was planted—then nour-ished by travel abroad and 15 more years

The Seeker’s Gift

Deepen your practice, inspire your life

YOGATHREADS

9

YOGATHREADS practice

Living Yoga

How to Nap like a YogiWhen travel (or everyday life) wears you down, a simple variation of yoga nidra (yogic sleep) taught by Swami Rama can help you restore your energy. This practicehelps you settle into a profound state of rest while remaining alert at a deeper level ofconsciousness. By drawing your attention to your heart center, you will become asilent witness to your sleeping body and mind.

1 Choose a room where you will not be disturbed. Sit on the flooragainst a wall, stretching your legs out and crossing one ankle over theother. Cup your palms in your lap and, with your eyes closed, either allow your head to hang forward or to rest against the wall.

2 Feel the relaxed movement of your breath, letting itflow easily and smoothly. Then observe 3 to 5breaths at the nostrils, to center your mind.

3 Next, one by one, rest your awareness (andbreath) at the eyebrow center, then at thethroat center, and finally the heart center.

4 Keeping your awareness at the heart center,quietly resolve to let your body and mindsleep for a specified length of time (say, 10minutes). Trust your mind to awaken youwhen that time has elapsed.

5 As you sleep, continue to be aware ofthe merest sensation of the breath(but no mantra). You are simplyletting your body sleep, withawareness.

6 Stay in this state until your mindwakes you up. Then slowly shiftyour head and stretch yourbody. Draw your attention out-ward, opening your eyes intoyour hands and then to theroom around you.

—Rolf Sovik

of study with Pandit Rajmani Tigu-nait, the teacher who he says catalyzedhis spiritual progress—Stryker ma-tured as a practitioner and as a teacherin his own right. Along the way, he’sseen the popularization of yoga; thebirth of four children (two sets oftwins!); and the genesis of ParaYoga—his own integrative, scripturally basedstyle of teaching that combines yoga,meditation, ayurveda, and tantra. Hisstudents, numbering in the thousands,work diligently to weave ParaYogapractices into their own lives all overthe country. “Some day,” he reflects, “Iwould like to look back and think that I helped seat something of significancein the West.”

But even if years have passed andhis name and legacy have become ubiq-uitous in the American yoga commu-nity, it’s easy to discern the precocious19-year-old in Stryker: his steady reso-nant voice, the fierce determination in his eyes—the essence of a spiritualseeker, still making his journey. —Jancy Langley

Listen to Rod Styker’s advice fornew yoga teachers and watch aslideshow of his Art of Asana series at yogaplus.org/stryker.

10 yoga+joyful living

The Seeker’s Gift (continued)

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⁄≤ÆŸNidra means “sleep.” The prefix ni- indicates restraint, downwardmotion, and the collection of thingsspread out. When we sleep we settle down, draw the mind away from the senses, and rest our focus inside. Yoga nidra is sleep infused with awareness.

In Sanskrit

Nidra


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YOGATHREADS wellness

Everyday Ayurveda

The 12-Hour FastAccording to ayurveda, the body isprogrammed to direct its energy to-ward cleansing and assimilation in thehours just before midnight, when agni(digestive fire) is weakest. To supportthis process, ayurvedic physicians rec-ommend refraining from late-nightsnacks and going to bed around 10p.m. By fasting for 12 hours everynight—between dinner and breakfast(7 p.m. to 7 a.m., for example)—youfree your body from the burdens ofmeal-related digestion so it can con-duct mental, emotional, and cellularcleansing in a more concentrated way.

The 12-hour fast also respectsagni’s daily waxing and waning cyclewhich, according to ayurveda, corre-sponds to the rising and setting of thesun. That’s why it is wise to eat ahealthy breakfast in the morning, eatyour largest meal at noon when thesun is the strongest, eat a lighter din-ner as the sun is waning, and then al-low your stomach to rest until the suncomes up the following day. This fastsupports metabolism, prevents accu-mulation of ama, normalizes weight,and combats kapha imbalances (whichare common in the spring). —Shannon Sexton

To Your Health

Homemade Ginger AleTired of ginger tea? Try this tasty soda recipe. The pungent heating qualities of ginger can help keep spring colds at bay.

Combine 1/2 cup of freshly grated ginger, 1 cup of cane sugar, and 4 cups of water

in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 9 minutes. Cool and strain.

To serve, add about a 1/3 cup of this ginger syrup to a chilled glass. Top with seltzer

water and garnish with lime. Adjust proportions to taste. Serves 4 to 6. Refrigerate leftover syrup for later; the flavor intensifies.

Variations: To create extra zing, cook ginger with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom,or a few cloves. Adding 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cooking ginger imparts

a subtle earthy flavor. A splash of cream before serving makes itdreamy. —Ruby Wells

In the Pantry

GingerSpicy, soothing, and invigorating, gin-ger is something of a miracle. Thisrhizome has kapha-balancing propertiesthat have long been appreciated byayurvedic practitioners. Recent studieshave validated its most common use—treating nausea. But ginger has manymore facets: it is believed to aid diges-tion, assuage rheumatoid arthritis,

help clear ama (toxins), lower bloodsugar, reduce cholesterol, and improvecirculation. It is known in ayurveda as “the universal medicine.” —R.W. C

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Conscious Consumer

Eco-Seals for Eco-Deals These days, discriminating between greenwashed and genuinely green goods can betough. That’s where certifications come in handy—experts create standards that weall understand. You may have heard of the basics (USDA Organic for food, LEED for building materials, Fair Trade Certified for imports); here are some lesser-known certifications to aid your eco-choices at the checkout line:

FSC The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifies that all wood-derivedproduct parts start life in a sustainably managed, socially responsible forest.Watch for their logo on paper, furniture, plywood, guitars, and more instores from Staples to Sam’s Club, or check their list of retailers at fscus.org.

Cradle to Cradle These standards evaluate a product’s materials frombirth to death and back, including what economists call “externalities”—often hidden public costs like energy and water. Look up products—likeAveda shampoo or Greenweave recycled polyester—at c2ccertified.com.

EPEAT If there’s one thing our society depends on, it’s the PC—and it’smade of harmful stuff. EPEAT is a system designed to monitor computermanufacturers and encourage them to build more sustainable, less toxic ma-chines. Search and compare the gamut of make and model at epeat.net; lookfor their Gold, Silver, or Bronze certification when you’re ready to shop.

Design for the Environment This EPA program carefully reviews eachingredient in chemical-based products for household and en-vironmental safety—thinkpaint, ink, detergent,solvents, and car-care items. Findproducts they’veanalyzed atepa.gov/dfe andwatch for theirseal of ap-proval whenyou hit thehardwarestore.

EcoLogo Oh,Canada! You’vebrought us McIntosh red ap-ples, Mounties, and a simple user-friendly eco-certified product database atterrachoice-certified.com. EcoLogo’s life cycleassessments consider a balance of environmen-tal criteria, and label everything from area rugsto engine oils. —J.L.


YOGATHREADS one world

Spirituality in Action

A Better Bank for Your Buck

With all the buzz about the global eco-nomic slump, getting a local perspectiveon your own financial footprint can feelhopelessly complicated. Looking for away to get more involved and learn moreabout your money, where it goes, andwhat it does?

Join the wave of people rediscoveringa different kind of bank, often completewith financial classes and even a commu-

nity cause: the local credit union—where you (the customer) are also

the shareholder (or “member”).Established by President Roo-sevelt in 1934 to “promote thriftand thwart usury,” credit unionsare coming back in style, thanksto their nonprofit cooperative

structure, focus on local finance,and often lower interest rates andhigher returns. Since 2006, mem-

bership has increased by 4 million people, and

capital—the amountof money availablefor lending—hasrisen 22%.

Want to give co-operative banking atry? Find a creditunion near you atculookup.com.

—J.L.

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Events

Spring 2010YOGA PILATES CONFERENCE &SHOW: March 25–28, Toronto,Canada; theyogaconference.comGet moving, dancing, and singing!Take workshops, attend lectures,and watch demonstrations by dy-namic yoga teachers, authors, andmusic and movement artists likeSeane Corn, Rodney Yee, and Wah!.

YOGA JOURNAL BOSTON CON-FERENCE: April 6–11, Boston, MA;yjevents.com/bostonFrom tantra to yantra, hatha to heal-ing, this conference zooms in on allthe most compelling topics in yogatoday. Along with yoga classes,teachers and studio owners will ap-preciate handy workshops like“Greening Your Business” and “Stu-dio Ownership 101.”

GREEN FESTIVALS: April 10–11,San Francisco, CA; May 22–23,Chicago, IL; greenfestivals.orgThis bustling sustainability confer-ence gets greener—and bigger—every year. Come celebrate and learnabout new eco-products; hear fromactivists and authors working for so-cial and environmental justice; andsample the best in vegetarian and or-ganic cuisine with over 350 vendors,125 speakers, and plenty of musi-cians, filmmakers, and more.

AYURVEDA: COMPLEMENTARYGLOBAL MEDICINE: April 15–18,San Mateo, CA; ayurveda-nama.orgThe National Ayurvedic Medical As-sociation’s annual conference helpsexperienced and aspiring healthpractitioners network with their peersand catch up on news in the fieldthrough panel discussions, prac-ticums, and product and researchdemonstrations. ■


eed a little spice in yourlife? Try dhokla—a soft,spongy, savory treatfrom the west coast of

India. You can cook this goldendelicacy in about 40 minutes andserve it as an appetizer, a teatimesnack, or a light but nourishingmeal. Some of the ingredients areunusual, and it might take you afew tries to master the recipe, buttrust me—it’s worth the effort.You’ve never tasted anything likedhokla before.

From an ayurvedic point of view,dhokla is a kapha-pacifying dish thatcan keep you warm and invigoratedon a rainy spring day. The mustardoil and hot pungent spices stokeagni (digestive fire), which tends todampen with the change of weather.The besan flour and yogurt are ex-cellent sources of protein, the latterserving as a complete protein—im-portant in any vegetarian’s diet.

Like other baked goods madewith yogurt, dhokla has a shortshelf life. Serve it warm or at roomtemperature within a few hours ofcooking, and store leftovers in thefridge for up to three days.

This tangy melt-in-your-mouth snack is packed withprotein and spiced perfectly for spring. By Jon Janaka

Jaga

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FROMOURKITCHEN

Delightful Dhokla

N The Batter

Yield: 8 servings

13/4 cup + 1 tablespoon besan(chickpea) flour

3/4 cup plain yogurt 1 cup hot water 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon salt 2/3 teaspoon baking soda

1 Set up a 5- to 6-quart pot for steamingthat will accommodate a 9-inch pie pan,using a lid that allows a little steam toescape. Add 3 to 4 cups of water, usinga trivet to elevate the pan above the wa-terline (about 11/4 inches). Turn theburner on high heat and prepare thebatter as the water comes to a boil.

2 Sift the besan flour into a large bowl.

3 In a medium bowl, combine the tur-meric, salt, yogurt, and hot water. Stir.

4 Add the flour and whisk until thickand well mixed.

5 Lightly oil the pie pan.

6 When the water in the steam pot isboiling, add the baking soda to the bat-ter and whisk until the mixture isfoamy and bubbly.

7 Pour the batter into the pie pan andcarefully lower it into the steamer. Steamfor about 20 minutes at medium heat.Test it with a toothpick—if it comes outclean, the dhokla is finished.

8 Remove the pan from the steamer.Place a serving plate upside down overthe top of the dhokla; quickly invert thepan and lift it so the dhokla falls ontothe plate. Cool for 10 minutes while making the tangy sauce.

The cilantro garnish pacifies theheating mustard seeds and oil.

Jon Janaka has worked in the Himalayan

Institute kitchen for the past five years.


The traditional method of preparing dhokla involves a nightof fermentation to make the batter bubbly and light. Wespeed up the process by using baking soda, as if it were aquick bread. But if you want the “slow food” experience, omitthe baking soda and let your batter sit, covered, in a warmspot overnight.■

The Sauce

Variation

Finishing Touches

1 teaspoon brown or black mustard seeds 3 tablespoons 100% pure mustard oil 18 fresh curry leaves 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 21/2 cups water 2 tablespoons sugar 21/2 teaspoons salt

1 In a small saucepan (with a tight-fitting lid nearby), heatthe mustard oil on high until it smokes for about 1 minuteand the color changes from golden to almost clear. Take thepan off the heat and let it cool for 30 to 60 seconds. (Other-wise, the hot oil will scorch the remaining ingredients, creat-ing a bitter taste.)

2 Add the mustard seeds and quickly lid the pan while they begin to pop. (Tip: If the oil has cooled too much for the seedsto pop, remove the lid, turn the heat to medium, and wait until the seeds turn gray—they’ll still release their flavor.)

3 When the seeds have settled down or turned gray, add the curry leaves. There should be just enough heat left in the pot to darken their color.

4 Add the lemon juice, water, salt, and sugar. Bring up theheat and boil for 3 minutes, then set the pan aside.

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 Cut the dhokla into pie-style slices or small squares, andpull the pieces apart slightly, so that the dhokla has room toexpand as it absorbs the sauce.

2 Pour the sauce in 1/4 cup measures over every inch of thebread. Don’t worry if there is extra liquid at the base of theplate; the dhokla will continue to soak it up.

3 Garnish with the red pepper and fresh cilantro leaves.


Yogic scriptures reveal that there’s infinitely more to us than body,personality, and accumulated possessions. Meditation introduces usto that which is beyond them all. By Rolf Sovik

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POINTSOFPRACTICE

The Enlightened Ego

mysterious and powerful instru-ment of awareness lies hidden

within us: the mind. Overthe past several issues, we’ve been ex-ploring the nature of the mind in medita-tion. It is said to have four principle func-tions: manas, buddhi, chitta, and aham-kara. For a brief recap of the first three,see “A Yogic Map of the Mind” (page21). Here we’ll explore the last function:ahamkara—the individual self, or ego.To begin, let’s examine what we meanby self-identity, and then look closer athow it is influenced by meditation.

Who Is the Self?When we refer to ourselves we use wordssuch as “I,” “me,” and “mine.” These

words play a number of roles. They reg-ister a sense of self-identity, mark the sep-arateness of one person from another,and signify our possession of things—the effort to extend ourselves into thesurrounding world (this is “my car”).

The familiar sense of self supplied by the mind at each moment is labeledahamkara in Sanskrit. It’s a term con-structed from two words: aham (“I”)and kara (“maker” or “doer”). Themind, as ahamkara, is the maker of an“I.” With every action, it proclaims: “Iam the doer” and “These actions aremine.” Thus, when we use the word “I,”we imply an identity constructed withinthe mind itself. Your “I” is the identityof a particular body, a particular person-ality, particular patterns of thinking,and a particular life.

Rarely do we inspect our own iden-tities very closely. We simply are theplayer of roles (parent, teacher, tennisplayer) and the owner of qualities (at-tractive, articulate). Thus, when we askourselves the question “who am I?” withsincerity, it can arouse curiosity and fur-ther inquiry: “Is there some aspect of

myself that I have not considered? Am I other than who I seem to be?”

The perception that one’s identity is both something less and somethingmore than it seems is a paradox that’sat the core of yoga philosophy. Con-sider this passage from the BhagavadGita (6.6), one of countless such scrip-tural references to the nature of iden-tity: “The Self is the friend of that self by whose Self the very self is con-quered.” Translators have attempted to sort out the ambiguity around theterm “self” (or atman) by leaving refer-ences to the individual self in lowercaseand capitalizing references to the Selfthat represents transcendental reality.On the lesser side, we cling to a limitedself—we grasp onto our ego and thethings with which it identifies. Yet eachof us is also a manifestation of some-thing more enduring than we appear tobe. Just as a wave on the surface of theocean remains part of a vast underlying

A

Find more scriptural references tothe Self, and listen to these verses inSanskrit, at yogaplus.org/popsanskrit.

DISTURBANCES AND FALSE IDENTITIES ARE GRADUALLY DISSOLVED SO THAT THERE CAN BE A RESTORATION OF WHOLENESS.


expanse of water, each of us is part of a vast field of pure consciousness, or Self.

The Nature of IdentityAccording to the Sankhya tradition, adualist school of classical Indian philos-ophy, each person’s identity is an assem-blage. You are the construct of a con-scious Self (the subject or knower ofexperience, purusha), and an uncon-scious body/mind (which serves both asan instrument of awareness and an ob-ject of experience, prakriti). You have abody, but your body is not the entirety of you. You think, but your thoughts arealso not the whole of you. Within each of us lies a pure inner witness—theknower, or consciousness.

The mind, acting like a highly pol-ished mirror, receives the light of con-sciousness, reflects it in its innermostsurface, and takes on a likeness of con-sciousness itself. According to the sageVyasa, we thus perceive our thoughts tobe “the same as consciousness” becauseof their proximity to it. This process isdesignated by the unique Sanskrit termasmita, literally “I am-ness,” a semblanceof true awareness. The term implies afalse sense of identity, one that is mis-taken. It is mistaken because, once re-flected in the mind, consciousness nolonger knows itself in its pure nature.What is otherwise unlimited, blissful,and eternal, through the confusion of asmita, gives the mind the appearance of consciousness. Then, through theagency of ahamkara, the mind suppliesus with a limited sense of “I.” Until we

know ourselves deeply, we cling to the finite identities created within the mindby ahamkara.

Unfortunately, there is a great deal ofpain in this. Over the course of time, wemust learn to address the unpleasant re-alities of life that result from identifyingwith a body: health is unreliable, the ag-ing process creeps steadily along, anddeath is a certainty.

Does life offer an alternative to thesuffering that comes with false identifica-tion? The answer to this question lies atthe heart of yoga. Despite our deeply in-grained patterns of misidentification,something in life calls to us, whisperingthat there is more to be known. This isthe call of meditation.

The Self in MeditationMeditation, say the sages, gradually dis-pels the falseness of self-identity and re-veals a deep and true Self. This requiresa process of purifying the ego.

Scriptures recommend two comple-mentary strategies for refining ahamkaraduring meditation: First, soften yourgrip on the limited self by contemplatingsuch statements as “I am not merely abody” or “I am not governed only bymundane desires.” Second, rest yourmind in the presence of the Infinite byfocusing the mind on a mantra.

The Bhagavad Gita (6.25) says:

Slowly, slowly, one should turn away(from desire), quieted by a steady dis-cernment. Actively establishing themind in the Self, one should think ofnothing else.

The Yoga Vasishtha (5.59) similarlyaffirms:

Abandon that which is knowable—the object. What now remains is thepure consciousness which is freefrom doubt. I am the infinite Self, forthere is no limit to this Self. It is thebeauty in all, it is the light of all.

Through the implementation ofthese two strategies, meditation can leadyou to an expanded self. Gradually, it di-



minishes the notion that your “I” willfind permanent happiness in any of thelimited identities you have assumed, andit allows you to trustfully abide in thepresence of pure consciousness.

But despite the encouragement of thescriptures, a fear may persist. You mightwonder, “What will happen to me if Itruly relax in meditation? Will ‘I’ vanish?Lose the self that I seem to be?”

In fact, meditation helps us realizethat our true identity simply cannot belost. Consciousness is the unperturbedsubject of awareness, not its fleeting ob-ject. In meditation, the self senses thefullness of Self. Disturbances and false

identities are gradually dissolved, sothat there can be a restoration of whole-ness—not a loss, but a filling in of youridentity.

The essence of meditation, then, isthe expansion of self. It is a process inwhich the narrow confines of limitedidentity are gradually transcended in fa-vor of what the Bhagavad Gita calls “theboundless happiness” of Self. To medi-tate is to dwell in that deep and joyfulnature. Then, manas, the lower mind,rests in its focus; buddhi awakens to itsrole as the inner observer; impressionsin chitta from previous meditationscome forward for inner support; and theidentities created by ahamkara increas-ingly relax into a higher sense of Self.This is the nature of meditation—amind coordinated in the effort to rest in one’s own Being. ■

Rolf Sovik, PsyD, is the author of Moving Inward:The Journey to Meditation. He is the president of

the Himalayan Institute, and serves as the co-director

of the Institute’s branch center in Buffalo, New York.

A Yogic Map of the MindHere’s a brief review of the first three aspects of the mind we examined in previous issues, and the influence of meditation on each of them.

Manas, the everyday mind, is the coordinator of the senses and the mental screenon which thoughts and images occur. In meditation, manas is calmed. Its ener-gies are collected rather than allowed to shift about. Sense activities quiet, mean-dering thoughts settle down, and attention becomes focused.

As manas is calmed, a more discerning dimension of the mind, the buddhi,awakens. The buddhi assigns meaning and value to experience. Through thepractice of meditation, the buddhi witnesses mental activity, lending a sense ofdispassion to inner life. When it is purified, the buddhi provides a refined reflec-tion of consciousness itself.

The chitta is the unconscious storehouse of past thoughts and experiences—the bed of memory. It accumulates impressions and blends them with currentmental imagery to give understanding and richness to experience. Stored impres-sions are propelled back onto manas in the form of habitual behaviors or desires. In meditation thiscan take the form of a fantasy, a distractingthought, a simple desire, or a powerful emo-tional urge. However, the process of medita-tion deposits impressions of peace and con-centration in the chitta. These providesupport during future periods of meditation.

Ahamkara(self-identity)

Manas(everyday

mind)

Buddhi(silent mental

witness)

Chitta(unconscious

mind)+ To learn more about the four aspectsof the mind, go to yogaplus.org/mind.

HEARTOFHATHA

On the subtle level, apana eliminatesnot only physical wastes but anything unde-sirable or threatening to good health. It sup-ports the immune system and helps keep themind free of destructive forces. When apanais weak, the integrity of the mind-body com-plex is also weakened, and we become sus-ceptible to illness, fear, doubt, confusion,insecurity, and loss of purpose; when it is strong and balanced, apana roots andgrounds us, providing the foundation for ahealthy body and a flexible positive outlookon life.

For most of us, however, the constantdownward drain of apana necessary forproper eliminative functioning can also de-plete us, leading us away from the inwardunity that is the goal of yoga. The prac-tices of hatha yoga train apana to work effi-ciently—they help us conserve and redirectthis energy so we can access deeper planes ofawareness. By repurposing apana, we build a foundation from which we can awaken andintensify our inner spiritual fire.

Apana Vayu in Asana With a little practice and awareness, almostall of the classical asanas can be done in away that provides access to apana vayu; in-deed, mobilizing apana in the pelvis and thenredistributing it is one of the main goals ofasana work. This engagement of apana is the intention behind mula bandha, the rootlock—a practice which is often misunder-stood as a clenching of the sphincters of thepelvic floor, but which, when properly acti-vated, can awaken and enliven asana. Ini-tially, you can in fact approach mula bandhaby contracting the muscles of the pelvic floorbetween the pubis and the tailbone (includ-ing both the urogenital and the anal sphinc-ters). But in order to work with apana effec-tively in asana, you will need to engage asubtler, more complex aspect of mulabandha. On the muscular level, this meansinitiating and activating each pose from deep within the lower belly; this way you stabilize at the root without clenching, andease the flow of apana into the structure of


Activate and direct downward-flowing energy for confidence, strength, and a grounded sense of purpose. By Sandra Anderson

Apana Vayu: The Anchoring Breath

ll yoga practices ultimately engage the movement of prana—the innate life force. In the last issue, we discussed prana vayu, the first of the five

vayus, or subdivisions of the life force. Now we turn our attention to apana vayu—of equal importance in the practice of hatha yoga. While prana vayu governs

the intake functions, apana, which is most active in the pelvis and lower ab-domen, governs the eliminative functions (excretion, urination, menstru-ation) and the downward and outward flow of energy in the body.

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the pose. (It is important to note that,traditionally, mula bandha is discour-aged during menstruation—if you suc-ceed in catching hold of apana at thattime, you may inhibit or even stop theflow of menses.)

The following selection of poses ex-plores how apana vayu can be activatedacross several classes of asana and vari-ous pelvic alignments. Standing posesuse the activation in the legs to energeti-cally integrate the pelvis with the torsoand the extremities, rooting us deeperinto the pose and directing apana intothe architecture of the asana. Sittingpostures, which are intrinsically stabil-izing, provide an ideal opportunity tostrongly engage apana. In twists and for-ward- and backward-bending poses, theactivation of apana anchors the bodyand allows for a smooth flow of energyfrom the root up through the spine.

In the poses below, focus on the posi-tion of the pelvis, the engagement of thelower belly, and the activation of thelegs. With even, full breathing and re-laxed but conscious engagement, youcan harness the powerful force of apanato effortlessly stabilize and energize yourpostures.

1. Prasarita padottanasana (spread-

legged standing forward bend)

Notice how the pelvis is inverted here,drawing attention to the lower belly andpelvic floor. To start, step your feet wideapart with the toes pointed inward

slightly (the feet should be closeenough to feel stable in the

pose). Keep your weightevenly spread across the sole ofeach foot and fold forward from

the hip creases. Use your feet to helpawaken the pelvic floor and apana vayu:Ground the big toes, lift the arches, andbend the knees slightly. Then press thefeet down and away from each other, as

if you were pulling the mat apart, or ifyou ski, executing a snowplow. Lift thesit bones and draw the pubic bones backbetween the inner thighs; then lift thepelvic floor and contract and hollow outthe lower belly. Allow this energetic acti-vation to draw you deeper into the pose.

2. Vrikshasana (tree pose)

The legs and sacrum work together tostabilize this pose and awaken and redi-rect apana. Start with both feet parallelunder the hip joints and evenly pressedinto the floor. Rotate one thigh openand bring the foot to the top of the groin(or inner thigh if half lotus is hard onyour knees). Hold the pose in place bystaying engaged through the lower belly,the muscles around the sacrum, and theinner thigh of the standing leg. Draw upthrough the standing foot, press thebent knee back, and draw the tailbonetoward the floor. (If you have the foot tothe inner thigh, press the thigh againstthe foot to lift up off the standing leg.)Then draw up through the front of thespine as well as the center of the chest,throat, and head. Keep your focus onthe engagement in the lower belly andrefine the breath, softening in the lowerrib cage and the back of the waist. Withthis engagement of apana, you’ll feeltaller and stiller in the pose.

3. Ardha padma janu shirshasana

(bound half lotus head-to-knee pose)

This seated forward bend combines ele-ments of both the standing poses justdescribed. In the bound version, theheel presses deep into the lower belly as you fold forward. Start sitting upstraight with the legs directly in front ofyou. Use a prop and/or bend the knees ifneeded to bring the pelvis into a neutralposition. Rotate one thigh open, bring-ing the foot to either the inner thigh orthe top of the groin. If your leg is in halflotus position, wrap the arm on thesame side behind the waist and catchthe toes if they are available; otherwiseleave the hand on the floor beside thethigh. Press the bent knee down, then


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+ Learn more about the practice ofmula bandha: yogaplus.org/rootlock.Download a podcast and read aboutprana vayu at yogaplus.org/vayus.

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hinge the pelvis forward from the hipjoints and draw the pubic bones downand back. To deepen the connectionwith apana, exhale and engage the lowerbelly and pelvic floor; inhale by expand-ing the upper belly only. The contrac-tion just above the pubic bone deep inthe abdomen provides a platform andsupport for the breath. The flywheel ofthe breath, in turn, generates energy inthe body and absorbs and contains thisenergy at a deeper level.

4. Baddha konasana (bound angle pose)

The inner thighs, lower back, and pelvicfloor are intimately related to, and gov-erned by, apana. Because bound anglepose activates these regions, it is one ofthe most powerful postures for awaken-ing and directing apana. To begin, sitwith the pelvis in a neutral position; ifnecessary, sit on the edge of a foldedblanket to maintain the natural curve inthe lower back. Then press the kneesdown and feel the pelvic floor lift. Tiltforward, reaching the pubic bones downand back and lengthening the lumbarspine. Continue drawing forward from

the lower belly; activate the inner thighsto bring the thighs down and out awayfrom the pelvis. Then draw the shoulderblades toward the waist and soften thejaw and the eyes. Breathe easily withoutreleasing the action of the pose, and no-tice the energetic connection betweenthe pelvic floor, the entire length of thespine, and the crown of the head.

5. Shalabhasana (locust pose)

With strong energetic and muscular en-gagement in the pelvis, shalabhasanapowerfully activates apana and strength-ens the whole backside of the pelvis,legs, and lumbar spine. You may need to start with one leg at a time to buildstrength; keep the pelvis on the floor inthe single-leg version. For full locust, po-sition your arms straight on the floor un-der the body so that you have maximumleverage to lift the pelvis up off the floor:interlace the fingers, or rest the upperthighs or groin on the little-finger side ofyour fists; if the elbows feel strained, trya different hand position. Consciouslydraw the pelvic floor in and up. Press the arms and the chest down and lift thelegs and pelvis away from the floor.Keep reaching the legs back and up,and engage the inner thighs to securethe femurs in the center of the hip sock-

ets. After releasing the pose, rest withyour head to one side and notice the en-ergy circulating from the pelvis throughthe whole body.

Pranayama for Apana Vayu Kapalabhati

Kapalabhati is a pranayama practice as well as a shat kriya—one of the sixcleansing actions of hatha yoga. With itsemphasis on the exhalation, kapalabhatienhances elimination of volatile meta-bolic wastes and dispels sluggishnessand congestion, while engaging the seatof apana in the lower belly.

The defining characteristic of kapal-abhati is a sharp, forceful exhalationfrom the abdomen, followed immedi-ately by a passive, relaxed inhalation.The inhalation and the exhalation areasymmetrical—the exhalation feels likea staccato note, and the inhalation is on the rebound. Therefore, it’s importantto quickly and completely relax after theexhalation.

A daily beginning practice consists ofone to three rounds of 7 to 11 breaths atone breath every two seconds, restingbetween rounds. Add 5 to 10 breathsper round each week to increase yourcapacity, and gradually pick up speed toabout one breath per second. Eventu-ally you may practice for one to threeminutes at this speed. If you feel dizzyor light-headed, feel a stitch in your side,or lose the rhythm, rest with normalbreathing, and next time try fewerbreaths, or consult a teacher to refineyour technique.

In the beginning, focus your attentionat the lower belly. Work to stabilize thebody while keeping your exhalationsdeep and rhythmic. Then refine yourpractice with a one-pointed inner mentalfocus at the eyebrow center. The namekapalabhati means “illuminated skull”—promising a halo when the purification of body and mind is complete! ■


Vayu Area of Body Function

Prana Chest, head Governs intake, inspiration, propulsion,forward momentum

Apana Pelvis Governs elimination, downward andoutward movement

Samana Navel Governs assimilation, discernment, inner absorption, consolidation

Udana Throat Governs growth, speech, expression,ascension, upward movement

Vyana Whole body Governs circulation on all levels,expansiveness, pervasiveness

A Quick Look at the Five Prana Vayus

Our life force, prana, divides itself into five vayus, each governing differentfunctions and aspects of being.

Yoga+ senior editor Sandra Anderson is co-author

of Yoga: Mastering the Basics and has taught

yoga and meditation for over 25 years.

Watch the author demonstrate thispranayama at yogaplus.org/kapalabhati.

QAI’ve come to dread spring becauseof my hay fever. As soon as the sea-son is in bloom, I start sneezing, myeyes get red and watery, and I feelfatigued for weeks—sometimes evenmonths. I’ve tried antihistamines butthey dehydrate me. Are there naturaltreatments that can help?

Yes. Natural systems of medicine—ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy,and herbalism, to name a few—recom-mend a variety of herbs, supplements,and lifestyle adjustments that can notonly relieve your symptoms but begin toaddress the root causes of allergies froma holistic perspective. I can suggest easyeveryday strategies that will guide youtoward a sniffle-free spring. But first,let’s look at how allergies begin.

Physiologically, an allergic reactionoccurs when your immune system over-

responds to a non-harmful substance(such as pollen, dust, or dander) and at-tacks it as if it were a dangerous invader.Rather than protecting the body, thisfaulty immune response creates a set ofsymptoms that becomes a disease state.

You have many common allergic re-sponses: congestion, sneezing, eye irrita-tion, and fatigue. Other symptoms in-clude coughing, wheezing, headache,itching, and hives. Substances that pro-voke these reactions are called allergens.In the spring, the most common aller-gens are pollens released from trees,grasses, and other plants. Allergens trig-ger the release of the compound hista-mine which binds to histamine recep-tors, stimulating the immune responsethat leads to allergy symptoms. Most al-lopathic treatments are anti-histamines(such as Benadryl, Claritin, Allegra, andZyrtec) which block histamine from cre-

ating allergic reactions. These medica-tions control symptoms but they oftencome with side effects like drowsiness,headache, dry mouth, loss of appetite,dizziness, and fatigue—and they do notheal the allergic state.

Addressing the Roots of the ProblemAgni, Ama, and Immunity

Several holistic systems of medicine ar-gue that folks develop allergies due tothree factors: a compromised immunesystem, a weak digestive system, andtoxic overload. As a result, natural treat-ments generally focus on strengtheningthese systems and clearing toxins. In the parlance of ayurveda, our agni (di-gestive fire) supports immunity. Butwhen agni is weak, our digestion is in-

Holistic health expert Carrie Demers,MD, answers your questions about thecauses—and prevention—of allergies.


TOTALHEALTH

Natural Allergy Relief

Natural Histamine Blockers If you really feel like you need an antihistamine, try the all-natural bioflavonoid Quercitin. It is best used preventa-tively (starting six to eight weeks before allergy season begins) but can also reduce existing allergy symptoms. Take 400 to600 mg one to three times a day, adjusting your dose according to need.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) has been used as an anti-allergy herb for centuries. In one randomized placebo-controlledstudy published in Planta Medica, the leading international journal in the field of medicinal plants, 60 percent of the par-ticipants found nettles to be effective in reducing their allergy symptoms, and nearly half (48 percent) stated that nettleswere at least as effective as their allergy medications. The recommended dosage is 300 to 350 mg of freeze-dried extract incapsule form one to three times a day. However, I’ve worked with patients who have reported marked improvement intheir symptoms from simply drinking two to three cups of nettle tea daily.

In addition, many scientific studies have shown that vitamin C reduces blood levels of histamine in the laboratory, and afew more studies have shown the same in humans. Recommended dosing is 1 to 3 grams two to four times a day during al-lergy seasons (spring, summer, and fall); reduce dose if it causes loose stool.

Kat

hryn

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Listen to a Q&A with Dr. Carrie Demers at yogaplus.org/allergies.


complete, and the residue (or ama) ofthat unfinished processing becomes toxicwaste in the body.

Yoga and ayurveda advise keepingyour solar plexus and abdominal mus-cles strong to enkindle agni, reduce ama,and boost immunity. I recommend prac-ticing leg lifts, stomach crunches, and acleansing kriya yoga technique calledagni sara—a breathing practice that acti-vates the deep abdominal muscles andthe pelvic floor. A beginner version ofagni sara is to contract the abdominalwall, drawing the navel into the spine onthe exhale, and smoothly relax on the in-hale. (You can watch an instructionalvideo at yogaplus.org/agnisara.)

You can also take cleansing and/orimmune-building supplements:

• Chyawanprash: This rejuvenativeayurvedic preparation is made fromamla berry, which is cooked into a jamwith over 30 tonifying herbs and fruits.It’s high in vitamin C and strengthensagni and immunity. Take one teaspoononce or twice a day with a warm drink(milk or herbal tea) through the wintermonths to support your immune system.

• Astragalus (Astragalus membrana-ceous): This Chinese herb is best takenfor a month before allergy season tostrengthen immunity and fortify yourconstitution. Take one teaspoon of pow-dered root as a tea, or 500 mg in tabletform, three times a day.

• Echinacea, goldenseal, burdock,

and/or red clover: Take these blood-cleansing herbs two to three times a dayin tincture or capsule form, both beforeand during allergy season. Follow thedose on the package.

Excess Kapha

According to ayurveda, kapha, the ele-mental energy of earth and water, risesthroughout winter and early spring. Youcan see the cold, heavy, damp qualities ofkapha in the changing weather as thesnow melts, the rain begins to fall, andthe earth becomes heavy with moisture.The kapha within us also begins to liq-uefy, and we struggle with colds, aller-

6 Homeopathic Remediesine

You can also treat allergies with homeopathy, a natural system of medicinethat supports the body’s intrinsic healing capacity on a subtle level. It is in-expensive, and when prescribed according to individual needs by a qualifiedhomeopath, it can be highly effective.

Homeopathy is based on the paradoxical theory that “like cures like.” Asubstance (such as coffee) that causes a particular set of symptoms (such asinsomnia, restlessness, and irritability) in a large dose can relieve thosesymptoms in an extremely diluted dose.

Below are common homeopathic remedies for allergies. Find the one thatdescribes your dominant symptoms, and take a low-potency dosage (be-tween 6x and 30c) two to three times a day for two weeks. If you notice thatyou’re feeling better, continue taking it through the allergy season or untilyou are symptom-free. If not, work with a qualified homeopath to find theright remedy.

Remedy | Symptoms

Allium cepa Nasal mucus irritates the nose or upper lip; eyesare runny but the discharge is bland and non-irri-tating. Worse from warm rooms, better in open air.

Arsenicum album Stuffiness and copious watery nasal discharge thatburns the lips; a burning sensation in the eyes, nose,and/or throat (often right-sided); sneezing uponwaking, often with a tickle in the nose; anxiety andrestlessness; symptoms are better from warmth(hot drinks, warm baths).

Euphrasia officinalis Symptoms are centered in the eyes: profuse tear-ing that is acrid and burning in nature; bland, non-irritating nasal discharge. Respiratory symptoms(runny nose, cough) are worse on rising in themorning; symptoms are better in open air and inthe dark.

Natrum muriaticum Watery or egg-white-like nasal discharge; parox-ysms of sneezing; chapped lips and cracks at thecorners of the mouth; dark circles under the eyes;headaches.

Sabadilla Itchy nose; violent, debilitating sneezing; runnyeyes that become worse in cold outdoor air andfrom flower pollen; symptoms are better fromwarm drinks and warm rooms.

Wyethia Extreme itching in the throat and palate that canextend to the ears; sore throat with hoarseness.

Most health food stores carry homeopathic remedies, as well as combina-tion remedies, which mix several remedies together into one “allergy relief”tablet. Although the latter approach sacrifices the precision of individual-ized prescribing, many allergy sufferers still find relief from their symptoms.

gies, and bronchitis, along with other kapha-related issues such as lethargy, weight gain, and depression. You can quell kapha with ayur vedic treatments that are heating, drying, and invig-orating to balance kapha’s cool, moist, heavy qualities.

• Exercise vigorously for 30 minutes a day until sweat forms along your spine and under your arms.

• Treat yourself to a sauna.• Eat a kapha-pacifying diet of light non-glutinous grains

like quinoa and millet, plenty of vegetables (except roots and squashes), and warm, cooked, spicy, dry foods. You may also benefit from avoiding heavy and/or oily foods like wheat and dairy (especially ice cream).

• Learn a cleansing yoga practice called gaja karani (a ther-apeutic vomiting technique also known as the “upper wash”). It’s not the most popular anti-kapha remedy, but it’s highly effective for treating allergies. The upper wash involves chug-ging two quarts of mildly salty water when you wake up in the morning, then promptly regurgitating it. (To learn the practice, visit yogaplus.org/upperwash.) It rinses excess mu-cus from the stomach and draws mucus from the nose and bronchi, reducing congestion, building heat, and quelling ka -pha. (This practice is contraindicated for people with hiatal hernia, acid reflux, hypertension, and heart disease.)

• Practice vigorous pranayamas like kapalabhati to strengthen your inner fire—melting excess kapha and, hence, mucus. Kapalabhati is best done preventatively;

don’t practice it if you have nasal and/or sinus congestion. See page 25 to learn the technique.

I recommend doing these kapha-pacifying therapies throughout the winter so that, when allergy season hits, there is little accumulated kapha to create the familiar symptoms. When you add some of the herbs, supplements, and strategies for reducing ama and strengthening agni and immunity, you can begin to eliminate the root causes of al-lergies—and enjoy spring in all its glory. ■


Minimize the Triggers If you’re susceptible to hay fever, allergists rec-ommend staying indoors with the windows closed on dry windy days, washing your linens and clothing often, and running air purifiers in your house to re-move molecules of pollen. Use a neti pot to rinse your nasal passages of dirt, germs, pollen, and excess mu-cus with a soothing saline solution; for best results, re-peat this nasal wash several times a day. (Learn more about the practice at yogaplus.org/neti.)

Board-certified in internal medicine, Carrie Demers, MD, is the director of the

Himalayan Institute Total Health Center.

time toThis spring, take a leap into full expression of

who you are through experiential programs that ignite your passions. You’ll return home

ready for whatever the world brings.

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Bryan Kest • Amy Weintraub Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

Priti Robyn Ross • Aadil Palkhivala Sylvia Boorstein • Snatam Kaur

Pandit Rajmani Tigunait • SARK Julia Cameron • Alberto Villoldo

Tara Brach • Caroline Myss Daniel J. Siegel • Emilie Conrad

John Demartini • Robert Thurman Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

Sarah Powers • Noah Levine

SPECIAL EVENTS

2010 Yoga Therapy Intensive withGary Kraftsow, Bo Forbes,

Judith Hanson Lasater, and others

Yoga Fusion withClaire Este-McDonald, Alicia Orr,

Mahan Kirn Kaur Khalsa, , and others

Stockbridge, Massachusetts 800.741.7353 kripalu.org


Harness prana shakti—the inner divinity—with a potent tantric practice that will c

Tantra ignites your innatepower to grow and blossomin every aspect of your life.

Let’s begin by reminding ourselves of the distinctive nature oftantra as encapsulated at the end of my last article:

For ages people have been fighting an unending war—the war of good andbad, right and wrong, virtue and sin, heaven and hell, sacred and mundane, freedom and bondage. Everyone caught in this war—monks and householders,clergy and laymen, politicians and philosophers, men and women, poor andrich, businessmen and those fully committed to inner life—are equally miser-able. Tantra has a remedy for this misery. This remedy works because a tantricseeks freedom in the world, not from the world. In tantra, the sacred and themundane are held together in harmonious balance. Worldly success and spiri-tual development go hand in hand. This is a joy-driven path, a path of active participation in life. It is not a path for those who seek salvation after death but a path for those who seek health, wealth, peace, and happiness here and now.

Living Tantra(PART 2)

ll charge your mind with vitality, insight, and the power to heal. By Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

>>

unique internal visualizations and con-centration techniques to awaken and acquire that same healing power. Sometantrics use herbs to accelerate theirpractice and others use unique breath-ing techniques. Some go as far as to usedrugs and sex while others abstain fromboth. But all tantric paths and practiceshave one common theme: the acquisi-tion of power.

The power to be and the power to be-come, the power to grow and the powerto blossom, the power to explore limit-less possibilities and the power to mate-rialize those possibilities—these are thehallmarks of tantric spirituality. Risingabove our limitations and gaining access

to the limitless domain of the power ofwill, the power of knowledge, and thepower of action is the ultimate goal oftantric wisdom and practice. The termtantra itself tells how to gain access tothis boundless field of power.

Tantra is a compound of two verbs,tan and tra. The verb tan has two sets of meanings. The first is “to expand, togrow, to expound, to give meaning.” Tanalso means “to weave, to intertwine, tointegrate, to connect, to breathe new-ness into the old, to pull the present outof the past and give it a meaningful fu-ture.” The second verb in this com-pound, tra, means “to protect, to freefrom sorrow, to help one move away

from the domain of afflictions.” Thustantra refers to the path of health andhealing, science and spirituality, thatholds our full expansion and develop-ment as its main objective. It shows ushow we can grow and blossom. It showsus how to find purpose in life and howto weave the tapestry of life in the most

meaningful manner, how to protect andnurture ourselves, and how to protectand nurture others. The principle of in-tegration lies at the core of tantric philos-ophy and practice. This principle refersto the integration of our worldly endeav-ors with our spiritual pursuits, the inte-gration of personal empowerment withthe empowerment of others and the em-

powerment of the natural world. Goodand evil, sacred and mundane, coexistharmoniously in this tantric world ofintegration. Following the principle ofintegration, a tantric practitioner at-tempts to find freedom while living inthe world and aspires to experience thefullness of life.

To a tantric, life is not bondage butthe gateway to freedom. To be born as a human is an opportunity to experienceour oneness with Absolute Conscious-ness—our own inner divinity. God, Ab-solute Consciousness, deposited Herlimitless power of creativity in each ofus. Gaining access to that limitless cre-ativity fulfills the purpose of life. And dy-ing without knowing and experiencingthat power defeats the purpose of hu-man birth.

Inner TempleA tantric begins his spiritual quest bychanging his worldview and his attitudetoward his own body, mind, and senses.For ages, people have been living with aself-defeating philosophy that condemnsthe world and thereby promotes the ideaof finding freedom from it. According tothat philosophy, the body is the focalpoint of misery: pleasure is the doorwayto hell; worldly objects are a burden tothe soul. In the view of tantra, this phi-losophy is deeply flawed.

According to tantra, the world isbeautiful. Life in the world is beautiful.Our inability to see the beauty withinand without is bondage for it forces us to live in this world purposelessly. Thequest for freedom here and now beginswith understanding the sacred nature ofour body, mind, and senses. Accordingto tantra, the body is the living temple of divinity. The center of consciousness(soul, atman, jiva) is the highest divinitywithin us. A vast portion of the powers,potentials, and privileges of this divinity

remain dormant. This dormant power iscalled kundalini shakti. Only a fractionof its potentials are available in theirawakened form. The power and poten-tial of the soul that is awakened and ac-tive in us is called prana. Prana, the forcethat keeps us alive, is the intrinsic andvibrant attribute of this inner divinity.For all practical purposes, this pranashakti is the highest god in us, for it isthis particular aspect of divine powerthat helps us gain access to the infinitedormant potentials within.

The forces that pervade and perme-ate every nook and cranny of our bodyare emanations of prana shakti, the innerdivinity; they constitute our core being.These forces are gods and goddesses.They live in the body. They heal andnurture it. They maintain order in the


The events I shared with you in the last issue show that the rangeof tantra is as vast as life itself. Within tantra there are numerous paths—each leadingto unique experiences. Some tantric practices are trivial and shallow. Others are pro-found and deeply meaningful. Some focus on the acquisition of worldly possessionsand power. Others have spiritual enlightenment as their central goal. Some tantricpaths place exclusive emphasis on rituals and others employ yogic techniques toawaken the kundalini shakti and chakras in one’s own body. Some use yantras andmandalas to awaken and gain mastery over the healing power. Other paths employ

+ Read Part 1 of “Living Tantra” at yogaplus.org/livingtantra.

TO A TANTRIC, LIFE IS NOT BONDAGE BUT THE GATEWAY TO FREEDOM. TO BE BORN AS A HUMAN IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE OUR ONENESS WITH ABSOLUTE CONSCIOUSNESS—OUR OWN INNER DIVINITY.

body, ensuring that every limb, organ,and system function harmoniously.They preside over our thoughts, speech,and actions. The guiding intelligence ofthese divine forces offers all the toolsand means we need to experience themas integral to ourselves. This guidingintelligence empowers us to know,through our own direct experience, thatthese divine forces are us and we arethem. That is why, according to tantra,the human body is the most completeyantra and mandala—and the finest ofall temples. Gaining access to the in-nermost chamber and discovering theinner divinity, the center of conscious-ness, is the goal of tantra.

Concentrating the Life ForceOver millennia, tantra has discoveredcountless techniques for entering the in-ner world and experiencing our onenesswith the divinity within. Some of thosetechniques place greater emphasis on us-ing external tools and means; others em-phasize internal means. Those usingexternal tools are ritualistic and follow a set of rules and laws that ensure the rit-uals are effective and fruitful. This ap-proach is known as kaula tantra. Thoseusing internal tools—such as asanas andpranayamas in conjunction with bandhasand mudras, and meditation on chakras

and mandalas in conjunction withmantras and the visualization of de-ities—follow their own unique rules and laws. This approach is known assamaya tantra. The tantric schools thatcombine these two approaches are calledmishra tantra. However, the adepts be-longing to all of these paths—kaula,samaya, and mishra—share a commonunderstanding: no matter which pathyou follow or which practice you under-take, you must have a clear, calm, andtranquil mind.

A disturbed, distracted, or stupefiedmind is not fit to follow any path. Culti-vating a clear, calm, and tranquil mindand infusing it with prana shakti, the ra-diant, indomitable life force, is the firstand foremost practice of tantra. Infusingthe mind with prana shakti is the mostcrucial of all tantric practices for it en-sures that the mind—which is at oncethe most important instrument of prac-tice as well as the container of the energy

generated by the practice, is chargedwith vitality, stamina, and willpower. In tantric terminology, first infusing themind with prana shakti and then infus-ing a practice with this prana shakti isknown as prana dharana. To clarify whythis infusion of prana shakti is so crucial,let us see what happens when a prac-tice—non-tantric as well as tantric—isundertaken without this infusion.

Let’s say you have learned the art ofcreating a mandala. You drew it on silkcloth, accurately and with faith. Beforeyou installed the mandala on your altar,a holy man from India or Tibet blessedit. For five years you have been makingdaily ritual offerings and meditating fol-lowing all the guidelines, but you see lit-tle or no result. Why is your practice sounsatisfactory? According to a tantric,the main reason is that you have beenmeditating while facing a piece of silkcloth. The mandala you drew on thatcloth was not charged with prana shakti

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Just as a loom weaves manythreads into one cloth, pranadharana gathers diffused energyinto a concentrated space.

and so it remains lifeless. Meditation onit is also lifeless.

The same is true of an internal non-ritualistic tantric practice, such as med-itation on a particular chakra. For ex-ample, you are trying to awaken the healing force of the navel center. Themantra you picked from a book is cor-rect. It is an authentic mantra for awak-ening the healing force. The image of fireyour mind has conceived is correct. Thetechnique and procedure you are using toenter the navel center are also correct,yet you have been trying to awaken yournavel center for years, without success.Why? The answer is simple: the mantrayou picked from the book is lifeless andyou did not infuse it with prana shaktibefore using it. The image of fire is alsodevoid of the life force, and the navel center has not been infused with living,awakened, vibrant prana shakti. Thusthe whole practice is lifeless.

In a traditional tantric practice, yougo directly to the crux of the matter—in-fusing your mind with the living, vibrantenergy of prana shakti. First unite yourmind with the prana shakti so it is fullyhealed and nourished. This fully nour-ished mind will reclaim its pristine char-acteristics—clarity and insight, stabilityand concentration. It will reclaim itsability to receive and retain revelation. Itwill reclaim its power of discernment. Itwill learn to travel with the prana shaktito wherever concentration, meditation,and samadhi are needed—to yantrasand mandalas, to statues of gods andgoddesses, and to spiritual/religious em-blems—and will witness the infusion ofthe life force into those objects. There-after, any form of practice—ritualistic ornon-ritualistic, external or internal—willbecome fruitful. This whole process iscalled prana dharana.

Prana dharana means “to concentrate

prana shakti (the life force); to makeprana shakti become concentrated; to intensify the life force until it begins to glow and breathe life into anythingfalling within its field.” The life force iseverywhere in our body in a diffusedform. It is performing its function in adiffused manner, which is just enough tokeep us alive. In order for this life forceto perform extraordinary feats, it mustbe concentrated.

Concentration begins by collectingthe diffused energy and compressing itin a well-defined space. In that confinedspace, the energy begins to exhibit ex-traordinary properties which were lyingdormant within it. These extraordinaryproperties include infusing the mindwith the power to rise above distur-bances, distractions, and stupefaction,and become still and composed. Withthe unfoldment of its extraordinaryproperties, prana shakti is able to heal


THROUGH PROLONGED AND CONSISTENT PRACTICE, PRANA SHAKTI ANDTHE MIND BEGIN TO GUIDE EACH OTHER. AS THIS HAPPENS, ANY QUEST—WORLDLY OR SPIRITUAL—BECOMES EASY AND FULFILLING.

By offering herbs to a sacred flame—either

through external ritual orinternal visualization—tantrics come to know

themselves as an integralpart of a greater whole.

and nurture the body, mind, and senses.It is able to infuse the mind with thepower to reach every nook and cranny inthe body as well as any destination in theexternal world. Once it is concentrated,the prana shakti is able to beam its heal-ing and enlightening properties to anypoint in time and space. Accompaniedand assisted by the concentrated pranicforce, the mind is able to awaken thedormant energy of any of the chakras inour body, as well as the energy dormantin mantras, yantras, mandalas, herbs,gems, or any object of meditation or rit-ual worship. The tantric practice ofprana dharana is the means of concen-trating the pranic force.

Bhastrika and BeyondThe systematic practice of prana dha-rana begins with a tantric variation of thewell-known pranayama technique calledbhastrika. To practice bhastrika, sit withyour head, neck, and trunk in a straightline. Close your eyes and relax yourshoulders. Restore your normal harmo-nious breathing pattern. Then begin toinhale and exhale forcefully through bothnostrils. Breathe with the active involve-ment of your abdominal muscles whilekeeping your chest region as relaxed aspossible. Each time you exhale, pull yourabdomen in; when you inhale, push itout. How strongly and forcefully youmove your abdominal muscles in and outand how fast and forcefully you inhaleand exhale depends on your current levelof strength, stamina, and experience withthe practice. Don’t go beyond your cur-rent capacity. Be especially gentle andmindful if you have had surgery in the ab-dominal area, are pregnant, or have highblood pressure.

In the regular hatha yoga style ofbhastrika, awareness of the movementof the breath is concentrated at the open-ing of the nostrils—air flows while

brushing this opening. But in the tantrictradition, a practitioner is led to becomeaware of the movement of breath at dif-ferent places in the throat and mouthcavity. For example, while practicing thetantric form of bhastrika pranayama,you can maintain the awareness of themovement of your breath at the hollowof your throat. This balances the meta-bolic process. If you are in the habit ofovereating, it will reduce your appetite.If your appetite is devitalized, this prac-tice will increase it. Awareness of thebreath at the tip of your nostrils, on theother hand, will lead to an entirely differ-ent result—the experience of an extraor-dinary fragrance.

When you practice bhastrika as astepping-stone to the practice of pranadharana, however, you focus the move-ment of the breath as it brushes the softpalate, at the back of the roof of themouth. The pituitary gland sits slightlyabove the soft palate, at the base of thebrain. This is the region associated withthe ajna chakra, the eyebrow center.When, with the help of your awareness,you allow the exhalation and inhalationto brush against your soft palate, itcreates a pulsation in the region of thepituitary gland, and the energy residingthere becomes active. The pituitarygland is a master gland that regulateskey organs in the endocrine system. Thepituitary gland’s role in the regulation ofour reproductive organs and, more pre-cisely, the regulation of our moods andemotions (which largely depend on hor-monal changes), is well understood.The pineal gland is located in the samegeneral region. The pineal gland notonly regulates the secretion of mela-tonin, but also exerts its influence overthe process governing relaxation, re-newal, and rejuvenation.

The newly emerging science of psy-choneuroimmunology makes it easy tounderstand why tantric adepts call theenergy field of this region ajna chakra,the command center. The pituitarygland receives hormonal secretions fromthe hypothalamus. These hormones

contain the information and instructionsthat our endocrine system and the inter-connected network of other organs needin order to function harmoniously. Themaster glands in this region thus receivean ordinance (ajna) from the hypothala-mus and pass this same ordinance on tothe organs involved in complex and mu-tually dependent biophysical activities.

It is important to remember that weare talking about the entire region andnot a particular organ or spot in that re-gion. Vibration/pulsation in that regionwill activate the energy of the ajnachakra, the center of consciousness thatfills the space in the area known as the“third eye.” This is the most suitablecenter for the concentration of prana

shakti. Awareness of that center duringthe tantric version of bhastrika will at-tract the pranic forces that are diffusedthroughout the body. Complete thebhastrika-style breathing by inhalingdeeply into the ajna chakra and retainthe breath to your comfortable capacity,thus compressing the prana shakti andcontaining it at the eyebrow center.Then exhale and breathe normally, let-ting your awareness rest in the vibrantfield of energy at the ajna chakra.

As the pranic forces become concen-trated at the ajna chakra, awareness ofthat center will intensify. The greaterthe intensity, the


Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, is the spiritual

head of the Himalayan Institute. A teacher, lec-

turer, Sanskrit scholar, and author, he has prac-

ticed yoga and tantra for more than 30 years. (continues on page 68)

Pituitary

Soft Palate

Hypothalamus

Pineal Gland

The tantric form of bhastrika activates the ajna chakra’s energy(shown in blue).

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36 yoga+joyful living spring 2010

Industrialized food harms the earth and our bodies. Thankfully, there’s a wave of passionate innovators who are growing a healthier food culture,one radish at a time. By Jake Miller


Food is love. The first time I ever heard that was when I asked my friendJona what in the world he was thinking cooking for 100 hungry guests on his own wed-ding night. Jona bought heirloom tomatoes from his neighborhood farmers’ marketand served a splash of rich golden squash soup in shot glasses hand-painted to matchthe bridal flowers. The vegetarian menu wowed even the most committed carnivoresat the party, and each course served to tighten the bonds of our shared community.

It’s easy to believe that food is love when you’re enjoying a special meal for family and friends, or whenyou bite into a peach that’s still warm from the sun.But how do those words apply to a society where peo-ple eat meals alone in their cars, or where whole com-munities don’t have access to basic fresh produce, letalone a sun-warmed peach?

On a late summer afternoon last year, my two-and-a-half-year-old son and I went to one of our favoritespots, where a series of paths wind between woodsand fields, around the old grounds of a defunct psy-chiatric hospital on the edge of Boston’s Mattapanneighborhood. Nowadays it’s home to the BostonNature Center and the Clark Cooper CommunityGardens, where gardeners from all walks of life sharetips and talk about the weather, while naturalistswatch wild turkeys patrol the edges of the plots. Mygregarious son hails them all, saying hello to thegrowers, the butterflies, the turkeys, and the vegeta-bles ripening on the vine. It’s a little bit of magic tosee this slice of the world through his eyes, whereeverything here belongs together and has a role to

play. The scenery is beautiful, but what’s even moreinspiring are the people working and living together,growing healthy food and a strong community whilerevitalizing the environment.

Elsewhere in Mattapan—and throughout the city,the nation, and the world—the view is not always aslovely, with epidemics of malnutrition and obesitystriking within the same communities, sometimes par-adoxically within the same person. Many experts saythat this growing crisis is due in large part to an indus-trial food system that pollutes the environment whilepropagating cheap, low-nutrition processed food. Oneout of every three children born in 2000 could developdiabetes, the Centers for Disease Control tells us, andobesity rates are rising. Today’s children may be thefirst generation of Americans to live shorter lives thantheir parents.

At its best, food is love; at its worst, it can betoxic—to our health, to the environment, and to ourcommunities.

In response, a diverse food movement has arisen,with farmers, public health activists, social justice

The Good-FoodRevolution

advocates, and people who love to eatwell, all collaborating to create alterna-tives to the industrial food system. Thereal beauty of this movement is that noneof its strands can exist in isolation. It’s ahealthy, vibrant ecosystem—a commu-nity of innovators helping to grow a newsustainable food culture.

Here are five key players who em-body the diverse ideals and approachesof this movement. They’re working incities and out in the countryside, on theleft and the right of the political spec-trum, with gourmets and with commu-nities that are struggling with hunger.Some of them came to the movementwhen they realized that food was a keycomponent of social justice; others cameto share their love of fresh healthy foodwhen they realized that too few peoplehad access to it. A sense of intention con-nects them all—a commitment to build-ing a food system that promotes not justefficiency and profits, but health, com-munity, environment, and ethics.

Frances Moore LappeENVISIONING ABUNDANCE

In 1971, Frances Moore Lappé foundherself poring over books and reports inthe agricultural library at the Universityof California, Berkeley. She felt confused.In study after study, evidence showedthere was more than enough food for theworld to eat, yet policy makers and pun-dits were talking about famine and lack.

“I was this kid trying to figure out,‘Why is there hunger in the world whenthere’s enough food to make us allchubby?’” she says.

She went on to write Diet for a SmallPlanet (1971), a three-million copy best-selling cookbook that provided deliciousrecipes and showed how adopting a dietbased on grains and vegetables, and eat-ing lower on the food chain, would alloweveryone on earth to have enough food.

It wasn’t the details of the diet thatwere the key revelation, Lappé told me ina recent interview: it was the simple real-ization that scarcity is a state of mind.

“If we start with a sense of lack—lackof stuff and lack of goodness—we’vebought this caricature of ourselves, thisshriveled sense of ourselves, that all wecan count on is greed,” Lappé says. Butin the real world, we’re all much morethan that. “Look at the behaviors andtraits that have been hardwired into us.Cruelty? Selfishness? Yes, but also fair-ness, cooperation, and creativity.”

Breaking through this illusion ofscarcity—the idea that we don’t haveenough to eat or that we don’t have thepower to change the world—has beenthe constant theme of her work (whichincludes 16 books and co-founding theanti-hunger think tank Food First).She’s as passionate about it as ever. Inher latest book, Getting a Grip: Clarity,Creativity, and Courage in a World GoneMad (2007), she says that under thewrong conditions—extreme concentra-tions of power, cultures of anonymity,and scapegoating—most of us will be-have selfishly and cruelly.

The beauty of the food justice andsustainable food movements, she says, is that they create the opposite of theseconditions, which allow our better selvesto shine through. Social power is dis-persed, anonymity is diminished by truecommunity, and everyone has to shoul-der some of the responsibility for thestate of the world we live in. It’s easy tosee how when we eat and garden to-gether, shop at a farmers’ market, or be-come a member of a community-spon-sored agricultural project, we don’t justbuild a healthier food system, we build ahealthier democracy.

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Left to right: Frances Moore Lappé, Makani Themba-Nixon, Joel Salatin, Alice Waters, andWill Allen use diverse methods to achieve the same goal—a sustainable food system.

“WE ARE CREATING THE LANDSCAPE THAT OURCHILDREN WILL INHERIT, ONE BIT AT A TIME.”

Since she started writing about food,Lappé says, things have gotten a lotworse, but also a lot better.

“We’re heading very rapidly in twodirections. The dominant direction ishorrific. We’ve turned food into a healthhazard,” she says. “At the same time,much more than I ever could have imag-ined when I began, people are reclaim-ing their own food traditions, learningmore about soil ecology. A recent studyfrom the University of Michigan showsthat if the whole world went organic wewould increase food output and build ahealthier environment.

“My hope is in the evidence, and theevidence is in,” says Lappé. “We havethe power to make a better world.”

Makani Themba-NixonSEEDS OF JUSTICE

“Food has always been at the heart of thestruggle for social justice,” says MakaniThemba-Nixon, a community health ad-vocate. According to her, it’s all a ques-tion of “Who has access to land, to food?”

Often the answer comes down to raceand wealth, Themba-Nixon says. That’spart of the reason the epidemics of child-hood obesity, diabetes, and heart diseasehave hit communities of color particu-

larly hard, and that’s why it’s crucial toempower these communities to find ap-propriate, integrated local solutions.

Themba-Nixon is the executive direc-tor of Washington, DC–based Commu-nities Creating Healthy Environments(CCHE), a new nationwide initiative to support innovative solutions to thecrisis. In its first round of funding in2009, CCHE supported water activistsin the Southwest, youth programs inMadison and New Orleans, and a pro-gram to introduce community vegetablegardens on a tribal nation’s ranch inMontana. Think of it as an innovationincubator, supporting creative strategiesthat other communities can learn fromand build on.

As for childhood obesity, Themba-Nixon says, we won’t solve the problemwithout addressing the root causes—theland-use policies, predatory marketing,and underfunded public infrastructurethat make it difficult for kids and fami-lies to make healthy choices in the firstplace. It’s easy to blame personal choiceand individual character flaws for prob-lems like obesity, which seem so private,but it’s not enough to simply ask individ-uals why they don’t take better care ofthemselves. We also have to ask, as com-munities and as a society, questions like,Is anyone selling fresh fruit and vegeta-bles nearby? Are the streets and parks inthe neighborhoods safe for children toplay in? Is the soil in the neighborhood


Jake Miller is a freelance writer based in Boston,

Massachusetts. He has cultivated tomatoes in his

window, basil on his porch, and worm compost

under his desk.

Digital DigestLearn more about these sustainablefood projects and how you can get involved:

communitygarden.org/rebeltomatoNo yard? No community gardensnear you? No problem. Use this Web-based tool to start your own.

edibleschoolyard.org The digital home of the originalEdible Schoolyard in Berkeley, CA,with resources to help you start yourown school garden project.

ethicurean.com The blog that pre-digests all the im-portant food policy and sustainabilityissues for you.

growingpower.org Will Allen’s tips for growing wormcompost, establishing an aquaponicsgreenhouse, or getting involved in themovement for sustainable commu-nity food systems.

localharvest.org/csa Learn more about CommunitySupported Agriculture, where con-sumers buy a share in a local farm’sproduction and get ultra-fresh foodwhile providing farmers with bettercash flow.

polyfacefarms.com Get the lowdown on Joel Salatin’smodel of pasture-based permaculture.

slowfoodusa.org The United States branch of theinternational movement to supportgood, clean, and fair food and topreserve endangered culinary andcultural institutions in the face of fastfood and fast life.

smallplanet.org Tools and tips for skillful engagementin democracy, including “food democ-racy,” from Frances Moore Lappé anddaughter Anna Lappé.

Neighborhood gardensbuild strong communities.

too contaminated for gardening? Andwhat’s for lunch at school?

Part of Themba-Nixon’s inspirationin the fight for social justice is a love forhealthy food that started in her ownchildhood.

“I was very fortunate to be raised bya mom who was into organic and grow-ing your own before it was cool,” shesays. “She was always baking things andsprouting things. It gave me a great ap-preciation for food, not just as fuel but assomething sacred and alive.”

Joel SalatinCARETAKER OF CREATION

Joel Salatin calls himself a Christian conservative libertarian environmental-ist and a “lunatic farmer.” He also callshimself a “caretaker of creation,” believ-ing that his role as a farmer is to makethe cattle, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and,most important of all, the grasses on hisfarm, happy, and then to stay as far outof the way as possible while nature pro-duces abundant healthy food. He sells itall from his local food shed, to his neigh-bors, and to nearby restaurants.

“Pasture-based livestock and localfood systems can feed the world and

The Ethical DietChanging the way you eat is a good start, but real change comes when we build com-munities that can support viable alternatives. Here are eight steps to help you expandthe circle of good food in your life—beyond your plate and into your neighborhood:

• Start talking about food. Don’t stop.

• Learn where the food you already eat comes from.

• Ask at your local markets and restaurants if any of the food is locally or sustain-ably sourced—let them know that this is something that their customers value.

• Talk to producers at farmers’ markets to find out what the freshest and mostdelicious local foods are at the moment.

• Talk to your friends and family about your food traditions and values. An elabo-rate potluck feast—or a trip to gather you-pick strawberries—is a perfect op-portunity for meaningful conversation.

• Grow something yourself and then eat it. You don’t need to launch a new com-munity garden project to feel the power of connecting directly to the food chain.Plant a pot of basil on your porch and make one perfect batch of pesto, or cap-ture some wild yeast and make an über-local batch of sourdough bread.

• Make eye contact with the people around you when you’re eating. At a harriedfamily meal, this simple moment of connection can create a sense of calm. In acrowded café, it can help you build new friendships and expand your personalcommunity.

• Add meaning to your meals by saying grace. You can thank God or simply taketime to acknowledge the community of people, plants, and animals that workedtogether to provide your food. Infusing food with intention is also a great wayto encourage yourself to eat healthier.

THE SEEMINGLY SELFISH ACT OF WANTING TO EAT DELIGHTFUL FOOD IS ACTUALLY ALL ABOUT SHARING CONNECTIONS.

An apprentice gathers pastured eggs at Polyface Farm; in the classroom and the garden, theEdible Schoolyard program teaches kids about the relationship between plants and food.

heal the land,” Salatin says. “These arenot mutually exclusive.”

As proof, Salatin offers his own Poly-face Farm, a family-owned, multi-gener-ational 550-acre operation in Virginia’sShenandoah Valley. He’s been so suc-cessful at proving his claim that he nowdevotes several months a year to writingand speaking about his message andmethods.

Salatin believes that we were put hereto nurture God’s creation, not to pillageit for maximum profit in the short term.The secret to the abundance of the farmis a carefully choreographed dance thatmimics and enhances the natural foodweb of a grassland ecosystem. Salatin’spigs, turkeys, and rabbits, as well as thefarm’s 450 acres of woodland, all havetheir own dances to perform. Sunlightfeeds a polyculture of grasses, cattlegraze on that pasture (encouraging thegrass to grow again), the cattle’s manurefeeds the insects that feed the poultry,the chicken manure enriches the soil,and so on.

If the answer is as simple as lettingnature work, why is our food systemsuch a mess?

“First of all, as a culture we havebeen raised with a dominion mentalitynot balanced with a nurturing mental-ity,” Salatin says. “We have not had anenvironmental ethic, but rather an ex-ploitation ethic. We ran through the en-vironment much faster than we realizedit was not limitless. Second, as a West-ern parts-oriented culture, we did notpractice holism like Eastern cultures.While this made us technologically su-perior, we sacrificed social and environ-mental ethics.”

You don’t have to take his word forit, either. Salatin is so convinced of thevirtue in his way of farming that his en-tire operation is open to the public—from the pigs aerating cow manure tothe chickens and turkeys foraging in theirmobile enclosures. And, as Salatin says,they’re not only producing deliciousfood for the local market, they’re healingthe land. Since his family bought the

farm in 1961, the Salatins have trans-formed their Shenandoah Valley homefrom an eroded shell of a farm into atreasury of living abundance.

“Awareness of our connection to our ecological umbilical brings decision-making integrity to our daily lives,” saysSalatin. “And it allows us to participatein a cause far bigger than ourselves, withthe joyful reality that we are creating thelandscape our children will inherit, onebit at a time.”

Alice WatersA DELICIOUS REVOLUTION

Every day, on her commute betweenher home and her world-famous restau-rant, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Califor-nia, Alice Waters drives past the Mar-tin Luther King Jr. Middle School.When she first began to notice theschool around 15 years ago, it looked so poorly maintained—with raggedyovergrown lawns and broken win-dows—that she thought it might beabandoned. In fact, she writes in her recent book, Edible Schoolyard (2008),more than 1,000 sixth, seventh, andeighth graders were studying there.

Waters is known for revolutionizingAmerican cooking—bringing simple,exquisite flavors to life with fresh, local,

sustainably produced ingredients—andhelping to launch the Slow Food move-ment in the United States. But beforeshe became a chef she had been a pre-school teacher at a local Montessorischool and has always been a firm be-liever in the value of public schools. Thesight of the King school on her dailycommute was a sobering reminder of theharsh reality of public education formany of our underserved children. Shedecided to see if she could help changethat reality.

In her first visit to the school, Watersoutlined a wildly ambitious plan to com-pletely overhaul the way the kids experi-enced food—growing their own in a gar-den, learning to cook it themselves, andsharing it with their classmates. Todaythe King school’s Edible Schoolyard is a prototype for a new kind of holistichealthy school lunch program. Kidslearn to grow and cook their own food—and eat much healthier lunches, teachersincorporate the garden into their sci-ence, math, and humanities classes, andparents and neighbors build new rela-tionships that strengthen the school andits community.


+ Visit yogaplus.org/food to learnabout other sustainable food visionar-ies, print out tasty recipes, and more.

Growing Power, a Milwaukee nursery, blends tried-and-true indoor agricultural methodswith innovative techniques like aquaponics.

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Untying Our WingsThe Way of Non-Attachment

TUMBLER PIGEONS HAVE BEEN POPULAR IN INDIA FOR CENTURIES.They get their name from their breathtaking way of dropping suddenlyin free flight and doing somersaults as they fall, then spreading their wingsand soaring back into the sky. And they have tremendous endurance.

Through the practice of dispassion, we can loosen the knots that keepus earthbound and soar to new spiritual heights. By Eknath Easwaran

They can fly without rest for 8 to 12 hours, and in India—especially in the south, where Igrew up—the onset of the monsoon rains heralds marathon competitions to see whose pi-geons can stay aloft the longest. It is easy to understand why raising these beautiful birdshas been a sport for maharajas since Akbar the Great.

This is one passion that rajas have in common with children, and when I was a boy, a cousin and I decided to raise pet pigeons ourselves. Our ancestral home had wide court-yards and second-story tiled roofs, rather like a Spanish hacienda, and every morningthese tumblers would come to sit on the red roof tiles and wait for rice or black gram tobe spread on the courtyard to dry in the sun. It was not easy to make friends with thebirds at first, but my cousin figured out a way that we could crawl up under the roof fromthe inside, slowly remove one or two tiles, and then stretch our hands out gently with alittle black gram in our palms.

For days nothing happened. But after a while one pigeon decided that I was a friendand my hand was a hospitable hand, and he came over and tentatively pecked at my palm.

If you do not like pigeons, I admit, that pecking can hurt. And once they start peckingthey pace around excitedly in circles and call “coo! coo!” to their fellows, so that quicklyyou have quite a number of them pecking at the grain in your palm. It took some patienceto keep our hands still, but once they began to trust us, we could slowly get hold of thebird we liked and it wouldn’t even struggle.

We didn’t know anything about pigeons when we started keeping them as pets. Butchildren have a lot of time for pigeons, and we took good care of them. We learned theirfavorite cereals and kept a fresh supply of them in half a dozen small pots. My cousinmade little wooden homes which we upholstered with cotton from the fields. The resultwas so comfortable that one of my friends exclaimed, “Wouldn’t I like to be a pigeon andhave a nice little home like that!”

Pigeons, of course, are used to flying freely. Until they became accustomed toliving with human beings, we had to tie their wings. Some of the girls in my fam-ily were experts at this. They knew just how to hold the pigeon, spread its wingsgently like a Japanese fan, and tie them loosely with a thread so that the bird

By relaxing our grasp onpossessions, we begin toreclaim our freedom.

would not be able to fly away. For a fewdays the bird stayed in the courtyardwhile we made friends, pecking up thefood we tossed out for it and going inand out of its little home. Then wewould untie the wings and release thelittle creature into the air.

That was a thrilling moment. The pi-geon would shoot straight up, and when

it reached 100 feet or so it would startdoing somersaults while we childrencheered and waved below, marveling atits speed and grace and the glint of thesun on its neck. After seeing the little fel-low land-bound for so long, putteringaround the courtyard as if it had neverhad wings at all, it was exhilarating tosee it soar joyfully into the air.

Meant to SoarHuman beings are very much like thesepigeons. All of us have wings, though we do not suspect it because they are sotightly tied. We are not meant to stay onthe ground and peck at crumbs of per-sonal pleasure and profit. We are meantto soar—to give our time and love freelyto everyone around us. That is the es-sence of spiritual growth, and the wholepurpose of meditation and other spiri-tual practices is to free our wings and al-low us to fly high.

In India’s mystical literature, the ties that keep us earthbound are called“knots that strangle the heart” becausethey constrict our capacity to love.There are millions of these ties, but per-haps the easiest to see are what I callpersonal attachments: possessions andactivities we cling to that claim our timeand attention at the expense of thosearound us.

Many of these attachments are mate-rial. Most of us have accumulated thingsthat tie us down one way or another, often because we think they add to ourstatus or prestige. Other attachmentsmight be activities we enjoy that benefitno one, including ourselves. Whatever itis, we can’t imagine doing without it.That is the hallmark of an attachment.

These ties might seem gossamer, but

MOST OF US HAVE ACCUMULATED THINGSTHAT TIE US DOWN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER,OFTEN BECAUSE WE THINK THEY ADDTO OUR STATUS OR PRESTIGE.

they add up. They can bind us sotightly that we can scarcely movebeyond the limited circle of ourpersonal likes and dislikes. Imag-ine if your favorite possessionswere actually attached to you.How difficult it would be to dragthem around even for a day! Yetthe mental load we carry is noless burdensome. Shedding evena little of that load leaves us feel-ing as light and free as if we reallydid have wings.

We don’t have to own manythings to get attached to them. I have known students whoseworldly goods fit into a dorm room, yetwere fiercely attached to a pair of fadedjeans with a story to tell. The issue is nothow much we have but how tightly wehold on to it. While we are holding on tosomething for ourselves, we are not freeto help others.

Attachments can come so easily!Over the years I have come regretfully tothe conclusion that there is nothing onearth in which the human being cannotbe caught. People can get tied to such avariety of knickknacks. If they go for awalk on the beach, they must pick upsome little shell or stone and take ithome. After a while these treasures ac-cumulate into a collection that must bedusted, cared for, and preserved. Soon it is part of the household, to be passeddown eventually to some puzzled off-spring when we discover that we could-n’t take it with us after all.

Or it might be hairpins—hairpinsfrom around the world, hairpins downthe ages. You become an authority, ad-mirers ask you to give lectures and offerclasses, and after a while you find it’s not

just your hair but your life that has be-come bound up with pins.

It’s All in the MindIronically, attachment can slowly stran-gle even our enjoyment of the things to which we are attached. They tend to grow on us, consuming more andmore of our time and attention. After a while, as Henry David Thoreau says,we become not their owners but theirservants.

One of my high school English teach-ers made this point in a way I have neverforgotten. He had written a sentence onthe board—“John owns a Ford car”—and asked us to rewrite it in the passivevoice. Most of us got it right: “A Fordcar is owned by John.” But one of mycousins wrote instead, “A Ford car ownsJohn.” We started to laugh, but ourteacher stopped us. “He may not knowabout the passive voice,” he said sternly,“but he knows about life. And that ismore important.”

There is nothing wrong with posses-sions, even rather pointless ones. Thereis nothing wrong with hobbies and activ-ities that are not at the expense of life.The problem is simply that when ourtime and attention get caught like this,that is time and attention we cannot give

to those around us. We bind upour own vitality this way, our ca-pacity to live, to give, to love.

The Bhagavad Gita, whichMahatma Gandhi called his“spiritual reference book,”throws light on what happens insuch cases in the mind. “Whenyou keep thinking about some-thing,” it points out—car,clothes, cats, computer—“at-tachment comes.” It really isthat simple. To get attached tosomething, nothing more is re-quired than thinking about itover and over and over until that

becomes a habit. Then our thinking getscaught, and the more it is caught, theless awareness we have for anything else.

In my village school, we childrenused the English word “love” rather ca-sually, making statements like “I lovethis book!” Our teacher, who was partic-ular about grammar and usage, wouldalways correct us: “People are to beloved. Things are to be used.” Tragi-cally, we have got it backwards today.

How to Untie a KnotHere the Buddha offers a wonderfullypractical strategy. Just as a knot can beuntied by reversing the steps required totie it, he says, attachments can be loos-ened by doing the opposite of what cre-ated them. Whenever you find yourselfspending time and energy on somethingyou are attached to that doesn’t benefitanybody—tinkering with your Honda,cataloging your music, exploring mallsor catalogs to find more things to buy—put your attention somewhere else in-stead. Again, it’s that simple.

Of course, simple doesn’t mean easy.But understanding brings motivation.Once you see what your mind is doing to you with these little habits and decideyou prefer the freedom of making choicesyourself instead, you will discover a


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WHEN WE FREE OURSELVES FROM ATTACHMENTS, WE COME TO FEELMORE AND MORE TENDERNESS AND CONCERN FOR OTHERS.

Spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran founded the

Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in 1961. His

books include Passage Meditation and translations

of the Classics of Indian Spirituality.

thousand and one little ways to practiceuntying these knots every day.

Whenever you find yourself spendingtime in a way that seems out of propor-tion, for example, or indulging in someactivity that you secretly admit to be awaste of time, disengage yourself andput your time somewhere more con-structive instead. Pay more attention toyour family; do something necessarythat you’ve been putting off. When youcan do this, you are withdrawing lovefrom that thing or activity so that youcan direct it freely.

I can give one small example of thisat my own expense. South India is full ofcashew trees, and when I was a boy, thepath to school led through a cashew nutorchard. Everyone likes cashew nuts,and the tree in fruit is an artist’s de-light—beautiful colors made to capti-vate the eye. So a cashew orchard is adouble temptation, and we boys, trans-parently honest on other occasions, reg-ularly stopped to rob those particulartrees on our way to school.

I must have done this throughout my career in high school. Then, after In-dia’s independence, all our cashews be-gan to be exported to the United Statesof America—a matter of foreign ex-change—and those delicious nuts disap-peared from my life. For the rest of mytime in India, I got no nearer to acashew than the factories where theywere processed.

I thought I had forgotten this child-hood passion until many years later, inthe U.S., when a hospitable friend withwhom I was staying discovered thisskeleton in my cupboard. She brought

a big tin of cashew nuts andleft it on my table as

a surprise.

The Art of Letting Go By Anna Dubrovsky

ON AUGUST 29, 2005, three pine trees crashed into the roof of theYoga School in Covington, Louisiana, about 40 miles north of New Orleans.Owner Becky Gelatt considered herself lucky; Hurricane Katrina did farworse that day. In its aftermath, Gelatt had a lot of work on her hands: deal-ing with the roof, of course, but also with the profound grief that washedover her close-knit yoga community. Katrina was a brutal reminder thatnothing is permanent—that everything material can be taken from us at anymoment. And it brought up a question: How do we prepare for loss?

For starters, we can apply the concept of self-discipline, or tapas, to ourdaily lives. Giving up coffee or cashews or anything else to which we’re com-pulsively attached is a form of tapas. The shedding of attachments gives us afuller appreciation of our inner strength, culminating in a sense of freedom.And it steels us for the inevitable. Choosing to let go of attachments trains usto loosen our grip when we have no choice. Hurricanes happen. Recessionshappen. “The whole process of aging is a process of giving up—as profounda loss as having a house swept off the ground,” says Gelatt, 70. “Yogateaches us to let go with grace.”

Whether we choose to give up something, or something is taken from us, aperiod of grief ensues, Gelatt has found. After Katrina, she helped many stu-dents cope with grief and fear by teaching restorative poses such as child’spose with a bolster beneath the torso and a blanket draped over the body.(See page 61 for more restorative poses). “When people feel comfortable in a pose, they feel safe,” Gelatt says. “In feeling safe, they can relax a littlemore.” She recommends long exhalations, which have a calming effect, alongwith a mental recitation such as “As I let go of the breath, I let go to all.”

As the eye of the hurricane swept through Louisiana, Gelatt chanted a traditional Sanskrit verse. Drawn from the Upanishads, it reminds us that letting go is also a process of letting in.

Asato ma sad gamaya Lead me from the unreal to the real.Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya Lead me from darkness to light.Mrityor ma amritam gamaya Lead me from death to immortality.

When we give up attachments to things that are impermanent—unreal—we become attuned to that which is unchanging and real. We move fromthe darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. “I could hear treescreaking and cracking and falling, see parts of roofs flying by,” Gelatt re-calls. “I never stopped chanting.” It took several weeks for electricity to berestored to the Yoga School, but when the lights came on, Gelatt saw a newdirection. She shifted her focus from general classes to teacher training sothat more yoga teachers could serve the community. “That was a realiza-tion born of the storm—how many more qualified teachers we need,” she says. “We don’t know why these losses occur. But theycould be a preparation for something better, somethinghigher, something mysterious.”

Hear the above Sanskrit verseat yogaplus.org/asatoma.


That evening I was readingthe Gita with deep concentrationwhen I suddenly discovered thatmy right hand was missing. I setthe book aside and looked for it.It was hidden in the cashew tin!

I was utterly astonished. Mymind and I are on fairly goodterms, so I said sternly, “Youcan’t be doing what I think youare doing! Nibbling without myapproval?” My mind lookedsheepish. “Boss, you don’t thinkI would do that, do you? I wasonly trying to find out what wasin the tin.”

Clearly, this was time to nip a compulsive attachment in thebud before it got out of hand.

I did not eat a single cashewthat day, though my mind wascraving for them. All those old,fierce memories were aroused,but every time they clamored forcashews, I went for a fast walk repeatingmy mantram or gave my mind some-thing spiritual to read instead.

The next day was the same, and thenext. For a few days, I read with mybook supported by both hands.

Finally the craving went away. I for-got about cashew nuts completely. Thatday I told my mind, “Now you can takea handful and enjoy.”

This is freedom. And, let me tell you,cashew nuts eaten in freedom taste ahundred times better than nuts eatenunder the tyranny of a craving.

I would be the first to confess thatthis isn’t easy. Not only that, it can beunpleasant. After all, attachments arethings we say we love. But that is theproblem: love is caught in them. Whenyou want to love more, to expand yourlove beyond its present circle, to untiethe knots that are strangling your heart,you get the overriding motivation to goagainst these conditioned habits. Thenyou get an exhilarating taste of whatfreedom means.

The marvel of this is that when wefree our attention anywhere, even a

little, it is freer everywhere. When we gothrough the day catering to our own pri-vate preoccupations and prepossessions,we are tying our wings till they becomebound so tight that we don’t even be-lieve they are there. But each knot untied means a little more freedom—a little more freedom to love.

When you want nothing for yourselfalone, the whole world is yours to enjoy.“To arrive at having everything,” John ofthe Cross says, “desire to have nothing.”This is real joy, which no one has de-scribed more ecstatically than the Eng-lish poet and mystic Thomas Traherne:

You never enjoy the world aright,till the Sea itself floweth in yourveins, till you are clothed with theheavens, and crowned with thestars: and perceive yourself to bethe sole heir of the whole world,and more than so, because men arein it who are every one sole heirs aswell as you. Till you can sing andrejoice and delight in God, as mi-sers do in gold, and kings in scep-tres, you never enjoy the world.

We do not have to grow wings to soarto these heights; we are born with them.Nobody has bound them but ourselves,and nobody but ourselves can set themfree. This is a challenge for a lifetime,but as we learn to do this, we come tofeel more and more tenderness and con-cern for everybody.

Finally, when all the ties that bindour wings are undone, the love releasedis boundless. You can give an infiniteamount of it to your partner, children,parents, and in-laws and still have a lim-itless reserve for everyone else. This in-creases the joy of living a million times.If loving your close ones can bring suchjoy, the mystics say, how much more joymust come with loving all? ■

From “Untying Our Wings” by Eknath Easwaran

(Blue Mountain Journal, Spring 2006). Copy-

right 2006 by The Blue Mountain Center of Medi-

tation, P.O. Box 256, Tomales, CA 94971,

easwaran.org. Reprinted with permission.

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Find ease in the world: the less you hold the more you can love.

+ Read more articles by EknathEaswaran at yogaplus.org/easwaran.


Sutra 2.15

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Because the effect of an action is accompanied by pain, because the action itself is accompanied by the experience of pain, because the subtle impressions of action contain pain, and because the forces that motivate us to perform an action mutuallycontradict and oppose each other, to a person endowed with discernment, all is pain.

YOGASUTRA Translation and Commentary by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

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Listen to the Yoga Sutra in Sanskrit at yogaplus.org/ys2.

Before diving deep into the contents of this sutra, it is importantto remind ourselves that the ideas expressed here have no meaning ei-ther for those established in the full knowledge of reality or for those totally blind to it. This sutra is for those who know that the domain ofbondage and freedom stretches beyond the world perceptible to oursenses, and who therefore know the difference between short-livedpleasures and lasting happiness, yet are not strong enough to live andact in the light of this knowledge. Such people are called viveki—thosewith the power of discrimination to understand the difference betweengood and bad, right and wrong, true happiness and mere pleasure. Thissutra is meaningful only to them.

The first point Patanjali makes in this sutra is that because the re-sult of every action is accompanied by pain, all is pain to a person en-dowed with discernment. Normally our actions are goal-driven. We seta goal, develop a strategy to achieve it, and perform actions in an at-tempt to accomplish our goal. This is what any sensible person does.However, our wisdom fails us when we do not realize that the result ofour actions is based on several factors. Some of these factors are knownto us while others are not. Some are under our control while others arenot. For example, factors buried in the oblivion of the past walk into thepresent and influence the outcome of our current action. And some fac-tors may be related to the actions of others colliding with our actionsand influencing the result. Still other factors might be the effect of ourcarelessness, which undermines the results of our actions.

Even though we know that this is the general dynamic of actionsand their outcome, we become attached to the fruits of our actions.This attachment causes us to suffer from anxiety while we are perform-ing our actions and from disappointment when we do not reap the an-ticipated results. Actions accompanied by anxiety, and results accompa-nied by frustration and disappointment, are painful. Our inability toescape such actions and their results is painful. Our inability to stopsuch actions and their results from creating an impression on our mindis painful.

The second point Patanjali makes in this sutra is that because ac-tion itself is accompanied by the experience of pain, all is pain to a per-son endowed with discernment. To a significant extent the idea of painand pleasure is unique to each individual, but in general, pain comesfrom dissatisfaction and pleasure from satisfaction. Satisfaction anddissatisfaction are associated with the result of our action. Our experi-ence tells us that the result is dependent on several factors in additionto our current action. But our lack of knowledge regarding all the fac-tors that lead to a successful outcome fills our mind with doubt. Fromdoubt comes fear.


pari®ŸmatŸpasa≥skŸraduÅkhair = pari®Ÿma

+ tŸpas + sa≥skŸra + duÅkhair

pari®Ÿma effect; result; evolving from a cause

tŸpas heat; fever; scorching; feeling of beingburnt

sa≥skŸra subtle impressions of actions; residue of actions

duÅkhair instrumental case of duÅkha; sorrow; grief; pain

The Sanskrit grammar rule known as samasa

dictates that duÅkha accompanies the three preceding words. As a result pari®ŸmatŸpa-

sa≥skŸraduÅkhair means: the result of action is full of pain, the action itself is full of pain, and the residue of action is full of pain.

gu®av‡ttivirodhŸcca = gu®a + v‡tti + virodhŸt + ca

gu®a intrinsic attribute of primordial nature—sattva, rajas, and tamas—the three fundamentalforces that motivate us to think, speak, and act;the primordial force of matter and energy knownas sattva, rajas, and tamas; the forces of revela-tion, pulsation, and inertia; according to yogaphilosophy, these three forces constitute thebody of primordial matter and energy and theirfunctions oppose each other

v‡tti function; modification; rotation

virodhŸt 5th case of virodha: opposition; contradiction

ca and; also

gu®av‡ttivirodhŸcca because of the opposing nature of the three primordial forces and thethought constructs they engender

duÅkham pain; sorrow

eva definitely; invariably

sarva˜ everything; all

vivekinaÅ 6th case of vivekinaÅ: a person of rightunderstanding; a person of discernment

>>

Fear makes us nervous. Nervousnesscompromises our inner stability. Ourbreathing becomes erratic and irregular.Simply by looking at us, an adept yogican see that we are trembling deep in the realm of our senses and mind. Ourstrong attachment to the result of our ac-tion forces us to hate anything and any-one who poses a threat. This hatred setsa new series of actions in motion to assistour original action. These new actions

are accompanied by anger, greed, and an-imosity, and not only produce their ownnegative results but also contaminate theresult of the original action. Seen fromthe vantage point of discernment, all ofthis is painful.

Both the result of actions and the ac-tions themselves, all accompanied bypain, lead to Patanjali’s third point: Be-cause the subtle impressions of actionscontain pain, all is pain to a person en-dowed with discernment. Our actionsare goal-driven. If we are not careful,both our actions as well as the results be-come contaminated by attachment andaversion. This inevitably leads to thenext level of contamination: anger, jeal-ousy, greed, doubt, fear, and violence.

Yet we continue walking on the pathof action. In the process, we create im-pressions in the mind filled with thesenegativities. These impressions, calledsamskaras, in turn motivate us to under-take similar actions. Thus we get caughtin a vicious cycle: action to impressionand impression to action. These impres-sions become more powerful as we rein-force them. Eventually they become sopowerful that they begin to dictate howwe act. This is what yogis call karmachakra, the wheel of karma rotating at aseemingly unstoppable velocity. Ourabililty to comprehend how unhealthyand destructive these subtle impres-sions are, coupled with our inability

to do anything about it, is painful. Patanjali’s final and most important

point is that, because the forces that mo-tivate us to perform actions mutuallycontradict and oppose each other, all ispain to a person endowed with discern-ment. The fundamental force motivatingus to perform our actions is known asguna. Guna means “quality, characteris-tic, attribute, defining factor.” In the con-text of spirituality in general and yoga in

particular, guna means “essence, essen-tial force, fundamental force, the mostprimordial energy.” It is one, and yet,due to its threefold distinct functions, itis described as three: sattva, rajas, andtamas. Sattva is the quality of illumina-tion, revelation, clarity, transparency,spiritual enlightenment. Rajas is move-ment, pulsation, animation, the power ofchangeability. Tamas is darkness, inertia,heaviness, the property of the energythat blocks revelation, the property of en-ergy that blocks the view of the truth.

These threefold forces pervade every-thing that exists, including our mind andits functions and behaviors. Everythingin the universe is simultaneously sattvic,rajasic, and tamasic. Each of us has amind filled with sattvic, rajasic, andtamasic forces. These forces influencethe functions and behaviors of our mind.When sattvic forces dominate our mind,we gravitate toward sattvic thoughts.When rajasic and tamasic forces domi-nate, we become interested in attendingrajasic and tamasic thoughts. It is impor-tant to remember, however, that whenone force dominates, the others are notcancelled, for the law is that these forcescoexist and through their coexistenceplay an unending game of supporting,opposing, and negating each other. Thegoal of yoga sadhana is to make an effortto nurture and thereby strengthen thefunction of the sattvic force so that we

find ourselves more spontaneously andeffortlessly motivated to perform our ac-tions correctly and reap the results of ouractions wisely. When we are already inthe firm grip of the subtle impressions ofour past actions, the starting point—nur-turing sattvic forces—can be difficult.However, if we remember the first threepoints that Patanjali makes in this sutra,the task becomes much easier. If we per-form our actions without either attach-ment or aversion we can accomplish thegoal: freedom from all miseries.

A careful analysis of the first threepoints tells us that attachment to the re-sults of our actions and aversion to any-thing that poses an obstacle to the resultsare the true sources of misery. To clarifythis key point, let me share an experiencewith you.

The city of Kanpur in North Indiahad long been the base of the HimalayanInstitute’s activities. My teacher and theInstitute’s founder, Swami Rama, had


IF WE PERFORM OUR ACTIONS WITHOUT EITHER ATTACHMENT OR AVERSION WE CANATTAIN FREEDOM FROM ALL MISERIES.

many students there. One of them, Mrs.Chittra, was generous, kind, well-read,and a serious meditator. She had taken aleading role in organizing Swamji’s lec-tures in the city, transcribing them, andgetting them published. In time, anotherstudent appeared. Dr. Sunanda Bai wasthe principal of Kanpur Medical Collegeand one of the city’s best surgeons. Soonafter meeting Swamiji, Dr. SunandaBai’s worldview and lifestyle changeddrastically. She became more disciplined,more precise in her speech and action,and even more diligent in her work—both professional and spiritual. Despiteher busy medical practice, she dedicateda great deal of time and energy to spiri-tual pursuits. She was one of Swamiji’sfew students who had sat at the feet ofhis master, Bengali Baba, and had stud-ied directly with him. Soon, because of her own presence and because ofSwamiji’s frequent visits, her house inKanpur turned into a shrine. I sought

every opportunity to visit Swamiji andDr. Sunanda Bai there.

At one point, Swamiji assigned me toproofread manuscripts of his lectures be-fore they were sent to the printer. Mrs.Chittra was in charge of all publicationsso this assignment allowed me to workclosely with her. I found her charming, in-telligent, and efficient. She was admirablein every respect but one: her attitude to-ward Dr. Sunanda Bai. Mrs. Chittra didnot acknowledge Dr. Sunanda Bai’s exis-tence, even in her own home. When Dr.Sunanda Bai greeted Mrs. Chittra, Mrs.Chittra avoided eye contact. I wonderedwhy the behavior of a loving, serious spiri-tual seeker would change so dramaticallyin the presence of another loving, spiritu-ally elevated person.

When I expressed my curiosity aboutthis to Swamiji, he said, “Mrs. Chittra isa perfect example of Patanjali’s Yoga Su-tra,” pointing to sutra 2.15. “She is awonderful person. Most of her actions

are motivated by the forces of sattva inher mindfield. But as soon as she sees Dr. Sunanda Bai, the force of rajas domi-nates. She forgets who she is and she for-gets her goals. She gets pulled into jeal-ousy, hatred, and other negative thoughtsarising from attachment and aversion.The forces that motivate her to put hervirtues of love, kindness, compassion,and forgiveness into practice are sub-dued by opposite forces. The motivatingforce in her mind is contradicted and op-posed by another force, and she is caughtin these mutually contradicting and op-posing forces filling her mindfield.”

When I asked Swamiji about the so-lution to this seemingly unending prob-lem, he replied, “That’s what the nextsutra is all about.” ■


Fluent in both Vedic and Classical Sanskrit,

Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, is the author

of more than a dozen books on yoga philosophy

and spiritual practice.

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To learn more about which drishti to employ in each asana, seeDavid Swenson’s book Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual. As ageneral rule, think about casting your gaze in the direction of thestretch—the proper point is the one that honors the energy ofthe posture while maintaining safety in your body. For exam-ple, in trikonasana (triangle pose), you might gaze up to-ward the hand that is in the air, straight down at thefloor, or in line with the nose and sternum. Where tolook isn’t as important as how to look—the key is toshift your focus toward your inner experience.

ow often do you find yourself “going through the motions” in yoga class while your eyes wander around the room—glancing at the graceful student three mats down or the ticking clock—instead of tuning into your body and breath?A technique called drishti (the method of gazing at a focal point in yoga practice) can help you draw your outward-looking eyes—and mind—inward, so that your asana routine becomes a moving meditation. Through drishti you

can cultivate a deeper level of concentration, improve your alignment, and tune into the inner sensations of thebody in every pose, so that you’re practicing the way the ancient sages intended—with full awareness. As yoga expert DavidFrawley writes in Inner Tantric Yoga, “Fixing the gaze…not only concentrates the mind but draws our energy inward alongwith it, extending the action of pratyahara, or the yogic internalization of the prana and the senses.”

In asana classes, teachers often recommend drishti for maintainingbalance in one-legged standing postures like vrikshasana (tree pose),but the technique can be applied to any posture to improve your focus.Let’s explore drishti in pashchimottanasana (seated forward bend pose)by directing our eyes toward a natural focal point: the toes.

INPRACTICE

Easy on the Eyes

HTame wild thoughts and deepen your awareness with drishti, a gazing technique for focusing the mind. By Jennifer Allen Logosso

9 Drishtis Wondering where to gaze when you’re practicing drishti? The AshtangaYoga system (taught by Sri K.Pattabhi Jois) identifies nine directions or focal points.

1. Nasagram drishti—tip of the nose2. Ajna chakra or bhrumadhya drishti—between the eyebrows3. Nabhi chakra drishti—navel4. Hastagram drishti—hand 5. Padayoragram drishti—toes 6. Parshva drishti—far to the right7. Parshva drishti—far to the left8. Angushthamadhyam drishti—thumbs 9. Urdhva or antara drishti—up to the sky


+ Drishti is utilized in other yoga practices,including trataka—a cleansing meditativetechnique that involves gazing at a candleflame. Learn more at yogaplus.org/trataka.

Step One • Assume a comfortableseated posture with the legs outstretched.If your hamstrings are tight, elevate yourhips by sitting on a folded blanket, orbend the knees slightly and use a straparound the feet—these modificationswill allow the body to safely release intothe pose. Spiral the thighs inward, pointthe toes upward, and extend throughyour heels.

Step Two • Gently cast your gaze to-ward your toes (this form of drishti iscalled padayoragram drishti). Then, in-stead of pulling your torso forward withyour arms or a strap, soften your gaze sothat the lines between your toes and thefloor begin to blur (almost as if you’relooking beyond or through the toes). Bygazing in the direction of the stretch,your body will naturally move in that di-rection. With each inhalation, allow thespine to elongate in the direction of thedrishti.

Step Three • On each exhalation, al-low the body to soften and surrenderinto the stretch while maintaining anopen heart and keeping the gaze softlyfixed toward your toes. Notice how theawareness of the body intensifies whenyou steady your gaze and eliminate vi-sual distractions.

Soon you’ll discover that there are a variety of sensory impressions—thequality of the stretch, the strength orweakness of the muscles involved, thequality of your postural alignment, thesense of spaciousness within the body—that you may not have otherwise noticed.All of these sensations emerge as yourgaze becomes one-pointed. Graduallyyou’ll begin to witness the dialogue ofyour mind—simply watching distractingthoughts as they come and go—as youbegin to settle into a peaceful meditativeversion of the pose. Now that’s what youcame to class for, isn’t it? ■


Jennifer Allen Logosso is a yoga instructor,

teacher trainer, and owner of Sundari yoga

studio in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

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MMeditation is easy, right? Just closeyour eyes and slip into a still, calm, cen-tered place within. Do it daily and yourlife will become more balanced and har-monious as you begin to feel a deepersense of peace, joy, and love. In no timeat all, you’ll be enlightened. That’s whatI believed some 30 years ago when I wasyoung and spiritually ambitious. Thenmy teacher gave me a mantra practicethat knocked me to my knees.

Meditating with this new mantrabrought me face-to-face with old unre-solved issues that flooded my consciousawareness with painful images and feel-ings of deep sadness, rage, and despair.One day as an intense surge of griefwelled up, I wondered what would hap-pen if I surrendered to it consciously, riding the wave of emotion all the way to its end: Would I go insane or becomeenlightened? I was determined to sitthrough it and find out. Instead, themind’s self-protective mechanism kickedin and I fell asleep. Day after day I triedbut kept failing. In those days I slept alot. My teacher, Pandit Rajmani Tigu-nait, used to joke, “If you could reach enlightenment through sleeping, youwould be enlightened.” Instead I wassleep-walking.

So why bother meditating? Isn’t itsaner, more pleasant, to simply stay onlife’s surface, rather than diving into themuck of the unconscious? I ponder thiseach time a strong negative feeling,thought, or image circles like a vulturewhen I go inward. That’s when I remem-ber the beauty of meditation: It can bedone in stages, at our own pace. We canbe like spectators at a movie, watchingour life unfold on our inner screen. If a memory or a feeling arises that is too

In the calmness of meditation we getglimpses of our best self…and our worst.Here’s how one practitioner navigatedthrough her darkest hours. By Irene Petryszak


SKILLFULACTION

Confessions of a Meditator

Daily practice cleanses the unconscious mind ofimpurities, even when itseems to stir up trouble.


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painful to bear, we can simply stop thefilm by ending our meditation for theday—and go about our business untilnext time, when we can again try to wit-ness our thoughts and emotions withoutgetting so involved.

Drops in the BucketUnfortunately, I wasn’t always patient.A friend of mine who had found himselfunprepared for the deeper stages of med-itation cautioned me to take it slowly, tofully assimilate any disturbing imagesand feelings before intensifying my prac-tice. Pointing to a bucket, he explainedthe process of meditation to me in thisway: See the dirt at the bottom of thisbucket? What happens when I add clearwater to it? The water gets dirty. That’swhat happens when we meditate. Theclear water from our meditation mixeswith the unclear thoughts, emotions,and desires in our mind, and for a whilewe feel unsettled, wondering why we’remeditating when it’s making us feelworse instead of better. When the waterstops swirling, the dirt settles back to

the bottom, and it seems like nothinghas changed. But on a subtle level, ithas. Now we know there is some dirt we need to clear away—and hopefullywe feel a little calmer and more contentfrom our sitting practice.

Next time we meditate, he contin-ued, the dirt swirls up again. If we canhandle being out of our comfort zoneand continue meditating every day, thenit is like adding more and more clear wa-ter to the bucket. (If we can’t handle theintensity, all we have to do is slow down

for a while—perhaps sitting for shorterperiods of time, or doing less japa, ormantra repetition.) The more fresh wa-ter we add, the less dirty the water in thebucket becomes, until finally the wateris pristine. How long that takes dependson how much dirt there was at the bot-tom of the bucket to begin with, andhow we behave between meditation ses-sions. Do we spend the rest of our timein a way that supports the clear waterbeing poured into the bucket, or in away that adds more dirt?

Sorting MantrasOf course, there are layers upon layers ofdirt (or, in the parlance of yoga, impuri-ties) that are obscuring our essential na-ture, which is pure consciousness. Themore impurities we remove, the moremental and emotional clarity, peace, andjoy we experience. Panditji often usesthe analogy of doing laundry to explainhow different mantras can be used towash away various types of impurities.At first, he says, we have to rinse ourclothes in plain water, just to remove the

thickest layer of dirt. We do this by start-ing with the universal mantra so’ham(pronounced “so hum”), which is thenatural sound of the breath. Coordinatethe mantra with the breath by mentallysaying the word so on each inhalation,and hum on each exhalation.

After doing this for a few weeks (oreven months) we may want to move tothe next stage: putting the clothes in thewasher with detergent. This is the role ofa guru mantra (given by a teacher for ourspecific needs), which gives the mind amore personal focus, allowing us to delvedeeper within. Then we begin to see thestubborn stains that detergent alone can-not remove. For these we need bleach orstain remover—a practice of the gayatrimantra, which begins cleansing the ten-

To learn more about these mantra practices go to yogaplus.org/soham for audio instructions and yogaplus.org/gayatri to download a podcast.

MEDITATION HAS MADE ME STRONGER,MORE BALANCED, AND KINDER TO BOTH MYSELF AND OTHERS.

dencies of our unconscious mind.It was the gayatri mantra that had

brought me to my knees. Old repressedmemories began bubbling up during mymeditation on a daily basis: Suddenly Iwas a child with immigrant parents whowere struggling to survive in a foreignland and didn’t have the time or pa-tience to help me with my problems.Now, as I said my mantra I felt the emo-tional pain all over again. I would havealternating desires to scream and smashwindows or eat chocolate and cry—and,of course, sleep a lot. But the next day Iwould sit and say my mantra, because al-though it brought my impurities to thesurface, it also gave me a glimmer ofhigher awareness: one that is free of fear,anger, and sadness—filled, instead, withpeace, love, and joy.

The Spiraling MindI find that the deeper I delve into medita-tion, the more impurities I discover. Atthe same time, I experience more con-tentment as I become less of a partici-pant and more of a witness—no longeridentifying with the thoughts and feel-ings that arise from within, but simplyobserving and letting them go. At times,however, it seems unending and frustrat-ing, and I find myself wondering: Will Iever get to the bottom? Is there a bot-tom? Am I making any progress or am Ilike a hamster on a wheel, running end-lessly in place?

One day I decided to read throughthe journals I’ve kept over the past 30years to see if I could find an answer. Icame to an entry where I had had a pro-found realization—a definite break-through. But then, imagine my surprise,when, flipping through the next year, Icame to another entry with the verysame realization, as if it were the firsttime I’d had it. And the year after that,the same thing! That’s when it dawnedon me that I was experiencing this real-ization at different levels. The first timewas only at a surface level of my mindand heart; each time after, it was increas-ingly deeper.

So, now, while I’m meditating, I seethe mind as an upward- and downward-flowing spiral. When I climb the upwardspiral in meditation, it gives me thestrength—the clear water, the clearmind—to dive downward with newawareness, so that I can see my old unre-solved issues in a new light. Sometimes,I can finally make peace with somethingthat has been troubling me for a longtime, so it loses its power—it becomes a faded image in the background of mymind, with no substance, no bite. Othertimes, when a deeply knotted, rootedfear or memory shakes me to my core, Ihave to take a break and try again.

Don’t Give UpMeditation has made me stronger, morebalanced, and kinder to both myself andothers. I have found that no matter whatsurfaces, I need to sit daily. Whatever islurking in the shadows will not go awayuntil it is brought to light, and if I losethe fight one day, there is always thenext. And yes, I was finally able to con-sciously ride those initial waves of angerand sadness to the end, where I experi-enced a great sense of peace, love, joy—and finally, release. Until another wavearose and I had to go through the pro-cess all over again. It made me under-stand that enlightenment can come inbits and pieces.

Each of us needs to find our own wayinside. How long we sit and how muchpractice we do depends on what wewant to accomplish. Meditation bothstirs things up and clears them out. Butif at any time in your practice it becomesoverwhelming, witness yourself reactingand step back. Maybe journal about it orself-dialogue. Or tend to your regularbusiness. Or go for a walk. Or eat somechocolate. Or take a nap. Whateverworks for you. But next day, go back toyour meditation. Even if it’s only for fiveminutes. Don’t give up. It is your pathto freedom and self-realization. ■


Senior editor Irene (Aradhana) Petryszak has

been teaching yoga philosophy for the last 20 years.


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here are few things more frustrating to a person with chronic pain than hearing someone say, “Your painis all in your mind.” But if you’re one of the estimated 50 to 75 million Americans living with chronic pain,these words might actually be the key to relieving your suffering. Chronic pain is in the mind—but thisdoes not mean what you think it means. The experience of pain is real. Pain has a biological basis. It’s just

that the source of pain isn’t limited to where one feels it or thinks it is coming from.For decades, scientists and doctors thought that pain could be caused only by damage to the structure of

the body. They looked for the source of chronic pain in bulging spinal discs, muscle injuries, and infections.More recent research, however, points to a second source of chronic pain: the very real biology of yourthoughts, emotions, expectations, and memories. Most chronic pain has its roots in a physical injury or illness,but it is sustained by how that initial trauma changes not just the body but also the mind-body relationship.

The complexity of chronic pain is actually good news. It means that trying to fix the body with surgeries,pain medications, or physical therapy is not your only hope. By first understanding chronic pain as a mind-bodyexperience and then using yoga’s toolbox of healing practices—including breathing exercises and restorative


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Though chronic pain maybe difficult to diagnose and treat, the suffering isimpossible to ignore.

TUnveil the truth about your pain and discover anew world of hope and healing. By Kelly McGonigal

ASANASOLUTIONS

Yoga for Chronic Pain


poses—you can find true relief from painand begin to reclaim your life.

The Protective Pain ResponseUnderstanding the difference betweenacute pain and chronic pain will be criti-cal to your ability to reduce and manageyour pain. Let’s begin by examining thebasic steps of the pain response: sensa-tion, stress, and suffering.

The protective pain response beginswhen the body experiences some physi-cal threat, such as a cut, a burn, or an in-flamed muscle. This threat is detectedby specialized nerves and sent throughthe spinal cord and up to the brainwhere, among other things, the threatsignals are transformed into pain sensa-tions. Emotion-processing areas of thebrain also get the message, triggering a wide range of reactions, from fear toanger. Combined, your thoughts andemotions about the physical sensationsof pain make up the suffering componentof the full pain experience.

To help you take action, the threatsignals have been simultaneously routedto the areas of your brain that help thebody launch an emergency stress re-sponse, coordinating the actions of thenervous system, endocrine system, andimmune system. The emergency stressresponse triggers a cascade of physiolog-ical changes that give you the energy andfocus to protect yourself from life-threat-ening danger.

Even after the threat is gone, the painresponse is not over. The mind and bodyare very interested in making sure youknow how to protect yourself from thisthreat in the future. So the nervous sys-tem begins the process of learning fromthis experience. Any kind of injury or ill-ness, even one that is short-lived or ap-pears to be fully healed, can change theway the nervous system processes pain.

Understanding Chronic PainChronic pain differs from acute pain inthree important ways. First, the bodycan become more sensitive to threat,sending threat signals to the brain even

when the threat is minor or non-exis-tent. Second, the brain can becomemore likely to interpret situations asthreatening and sensations as painful,producing pain responses that are out ofproportion to any real danger. Finally,with repeated pain experiences, theboundaries between the many aspects ofthe pain response—sensation, suffering,and stress—get blurred. In most cases of chronic pain, the mind and body havelearned all too well how to detect the

slightest hint of a threat and mount a fullprotective response in all its glory.

So the things that make pain so effec-tive at helping us survive acute emergen-cies and handling short-term pain are thevery things that make chronic pain socomplex and persistent. The pain youfeel may reflect a protective mind-body re-sponse that has become overprotective.

Pain AgainWhy does past pain make you more sen-sitive to future pain? You can thank oneof the great wonders of our nervous sys-tem: its ability to learn in response to ex-perience. This ability is called neuroplas-ticity. Through the repeated experienceof pain, the nervous system gets betterat detecting threat and producing theprotective pain response. So unfortu-nately, in the case of chronic pain, learn-ing from experience and getting “better”at pain paradoxically means more pain,not less.

Both modern science and yoga sharethis idea: present pain and suffering havetheir roots in past pain, trauma, stress,loss, and illness. Modern science useswords like neuroplasticity to describethe process of learning from past expe-riences; yoga uses the word samskara.Samskaras are the memories of the bodyand mind that influence how we experi-ence the present moment. Samskaras

keep you stuck, feeling the same emo-tions, thinking the same thoughts, andeven experiencing the same pain.

Samskaras do not always lead to suffering—they also lead to positivechange. Just as trauma, illness, pain, and stress leave traces on the body andmind, so do positive experiences. Whatyou practice, you become.

Learning is lifelong, and none of the changes you’ve learned have to bepermanent. Neuroplasticity can be

harnessed for healing. Your mind andbody have learned how to “do” chronicpain, and your job is to teach it some-thing new.

Unlearning Pain Through RelaxationThe best way to unlearn chronic stressand pain responses is to give the mindand body healthier responses to practice.

By helping you transform chronicpain-and-stress responses into “chronichealing” responses of mind and body,yoga helps reduce your suffering ofchronic pain. Your mind and body havebuilt-in healing responses that are just as powerful as their protective pain-and-stress responses. Whether it’s a medita-tion on gratitude, a relaxation pose thatputs the body and mind at ease, or abreathing exercise that strengthens theflow of energy in your body—they allshare the benefit of bringing you backhome to your natural sense of well-being.

Relaxation specifically has beenshown to be healing for chronic pain. It turns off the stress response and di-rects the body’s energy to growth, repair,immune function, digestion, and otherself-nurturing processes. The relaxationresponse unravels the mind-body sam-skaras that contribute to pain and pro-vides the foundation for healing habits.Consistent relaxation practice teachesthe mind and body how to rest in a

THE BEST WAY TO UNLEARN CHRONIC STRESSAND PAIN RESPONSES IS TO GIVE THE MIND ANDBODY HEALTHIER RESPONSES TO PRACTICE.

sense of safety rather than chronic emer-gency. Below, we will look at a breath-ing practice and several restorative yoga poses that promote the relaxationresponse.

Breathing the Whole Body

Breathing the body is a visualizationpractice adapted from the traditionalpractice of yoga nidra (yogic sleep) andthe body-scan practice taught in Jon Ka-bat-Zinn’s mindfulness-based stress re-duction program for people with chronicpain. Start in any comfortable relaxationpose such as shavasana (corpse pose).Place your hands on your belly and feelthe movement of the breath. Notice thebelly rising and falling, and notice thebreath moving in and out of your body.

In this practice, you will imagine

that you can inhale and exhale throughdifferent parts of your body—as if yournostrils were moved to that part of thebody. Start with your feet. Imagine thebreath entering your body through the

soles of your feet, and exiting your bodythrough the soles of your feet. Noticeany sensations there. Feel, or imagine,that flow of energy in the feet as youbreathe. Now repeat this visualizationfor other parts of your body: Your lowerlegs, knees, and upper legs. Your hips,lower back, middle back, and upperback. Your belly and chest. Your shoul-ders, upper arms, elbows, lower arms,hands. Your neck. Your forehead andthe crown of your head.

When you get to an area that feelstense, uncomfortable, or painful, don’t

skip it. There are several things you cantry that may make you feel more com-fortable. First, stay with the visualizationand direct the breath right at the sensa-tions of discomfort or pain. Imagine that

the breath is dissolving or massaging thetension and pain. Imagine the solidity ofthe tension or pain softening. Find thespace inside the pain. Second, try mov-ing your attention back and forth be-tween the uncomfortable area and amore comfortable area. For a few breaths,breathe into the painful area; for the nextfew breaths, breathe into another area.Switching back and forth like this canteach the mind how to give the uncom-fortable sensations less priority. You arepracticing a healthy kind of distraction:intentionally shifting your focus while

DIRECT THE BREATH RIGHT AT THE SENSATIONS OF DISCOMFORT. IMAGINE THAT THE BREATH IS DISSOLVING THE TENSION AND PAIN.


still being present in your body.When you have worked your way

through the whole body, let yourself feelthe breath enter the body through yournose, mouth, and throat. Imagine thesensation of breathing through yourwhole body, as if the body were gently ex-panding as you inhale and contracting asyou exhale. Feel, or imagine, the flow ofenergy through your whole body.

Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga turns on the healing relaxation response by combining gen-tle yoga poses with con-scious breathing. Be-low you will learn fourrestorative yoga posesthat may be practicedon their own or in a sequence.

There are several factors that makerestorative yoga so relaxing. First, eachpose is meant to be held for longer thana few breaths. You can stay in a restora-tive pose for 10 minutes or even longer.The stillness allows the body to dropeven the deepest layers of tension. Sec-ond, restorative poses use props to sup-port your body. Props can include thewall, a chair, a couch, pillows, blankets,towels, or bolsters designed especiallyfor restorative yoga practice. The rightsupport in a pose will make it feel effort-less, so your body can fully let go.

You shouldn’t feel strong sensationsof stretch or strength the way you mightin a more active yoga pose. Stretchingand strengthening, although healthy, areboth forms of tension in the body. Theyare a kind of good stress on the body,asking the body to adapt to the chal-lenges of a pose. But restorative yoga isall about letting go of tension and stress.

Although these poses may look asthough you are doing nothing, this is farfrom the truth. Restorative yoga reststhe body but engages the mind. Thebreathing elements of each pose make

restorative yoga an active process of fo-cusing the mind on healing thoughts,sensations, and emotions.

The order of poses presented here isjust one possible sequence. As you ex-plore the poses, you may find that yourbody prefers a different sequence or thatyou would rather stay longer in one posethan practice several poses for shorterperiods. You can also integrate restora-tive poses into an active yoga session.


>>

1

Kelly McGonigal is the editor in chief of the Inter-national Journal of Yoga Therapy. Visit her at

kellymcgonigal.com.

Adapted with permission by New Harbinger Publi-

cations, Inc. from Yoga for Pain Relief by Kelly

McGonigal, PhD. ©2009 Kelly McGonigal.

(newharbinger.com)

+ For more advice about yoga for chronic pain, go to yogaplus.org/pain.

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Supported Backbend Pose

Supported backbend is a heart-openingpose that reinforces your desire to em-brace life and not let challenges—in-cluding pain—separate you from life.This pose also works magic to releasechronic tension in the back and shoul-ders, undoing postural habits that comefrom spending too much time at a desk,at a computer, or driving.

Supported Bound Angle Pose

This pose relaxes tension in the belly,chest, and shoulders that otherwise canrestrict the breath. Lean a bolster on ablock or other support (such as tele-phone books). Sit in front of the bolsterwith your legs in a diamond shape. Placea pillow or a rolled blanket under eachouter thigh and knee, making sure thatthe legs are fully supported without adeep stretch or strain in the knees, legs,or hips. Lean back onto the bolster sothat you are supported from the lowerback to the back of the head. Rest yourarms wherever is most comfortable.

Now notice the whole front of yourbody relax and gently open as you in-hale. Follow this sensation and feel theease in the front of the body as youbreathe.

Nesting Pose Nesting pose creates asense of security and nurturing. It mayalso be a position you are comfortablesleeping in, making it an excellent pos-ture to practice if you have insomnia orother difficulty sleeping.

Lie on your side, legs bent anddrawn in toward your belly. Rest yourhead on a pillow, and place a pillow or abolster between your knees. Rest yourarms in whatever position feels mostcomfortable. If available, another bol-ster or pillow may be placed behindyour back for an extra sense of support.

Rest in the natural rhythm of yourbreath, observing each inhalation andexhalation as it moves through thebody. Take comfort in the simplicityand effortlessness of this action.

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Sitting, place a bolster or a stack of pillows or blanketsunder slightly bent knees.Place one folded pillow orrolled blanket or towel behindyou; when you lie back, itshould support the upper ribcage, not the lower back. Ifyou need extra support under-neath the lower rib cage and lower back,roll a small towel to support the naturalcurve of the spine. Place a rolled towelor a small blanket to support your headand neck at whatever height is mostcomfortable.

This pose improves the flow of thebreath in the upper chest, rib cage, andbelly. Allow yourself to feel this move-ment as you inhale and exhale. Imag-ine breathing in and out through yourheart center. Visualize the movement ofbreath from your heart to your lungs asyou inhale, and from the lungs back outthrough the heart center as you exhale.


4Supported Forward Bend This poserelaxes the hips and back, unravelingthe stress of daily activities on thespine. Hugging a bolster and restingyour head on its support provides a nat-ural sense of security and comfort.

Sit cross-legged on the floor. Lean for-ward onto the support of a sofa, a chair,or a stack of pillows, blankets, or cush-ions. If you have a bolster, place one endin your lap and the other end on thesofa, the chair, or the stack of support.Rest your head on whatever support isavailable. If you are using the bolster,you can hug it in any way that feels com-

fortable, turning your head to the side.Be sure that whatever support you areusing is high enough and sturdyenough to support you, without creat-ing strain in the back or hips. If you feela strong stretch that is uncomfortableto hold, you need more support.

In this pose, the belly, chest, andback all expand and contract with eachbreath. Feel the movement of the wholetorso as you inhale and exhale. Feel yourbelly and chest gently press into the sup-port of the bolster or pillows as you in-hale. Let the sensation of your breathdeepen the sensation of being hugged.

———These simple relaxation practices

will lead you on the path of ending yoursuffering. Yoga can teach you how to focus your mind to change your experi-ence of physical pain. It can give youback the sense of safety, control, andcourage that you need to move past yourexperience of chronic pain. ■


What We Say MattersJudith Hanson Lasater and

Ike K. Lasater

The Lasaters, both long-termstudents of yoga and Bud-dhism, did not fully appreci-ate and understand the yogaprinciple of satya, or truth,and the Buddhist precept of right speech until theystarted practicing MarshallRosenberg’s Nonviolent

Dancing the Flame of LifeDona Holleman

Don’t be fooled by the flashytitle: this asana manual is adetailed, engaging practicebook rooted in the principlesof “Centered Yoga”—ahatha style focused on balanc-ing the masculine and femi-nine. Inspired by everythingfrom Taoism to the teachingsof B.K.S Iyengar, Hollemanencourages readers to find a“state of peace in the bodythat is neither indulgence norwarfare.”

The core asana sectionbuilds on her best-sellingDancing the Body of Light anddeftly breaks down morethan 200 poses and varia-tions, ranging from the basic(tadasana) to the more ambi-tious (yoganidrasana). Thesupporting chapters clearlyexplain anatomical principlesand offer astute tips for teach-ers; a complementary audioCD expounds on relevanttopics, such as proper breath-ing. Dancing the Flame of Lifeflawlessly weaves the grosswith the subtle.—Kathryn Heagberg

True FoodAnnie B. Bond, Melissa

Breyer, Wendy Gordon

Want to improve your healthand green your life but feeloverwhelmed by all the con-tradictory advice in the info-sphere? Here’s help: TrueFood sifts through the eco-lore to offer you eight simple,well-researched, kitchen- andmarket-ready steps. This es-sential reference book pro-vides not just the how-to-dobut the why-you-should, too.Each chapter focuses on onestep, such as “Eating Local”or “Aim for Organic”; inter-spersed throughout are sea-sonal recipes, nutritional tips,and practical recommenda-tions about shopping andcleaning green. The authorsalso provide convenientcharts, which elucidate every-thing from mercury levels infish, to what organic labels really mean. From the neo-phyte to the veteran on thepath to greener health, TrueFood’s accessible style aims toplease and inform all.—Ruby Wells

The best new reads, CDs, and films for springtime inspirationBOOKS+MEDIA

Moving Melodies

Kundalini Meditation MusicSnatam Kaur, Mirabai Ceiba, and others

Melodic and heartfelt, this compilation exploressacred sound. Each track dwells in a specific in-

tention—healing, prosperity, connecting with the divine femi-nine—while the accompanying booklet provides instructions forchanting and meditation.The otherworldly mantras, vocals, andgongs are an invitation to deepen your practice. —R.W.

Higher & HigherNeshama Carlebach and the Green Pasture

Baptist Church Choir

Neshama Carlebach, a star in the Jewish musicworld, collaborates with a Baptist choir from the Bronx, NY,singing songs mostly written by her late lauded father, RabbiShlomo Carlebach. What lies at the intersection of Jewishthemes and Baptist Gospel? A musical portmanteau that is uncommon, uplifting, and remarkably moving. —R.W.

Communication (NVC), atechnique used in education,international mediation, andinterfaith dialogue. In WhatWe Say Matters they openlyshare their struggles and suc-cesses with NVC practices:distinguishing between feel-ings and needs, requestingrather than demanding,choosing connection overconflict, and finding mutuallysatisfying solutions. Giving aclear, basic explanation ofNVC—punctuated by help-ful charts, exercises, and re-sources—they show how we can put satya and rightspeech into day-to-day prac-tice with our partners, chil-dren, parents, friends, andcolleagues—at home, atwork, and in the world.—Helen Hryndyk

>>


vegetables, and bread-bakingbasics. Get ready to discovera new canvas: Brown doesn’tjust give instructions, heaims to inspire by “acquaint-ing your palate with yourpalette.” —Jancy Langley

Great Yoga RetreatsKristin Rübesamen;

Angelika Taschen (editor)

With a trove of alluring im-ages and light descriptivetext for the travel-planner,Taschen pinpoints theworld’s finest yoga holidaydestinations. From Bhutanto Virginia, there are beauti-ful photographs of well-ap-pointed rooms, asana studiosoverlooking the sea, andlimpid pools aplenty. —R.W.

Yoga: Immortality and Freedom(Princeton Classic Editions)

Mircea Eliade

A new edition of Eliade’sgroundbreaking and schol-arly work on the history, phi-losophy, and practice of yogaoffers readers another chanceto explore the now 50-year-old classic—a beginningpoint for much of Westernstudy on yoga. A fresh intro-duction by scholar DavidWhite offers insight into thepersonal roots of Eliade’s in-spiration. —Rolf Sovik

The Mind Is MightierThan the SwordLama Surya Das

In an intelligent, down-to-earth offering, Lama SuryaDas—one of America’s fore-most Buddhist teachers—mixes stories from pop cul-ture with anecdotes fromlong-gone Buddhist masters.Das takes a 2,500-year-oldtradition and connects it tothe reader’s contemporarylife in a colloquial style thatreads like a captivating con-versation. —Steven Coraor

The Complete Tassajara CookbookRecipes, Techniques, and

Reflections from the Famed

Zen Kitchen

Edward Espe Brown

Replete with more than just recipes, a seasoned Zenchef’s insightful guide blends35 years of work and food-writing with well-explainedcooking techniques, odes to

We can (still) do it!

With Women’s History Month (March) around the corner,we’ve compiled a few picks to inform, inspire, and empowerRosie the Riveter’s yoga-practicing, globally-conscious grand-daughter. —J.L.

For the BodyThe Woman’s Yoga BookAsana and Pranayama for

All Phases of the Menstrual Cycle

Bobby Clennell

Featuring a foreword from Geeta Iyen-gar (B.K.S.’s daughter) and her own il-

lustrations, Clennell offers readers straightforward practicetips based on 30 years of personal experience in this 2007congenial no-nonsense guide to life in the female body.

For the SpiritPray the Devil Back to HellAbigail E. Disney and Gini Reticker

In a powerful incisive film, Disney andReticker juxtapose wrenching footage ofLiberia’s blood-soaked 1990’s civil warwith an understated, inspiring, spirituallyladen narrative of the interfaith women’speace movement that helped end it.

For the HeartCommittedA Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

Elizabeth Gilbert

Like a dear clever friend at Sundaybrunch, Gilbert relays easy enlighten-ing insights on love, marriage, and the

baby(less) carriage. Supported by broad historical researchand couched in her own international Homeland Security-beleaguered second marriage story, Eat, Pray, Love’s au-thor delivers a witty and warm sophomore memoir.

For the FutureHalf the SkyTurning Oppression into Opportunity

for Women Worldwide

Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Two Pulitzer-winning New York Timesjournalists find iron-willed women fromthe brothels of Phnom Penh to the fistula hospitals of Ad-dis Ababa. Before you reach the back cover you’ll yearnand learn to lend a hand in empowering women abroad. ■


-Transformation ProgramA four-week residential experience

Join a community of people devoted to personal growth,

selfless service, and the ongoing Himalayan Institute

projects that benefit humanity. For a brochure and

application e-mail [email protected]

or call 800-822-4547 (press 8) or visit us online.

Self

HimalayanInstitute.org

0 909

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more pranic force will be attracted tothat center. “Intensity of awareness” isanother way of referring to the concen-tration of mental energy. Practicallyspeaking, therefore, the pranic force ismaking the mind become concentrated,and this concentration of mind is con-centrating the pranic force even further.Once this process has begun, it gathersmomentum spontaneously and theprana shakti becomes more and moreconcentrated. This pranic concentrationis seen through the eyes of the mind as a

radiant field of energy. Tantrics call itbindu, an ocean of vibrant, radiant pranashakti compressed in a dot—a point ofreference beyond our normal conceptsof time, space, and the law of causation.Here, the pranic field is so intense, socompact, that it is lit by its own efful-gence. Its healing and nourishing poweris so intense, so awakened and active,that anything—yantra, mantra, man-dala, form, shape, or visual object—thatfalls in this field instantly comes to life.It is through this power that we canbreathe life into any practice—tantric or non-tantric.

Advanced Prana DharanaThe tantric practice of prana dharana,which is established on the firm groundof the tantric version of bhastrika prana-yama, is completed in several steps. Thefirst step has been described in some

detail above: awaken the prana shakti at the ajna chakra with bhastrika-stylebreathing, retain the last inhalation atthe ajna chakra, and rest your aware-ness in the pranic field pulsating there.Through regular practice, you make theprana shakti become stable and com-pact at the ajna chakra. Do not do thispractice for more than a few minutes aday. If it is done accurately and method-ically, a five-minute practice will gener-ate more than enough shakti to rechargeyour entire body and mind. You willhave enough shakti to command yourmind to attend to the object of yourchoice. Not only will your mind returnfrom numberless corners of the world, it will stay at the ajna chakra joyfully.Through prolonged and consistentpractice, prana shakti and the mind be-gin to embrace, nurture, guide, and sup-port each other. As this happens, anyquest—worldly or spiritual—becomeseasy and fulfilling.

Practicing the next three steps ofprana dharana requires a deepening un-derstanding of tantra, especially the se-cret of tantric rituals and why they bringdramatic results. The second step in-volves selecting an object and bringing it into the field of prana shakti concen-trated at the ajna chakra. For example,you could bring an image of sacred fireinto the intense pranic field at the ajnachakra. When it falls into the awakenedand active pranic field, it automaticallycomes to life. No longer an inert, mo-tionless image, it will share the vibrantpulsation of the prana shakti. Then youcould bring this living fire down to thenavel center, and with the power ofmantra, formally place it there. Tantricadepts use unique mantras to furtherfeed and nurture the fire at the navel cen-ter. An understanding of the dynamicsof fire in tantric cosmology forms thebasis for these practices.

The third step of prana dharana

involves the precise application of pranashakti to accomplish a specific purpose.For example, you wish to cultivate heal-ing power—the power to heal yourselfand/or to heal others. Let’s say you wishto boost your strength and stamina. Youwish to restore your vitality and youth-fulness. In that case, you would medi-tate on one of the most powerful healingmantras—the maha mrityunjaya man-tra—while keeping your focus at thenavel center, which is already filled withintense, awakened, and active pranashakti. This third step of the prana dha-rana practice is for healing oneself. If youwish to heal others, you would go on tothe next step.

The fourth step of prana dharana in-volves undertaking and completing atantric practice called purascharana.This practice consists of reciting a man-tra a specific number of times while fo-cusing at the navel center, then makingan offering with the same mantra intothe sacred fire at the navel center. Youwould go into your navel center and,with the exhalation, bring the fullyawakened, active healing force from thenavel center into your nostrils. Fromthere, you would transfer it into a specialhand mudra known as trikhanda mudra.As you dissolve the trikhanda mudra,you would transmit the healing power tothe person or precise aspect of the natu-ral world you wish to heal.

The process of prana dharana as de-scribed in this fourth step can also beused to breathe life into a particular yan-tra, mandala, or mantra. As tantrics affirm, only an awakened mantra ormandala can awaken our minds andhearts. Only a ritual brought to lifethrough the power of prana shakti canheal or nurture ourselves or others. Thepractice of prana dharana is the means ofmaking our practices come to life. Thebeauty of prana dharana is that we bene-fit from it while we are practicing it.Once charged with and guided by thisenergy, we gain the competency to un-dertake any practice, including the onesforbidden to ordinary seekers. ■


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Watch Pandit Tigunait demonstratebhastrika and the first step of prana dha-rana at yogaplus.org/pranadharana.

Living Tantra (PART 2)

(continued from page 35)

Trikhanda mudra can serve as a vehicle for transferring healing power to someoneor something outside of yourself.

One environment. One simple way to care for it.®

www.earthshare.org

How can you help protectthe prairie and the penguin?

Simple. Visit www.earthshare.org and learn how the world’sleading environmental groups are working together under onename. And how easy it is for you to help protect the prairies andthe penguins and the planet.

HI Cameroon The HI Cameroon (HIC)community center is in themidst of the dry season—a six-month period of little to norainfall. From November toApril, municipal water sourcesare severely rationed; peoplemust haul water from pol-luted overused streams; andthe incidence of waterborneand dehydration-related dis-eases greatly increases.

To address this problem,HIC and the Buffalo Arts Stu-dio, a nonprofit cultural cen-ter in Buffalo, NY, installed a30-foot well on HIC EnergyFarming land in the village ofKishong. Now the well facili-tates year-round cultivation ofmedicinal and oilseed cropsand provides public water via aroadside tap. In a place wherewater is precious, a permanentclean-water source will make apowerful difference for villag-ers’ health and quality of life.

Allahabad, IndiaEnergy Farming, a core pieceof HI’s humanitarian pro-gram, focuses on the sustain-able cultivation of oilseedcrops, like castor and Ponga-mia pinnata, to provide greenenergy; increase crop diversifi-cation; and promote organicland-management techniques.

In 2006, the first EF plotswere planted on the 30-acrecampus of the Himalayan Institute in Allahabad. Thisoriginal site has been a test-ing ground for new meth-ods—like intercropping andadvanced composting—andnew crops, like the medicinalherbs turmeric and ginger,found in many HI healthproducts.

This well-established EFsite now serves as both a train-ing center for local farmers inIndia as well as a model forHI community centersaround the world.

Tibetan Refugee SettlementsIn September 2009, monsoonrains drenched the TibetanRabgyeling settlement inSouth India—home to the HI Energy Farming program,where 20 acres of marginalland have been planted withPongamia. These biofuel-yield-ing trees are a source of bothenvironmental and economicregeneration for the local com-munity; but the extreme rain,and the waist-high grass thatcame with it, threatened tochoke the young seedlings.The four Tibetan HI staffmembers recognized thatthey’d need help, so they or-ganized a “Public Contribu-tion Day.” In a tremendousshow of support, dozens of lo-cal Tibetans took to the fields,clearing the grass by hand, orwith machetes. The staff soonorganized several more Pub-lic Contribution Days withover 150 volunteers in total.Thanks to the community’sdedication, the Pongamia proj-ect can continue to take root.


2009 in ReviewApril–JuneJanuary–March

HI Cameroon openedthe Energy FarmingTraining Center andtwo Total HealthCenters.

The Energy Farmingprogram was launchedat the Rabgyeling Tibetan settlement.

HI Press launched thefirst of 24 e-books.

HI led a pilgrimageto Kamakhya, India.

Yoga+ became HI’smembership magazine.

HI released the rejuvenativeherbal formula chyawanprash.

HH Dalai Lama met privately with an HI delegation.

Thanks to the ongoing support of our members and over 100 resident karma yogis, H

News for Himalayan Institute MembersHI BULLETIN

Humanitarian UpdateHI’s humanitarian projects span multiple objectives, cultures, and continents. Here are a few of the ways your membership is helping our global community. —Amanda Masters

Clean drinking water meansgreater quality of life for thevillagers of Kishong.

+ Find more HI humanitarian updates at hiprojects.wordpress.com.

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July–September October–December

The first Organic Gar-dening ApprenticeshipProgram began at HI’sHonesdale campus.

The Oprah Showfeatured HI’s neti pot.

HI India secured a 14-acrecampus in Khajuraho, India.

HI’s residential programwas featured in a NewYork Times article.

HI released Vitamin C and Neti Mist.

HI Mexico establishedits first branch center.

HI continues to be a leading organization in yoga, tantra, humanitarianism, and natural health.

{HAPPENINGS}

Biofeedback to the FutureThanks to portable, sophisticated equipment and a growing bodyof supporting research, biofeedback has become more pre-cise and popular than ever. But it was already a fascinatingscience by the 1960s and ’70s: therapists tinkered with elec-trodes and monitored subtle physiological activities such asbrain waves, muscle tension, and skin temperature, enablingclients to observe and alter their own behavior.

Early leaders in biofeedback even collaborated withadvanced meditation and yoga practitioners, in-cluding Swami Rama, HI’s founder.

Which is why, when the Northeast Re-gional Biofeedback Society came to HIHonesdale, some practitioners felt likethey had come home. According to Dr.Richard Soutar, a lecturer at the Octoberconference, “it’s strange and wonderfulto be back at Swami Rama’s place,where things began.” —Jancy Langley

{BEHIND THE SCENES}

Taste the TraditionIn the early 1980s, Marc Demers was studying physical education in Alberta, Canada, when he took a class that changed his life: yoga. That first course led him to the Himalayan Institute,where he’s been refining his practice and studying vegetarian and ayurvedic cooking ever since.These days, Marc heads up the HI kitchen, which produces three wholesome, balanced meals a day, seven days a week, for 100 to 200 people.

Last October, Marc and his staff revitalized and expanded the menu with classic, well-testedrecipes. “We try to take something useful from everywhere we find it,” he says. The aromatic results—from warm curried dahl to pesto-laced whole wheat pizza—have had the whole cam-pus buzzing. What’s the secret ingredient? “In order for the food to be nourishing and nurtur-ing,” Marc says, “one should possess those qualities while cooking.” —Camilla Padaki ■

The man behind themeals: Marc Demers

A sensor on the fingertipmeasures temperature changes,

while electrodes on the palm monitoractivity in the sweat glands.

Waters’ Chez Panisse Foundationhas also helped launch a sister programin New Orleans, a sustainable food proj-ect at Yale University, and a network of school gardens and holistic culinaryprojects sprouting across the country. In September 2009, the GreensboroChildren’s Museum in North Carolinabroke ground on a new garden, becom-ing the first children’s museum in thecountry to join the movement.

Each garden is created by the chil-dren to be a lovely place and to helpmake their school more beautiful. This isn’t a side effect of the project; it’s oneof the main principles. “Beauty is a lan-guage,” Waters writes. “A beautifullyprepared environment, where deliberatethought has gone into everything fromthe garden paths to the plates on the ta-bles, communicates to children that wecare about them.”

It’s all part of what Waters calls her“delicious revolution.” The secret isthat the seemingly selfish act of wantingto eat delightful food is actually basedon sharing and connecting: people cooktogether, eat together, and work to-gether with their local farmers to build a healthy community.

Will AllenTILLING THE INNER CITY

When Will Allen bought GrowingPower, a nursery in Milwaukee, Wiscon-sin, his plan was to start a small urbanfarm where he could grow produce forsale to the local community. That mod-est vision changed when a group ofneighborhood kids asked him to showthem how to grow their own food. Whatwas meant to be a small for-profit busi-ness has grown into a nonprofit commu-nity food center, offering not just pro-duce but the know-how to grow, pro-cess, market, and distribute sustainablehealthy food. It’s one of the most influ-ential forces in urban farming in the na-tion, if not the world.

Allen, a MacArthur Fellow and a for-mer professional basketball player andmarketing executive, has developed inno-vative holistic techniques for integratingfish farming into his plant-growing opera-tion. Growing Power produces astonish-ing amounts of food and lush vermicom-post in remarkably small spaces—25,000plants, thousands of fish, plus layinghens, goats, rabbits, and turkeys, all ontwo acres of inner-city land. This oasis offresh nutritious food lies in the heart of what Allen calls a “food desert,” butGrowing Power’s message and methodsare spreading far and wide, with spin-offsand partner projects around the nationand a new project launching through theClinton Global Initiative to share themethodology in Africa.

Everything on the small city farm isintegrated: The aquaponics tank notonly grows fish, it also produces nutri-ent-rich water for the tomatoes and saladgreens grown in the greenhouse. Allen’sbeloved worms, which he proudly countsamong his livestock, not only digest mil-lions of pounds of food waste to producenutrient-rich compost, they generate

all the heat needed to keep the green-houses warm and producing vegetablesthroughout a harsh Midwestern winter.But the soil and the food grown on theproperty aren’t an end in themselves;they’re the means—the groundworkupon which strong communities cancome together to solve the profoundproblems of our food system.

“A lot of times I’ve heard, ‘Let’s goin—we have 200 vacant lots—bringsome compost in and throw it down,and everyody’s going to run out of theirhouses and start farming,” Allen told a group of activists in Minneapolis ear-lier this year. “If you’re not able to en-gage the community, nothing else can really be sustained.”

Allen is working to overcome the all-too-common perception—especiallyamong urban youth—that farm workmust be cruel, grueling, or dirty. The6'7" force of nature who appears yearround and all over the country in histrademark sleeveless hooded sweatshirt,has turned the gift for sales that he firstexhibited at corporations like KentuckyFried Chicken to promote somethingmuch more precious than the secretrecipe of 11 herbs and spices: inspira-tion for a community of citizens towork together and take control of theirown food system.

“I don’t build gardens with fences.Everybody’s talking about, ‘You gottaput up a fence to protect the garden.’No. You have to engage the commu-nity,” Allen says.

He sees a future with 50 million newgrowers—not just full-scale farmers but families with rows of pots on theirporches, students turning soil in school-yards, neighbors sharing plots in com-munity gardens. If it works, they won’tjust be growing food. They’ll be grow-ing stronger interdependent communi-ties that rely on and nurture one anotheras surely as the tilapia and lake perchgrowing in Allen’s aquaponics tanks de-pend on the composting worms andfloating watercress that complete theircycle of life. ■ W

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Good-Food Revolution(continued from page 41)


Urban farmer Will Allen believes in thepower of worms and community.

programsHIMALAYAN INSTITUTE

spring/summer 2010

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program calendar

program highlights

yoga practice

yoga philosophy

meditation

ayurveda and health

total health center

residential programs

teacher training

meet our faculty

registration andguest information

7476788082838586878890

Welcome to the Himalayan Institute, the premier center for yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holis-tic health. Our vibrant community sits on a peaceful 400-acre campus in the rolling hills and verdant forests of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. The Institute provides the perfect setting for seminars and retreats, residential programs, holistic health ser-vices, and outdoor activities like hiking, biking, and bird watch-ing. Join students from all over the world in discovering the path to a balanced, integrated, and fulfilling life.

Our diverse programs explore hatha yoga, meditation, ayurveda and wellness, stress reduction, and yoga and tantra philosophy. We also offer yoga teacher trainings, spiritual excursions, medi-tation retreats, and self- transformation residential programs.

Himalayan Institute Program Guide

74 HimalayanInstitute.org

★Tuition-FREE for Himalayan Institute Members

● Tuition-FREE for HI Members with yoga teacher certification

program may 5–9 ■ Pancha Karma ..............................................83 6–6/1 ■ Self-Transformation Program ........................86 7–9 ■ Dynamics of Meditation: The Inward Journey ....82 7–9 ■ When to Practice What: An Exploration

of Hatha Yoga ..............................................79 14–16 ■ Live Your Yoga: Ten Principles

to Guide Your Life ........................................81 14–16 Perspectives on Kundalini: A Spring Conference

from the Kundalini Research Network ...........77 19–23 ■ Pancha Karma .............................................83 21– 23 ■ Swimming with the Current: A Viniyoga

Exploration of Breath, Movement, and Asana .78 21–30 Members’ Homecoming Program .................77 ★ 28–30 ■ Chakras and Asanas: A Journey Inside ...............79

june 2–8 ■ Pancha Karma ..............................................83 3–29 ■ Self-Transformation Program ........................86 4–6 ■ Dynamics of Meditation: The Inward Journey ....82 4–6 ■ Sacred Sequencing: A Prana Flow Weekend

with Maria Garre ...........................................79 10–13 ■ Feed Your Fire: Ignite the Fire of Your Mind

with Susan Taylor ..........................................84 10–13 ■ Total Detox: Reclaim Your

Vital Energy and Focus ...................................... 85 ● 11–13 ■ The Foundation of Yoga: A Study of

the Hatha Yoga Pradipika ..............................79 16–20 ■ Pancha Karma .............................................83 18–20 ■ Journey to OneSelf: The Five Dimensions of

Human Experience with Gary Kraftsow .........79 25–27 ■ Bhakti Yoga: A Taste of Love and

Surrender ......................................................81 25–7/18 ■ 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification

Program .......................................................87

march 3–7 ■ Pancha Karma ..............................................83 4–30 ■ Self-Transformation Program ........................86 5–7 ■ Dynamics of Meditation: The Inward Journey ....82 ★ 12–14 ■ The Art of Self-Care: Discover the

Healing Power of Yoga .................................83 17–21 ■ Pancha Karma ..............................................83 19–21 ■ Loud, Soft, Silent: Exploring the Use of

Sound in Yoga ..............................................78 25–28 ■ Total Detox: Reclaim Your

Vital Energy and Focus .................................85 26–28 ■ The Lost Masters: Our Forgotten

Spiritual History with Linda Johnsen ..............80

april 2–4 ■ Holiday Retreat: Rest, Reflect, & Renew .....82 7–11 ■ Pancha Karma .............................................83 8–5/4 ■ Self-Transformation Program ........................86 9–11 ■ Dynamics of Meditation: The Inward Journey ....82 15–18 ■ Feed Your Fire: Stoke the Fire of Your Body

with Susan Taylor ..........................................84 16–18 ■ The Yoga Sutra: Your Guide to Asana and

Pranayama Practice .......................................78 21–25 ■ Pancha Karma ..............................................83 22–25 ■ Living Ayurveda: The Power of Cleansing .....83 23 – 5/2 ■ 500- HourYoga Teacher Certification

Program—Spring Segment ...........................87 30– 5/2 ■ Living Tantra Series: Tantric Tradition and

Techniques (Part 1 of 6) with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait.........................80

30– 9/30 ■ Organic Gardening Apprenticeship Program .....86

Sample Seminar Schedule 6:00 a.m. group meditation 6:30 a.m. hatha yoga 8:00 a.m. breakfast10:00 a.m. lecture/workshop12:30 p.m. lunch 3:30 p.m. lecture/workshop 6:15 p.m. supper 7:30 p.m. lecture/workshop 9:30 p.m. group meditation A

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july 1–27 ■ Self-Transformation Program ........................86 2–4 ■ Dynamics of Meditation: The Inward Journey ....82 2–12 ■ Special 10-Day Meditation Intensive .................77 7–11 ■ Pancha Karma .............................................83 9–11 ■ Mantra and the Art of Meditation .................82 12–15 ■ 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training:

Teaching Methods .......................................87 15–18 ■ 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training: Yoga

and Ayurveda ...............................................87 16–18 ■ Stress Busters: Practical Tips for a

Hectic Lifestyle .............................................84 21–25 ■ Pancha Karma .............................................83 23–25 ■ Living Tantra Series: Secret of Tantric Rituals

(Part 2 of 6) with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait .....81 26 Guru Purnima: Annual Celebration

in Honor of the Tradition ..............................77

calendar■ Yoga Practice ■ Yoga Philosophy ■ Meditation ■ Ayurveda & Health ■ Residential ■ Teacher Training

P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S



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Join the Living Tantra movement with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. What is tantra? Why is tantra so important in the 21st century? How does tantra complement yoga, ayurveda, and other forms of healing? Why are the promises made by the texts and teachers of these traditions not fully coming true? And how can tantra help these promises become realized once again?

Starting this April, invest in your personal practice. Living Tantra offers the perfect balance between intellectual and experiential learning. It will complete our study of yoga, ayurveda, and other paradigms of health and healing, and empower us to put our knowledge to work in the world around us. Study online or in person. By taking part in the experience you will:

■ Experience and learn to practice principles of tantra that will accelerate your personal transformation and healing

■ Become proficient in tantric techniques for healing and nurturing your family, community, and the natural world

■ Create an enlightened lifestyle where worldly achievement and spiritual fulfillment are not in conflict

■ Significantly enhance your existing knowledge and experience of yoga, meditation, spirituality, ayurveda, and holistic health

Part 1: Tantric Tradition and TechniquesDallas • Miami • Honesdale • Buffalo • St. Louis • Milwaukee • Kripalu • Pittsburgh • Lansing • Washington, DC • Denver • Phoenix • London • Los Angeles • Birmingham • Sao Paulo, Brazil • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

For dates and more information see insert between pages 72 and 73.

Experience Living Tantra online or at any of the live events. Entire course recommended; however, live events can be taken as independent seminars.

> Early registration price: Complete courseComplete course – Online & Live: $2400 (special offer: $1,008) Single sessionsSingle sessions – Live: $400 (special offer: $300)

For complete information & registration: LivingTantra.comRegister now and receive a free Living Tantra T-shirt!*

Unlock the Complete Power of Yoga, Ayurveda, and Meditation Six-Part Series, April 2010–July 2011

TMLiving

with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

* while supplies last; some restrictions apply

TANTRA

800.822.4547 77

Special EventsPerspectives on Kundalini: A Spring Conference from the Kundalini Research NetworkMay 14–16

With Lawrence Edwards, Judith Miller, Jyoti Prevatt, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Barbara Harris Whitfield, Charles L. Whitfield

This conference will offer participants and presenters the rare opportunity to gather and discuss the powerful impact that yoga and meditation practices, spiritual emergence, transcen-dent experiences, and the transformative power of kundalini have on individuals. Through keynote presentations and pan-els of experts we will explore what the process of transforma-tion and change looks like from clinical, research-based, and traditional spiritual and yogic perspectives.

> Cost: $150; $125 if registered on or before March 15, 2010. Add 2 nights’ accommodations (see page 90 for rates).

Members’ Homecoming ProgramMay 21–30

Deepen your yoga practice by tapping into the resources of our spiritual community. Participants rise early for group meditation and yoga, attend classes, and participate daily in five hours of sea-sonal tasks. This program includes the weekend seminars Swim-ming with the Current (May 21–23) and Chakras and Asanas (May 28–30). Open to Himalayan Institute members only.

> Cost: Members $300, including 9 nights’ accommodations (based on double occupancy—see page 90 for rates).

Guru Purnima: Annual Celebration in Honor of the TraditionJuly 26

On this special day, students traditionally come back to their teachers to refresh and rejuvenate. Come and celebrate with the members of your spiritual family! We invite you to join us for the celebration from 7 to 10 p.m. at no charge.

Upcoming Guest TeachersLinda Johnsen is the author of eight books on ancient wisdom traditions, including Lost Masters: The Sages of Ancient Greece and Daughters of the Goddess: The Women Saints of India. See page 80 for full program details.

The Lost Masters: Our Forgotten Spiritual HistoryMarch 26–28

Maria Garre is a senior teacher and director for Shiva Rea’s Samudra School of Living Yoga offering Prana Flow Yoga. She is also the creative yoga director of Ananda Shala in Frederick, MD. See page 79 for full program details.

Sacred Sequencing: A Prana Flow® Weekend June 4–6

Gary Kraftsow has been a pioneer in the transmission of yoga for health, healing, and personal transformation. He began his study of yoga in India with T.K.V. Desi-kachar in 1974. In 1999 he founded the American Viniyoga Institute. See page 79 for full program details.

Journey to OneSelf: The Five Dimensions of Human ExperienceJune 18–20

Special 10-Day Meditation Intensive

Pay for Dynamics of Meditation and get Mantra and the Art of Meditation freeJuly 2–12

Just pay $25 per night for accommodations Sunday to Thurs-day! Participants rise early for group meditation and yoga, attend classes, and participate daily in five hours of karma yoga (selfless service). See page 82 for details on both seminars.

■ Find your core alignment and strength in standing and sitting pos-tures, and learn how to apply that stability and ease to other postures

■ Use pranayama to heighten aware-ness of inner space, and draw the mind to an inner resting place

> Suggested Reading: Yoga Sutra of Patanjali (translation by Ravi Ravin-dra recommended).

> Cost: Members $250; non-members $275. Add 2 nights’ accommodations.

Swimming with the Current: A Viniyoga Exploration of Breath, Movement, and AsanaMay 21–23

With Kathy Ornish

Asana is commonly taught by empha-sizing a precise external form which might not be constructive for an indi-vidual’s body. How can we improve the use of movement in asana to support our body’s individual needs and pro-mote constructive change? Come learn the Viniyoga technique of creating the pose from the inside out. By integrating the breath, movement, and awareness of the spine, we can deepen our poses while deepening our self-awareness. Learn how to:

■ Use the primacy of the breath to initiate movement in the spine during asana

■ Use the breath to stabilize and mobi-lize your structure in asana

■ Adapt the breath to amplify the struc-tural and energetic effects of asana


Y O G A P R A C T I C E


The Art of Self-Care: Discover the Healing Power of YogaMarch 12–14

With Rolf Sovik

See page 83 for more program information.

Loud, Soft, Silent: Exploring the Use of Sound in YogaMarch 19–21

With Kathy Ornish

Sound can be external or internal; it can be loud, soft, or silent. Come explore practices that integrate sound, mantra, and chanting with asana, pranayama, and meditation. Learn how sound can connect you deeper to the koshas— the five dimen-sions of your being. Topics include:

■ Yoga practices that incorporate sound and chanting

■ The panchamaya kosha model in theory and practice

■ The cognitive, emotional, energetic, and symbolic effects of sound


The Yoga Sutra: Your Guide to Asana and Pranayama PracticeApril 16–18

With Sandra Anderson

The three verses of the Yoga Sutra which address asana invite us to explore stability and ease, surrender into effort-lessness, and transcend the limitations of physical awareness. This approach to asana opens the door to awareness of prana, and the expanded inner space of the body. We’ll see and experience how asana and pranayama are the foundation for other practices described in the Yoga Sutra. In this seminar we will:

■ Thoroughly investigate the spe-cific sutras that address asana and pranayama, and understand their place in the Yoga Sutra

■ Explore the play of opposites in asana as a means of creating inner space

For accommodation rates and registration details, see page 90.

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Sacred Sequencing: A Prana Flow® Weekend June 4–6

With Maria Garre

Transform your personal yoga practice into a living prayer—alive with inten-tion and meaning. Through Prana Flow, a transformational vinyasa-based practice created by Shiva Rea, learn how to infuse your personal practice with the sacred each time you step onto the mat. During this seminar you will:

■ Experience Prana Flow classes to awaken dormant energetic patterns and reconnect to the sacred within

■ Learn the Prana Flow wave theory of sequencing

■ Create a personal Prana Flow sequence

> Note: This program is appropriate for experienced practitioners and yoga teachers. Completion of this program is applicable toward Shiva Rea’s 200/300 hour teacher-training certification pro-gram and Yoga Alliance CEUs.


Tuition-Free for Member Teachers

The Foundation of Yoga: A Study of the Hatha Yoga PradipikaJune 11–13


The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the most comprehensive early text describing hatha yoga and its practices. The focus of the text, and of our study, is prana—the innate vital force. We’ll discover the subtle aspects of practice intended to awaken the spiritual power buried deep in the nervous system and mind. In workshop format, we will explore:

■ The tantric origins of hatha yoga■ The purpose and intention of hatha

yoga in spiritual practice■ Purification of the body with three of

the six cleansing practices (shat kriyas)■ Balancing and focusing the oscil-

lating positive and negative energy poles through asanas, pranayamas, and bandhas

> Suggested Reading: The Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Svatmarama (text by Swami Muktibodhananda, Bihar School, recommended).

> Cost: Tuition-free for members hold-ing yoga teacher certification; other members $250; non-members $275. Add 2 nights’ accommodations.

Journey to OneSelf: The Five Dimensions of Human ExperienceJune 18–20

With Gary Kraftsow

Journey to OneSelf is an exploration of panchamaya, the five dimensions of human experience, as described in Vedic texts. The practices and experi-ences of the workshop are intended to:

■ Nourish the physical■ Energize the vital■ Educate the intellect■ Refine the personality■ Fulfill the heart

Using the tools of asana, pranayama, chanting, deep relaxation, meditation, and personal ritual, we will explore the multi-dimensionality of human experience and infuse each dimension with awareness, intention, peace, and commitment.

> Suggested Reading: Yoga for Well-ness and Yoga for Transformation by Gary Kraftsow.


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When to Practice What: An Exploration of Hatha YogaMay 7–9

With Karina Ayn Mirsky

This experiential seminar will explore yoga asana and different hatha yoga styles as means to optimize health and well-being. You will:

■ Learn how different types of postures support the systems of the body

■ Explore how different approaches of hatha yoga, such as restorative, yin, kundalini and vinyasa, affect your somatic systems

■ Understand how different yoga postures and hatha yoga styles affect the doshas and subtle body, and how these correlate to our quality of mind


Tuition-Free for Members

Chakras and Asanas: A Journey InsideMay 28–30

With Shari Friedrichsen

Yoga asanas and breath awareness guide us to the more subtle aspects of our bodies and minds. Exploring the chakras through our asana practice can open the door to a deeper well of experi-ence that invokes our inherent sacred nature. In this seminar, you will:

■ Practice asanas, bandhas, and breath awareness to explore the chakras

■ Learn about the relationship between the body, mind, and chakras

■ Practice asanas that help the body stay grounded and the mind stay calm

> Cost: Tuition-free for members; non-members $275. Add 2 nights’ accom-modations.



Y O G A P H I L O S O P H Y

Living TantraTM Series (Part 1 of 6) Tantric Tradition and Techniques17-City Tour Starts April 16 Honesdale, PA (and via Web) April 30–May 2

With Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

Tantra is the key to a life of fulfillment and prosperity. This seminar is the gateway to a comprehensive under-standing of tantra and how the tantric approach to health, healing, spiritual-ity, and religion empowers us to excel in every aspect of life. The underlying theme is the awakening of kundalini shakti at the navel center, the founda-tion for all forms of tantric practice.

We’ll lay the groundwork for this crucial awakening with the practice of prana dharana. We’ll also explore the difference between tantric and non-tantric versions of yoga, meditation, and religion, and discover how tantra has shaped astrology and ayurveda and influenced the art of India, Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

> Cost and Registration: For more information see insert between pages 72 and 73.

The Lost Masters: Our Forgotten Spiritual History March 26–28

With Linda Johnsen

Yoga ashrams in Europe 2,600 years ago? Famous Greek philosophers studying in India? Jesus in Kashmir? Meditation classes in ancient Rome? Award-winning author Linda Johnsen has uncovered historical evidence of spiritual practices in the ancient West-ern world paralleling the yoga tradition of India. Review the latest findings on the surprising historical links between India and early Christianity, the Magi, and the Druids. We will:

■ Explore teachings of karma and reincarnation as they were taught throughout the ancient Western world

■ Learn why top scholars now acknowl-edge that Druids and yogis were part of the same tradition

■ Discover what Gnostic Christians really believed

■ Practice the style of meditation taught in Rome 2,000 years ago

> Suggested Reading: Lost Masters: Sages of Ancient Greece by Linda Johnsen.


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Live Your Yoga: Ten Principles to Guide Your Life May 14–16

With Irene Petryszak and HI Faculty

Step off the mat and into the world. Yoga is more than postures and breath-ing practices; it’s about self-discovery and exploration. Who are you really? Why do you do the things you do? And how can you change what you want to change? This seminar focuses on the yamas and niyamas, ten principles that comprise the first two steps in the eight-fold path of raja yoga, as described in the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. Come join us in a combination of lecture, discus-sion, and guided hatha and meditation practice. You will learn:

■ How the yamas and niyamas can help you with the many different stages and trials of life

■ How to deal with your problems in a conscious and compassionate way

■ How to apply your personal yoga in daily life

> Suggested Reading: The Royal Path: Practical Lessons on Yoga by Swami Rama; Yoga: Mastering the Basics by Sandra Anderson and Rolf Sovik (pages 224–229).


Tuition-FREE for Member Teachers

The Foundation of Yoga: A Study of the Hatha Yoga PradipikaJune 11–13


See page 79 for more details.

For accommodation rates and registration details, see page 90.

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Transformation Through Love: Bhakti Yoga June 25–27

With Irene Petryszak and Mary Gail Sovik

Bhakti yoga, the path of the heart, is love in its purest and highest form. This path is our connection to the Divine, and it offers a framework in which to transform our worldly relationships—family, friends, colleagues—into deeply sustaining spiritual ones. By establish-ing a relationship with that which is eternal and unchanging within us, we can experience true inner peace and joy.

In this seminar we will explore how to open our hearts through asana, chanting, meditation, stories of sages and saints, and discussion about the path of devotion as described in the Bhagavad Gita and Narada’s Bhakti Sutras—focusing on the principles of love, forgiveness, gratitude, surrender, and selfless service. The timeless path of divine love is as alive and relevant today as it was in the days of the ancient sages. Come learn how you can transform your everyday life from the mundane to the sacred, from the trivial to the profound.

> Suggested Reading: Narada’s Way of Divine Love by Swami Prabhavananda; The Perennial Psychology of the Bhaga-vad Gita by Swami Rama (Chapter Twelve).


Living TantraTM Series (Part 2 of 6) Secret of Tantric Rituals Honesdale, PA (and via Web) July 23–25

With Pandit Rajmani Tiguanit

This is an opportunity to explore the sacred nature of our body and the world around us so we can experience the joy that is our birthright. We will examine the scientific basis for tantric rituals and how these rituals awaken subtle forces of nature, ward off obstacles, and create conditions favorable to both worldly success and spiritual growth.

We will explore both the mystery of the inner fire, which leads to inner awaken-ing and personal empowerment, and the mystery of the fire ceremony, which leads to healing the natural world. We’ll learn how to select and combine ritual ingredients, build a sacred fire, apply the appropriate mantras, and infuse the entire practice with the inner fire residing at the navel center. Major topics include:

■ The science of fire: the formulas for fire ceremonies, the techniques for selecting ingredients, building the fire, and making the offering

■ Why the first three chakras and their physical counterparts are the most afflicted areas in our body, and how tantric rituals can repair this damage

■ Tantric rituals and herbal formulas for creating a new reality and reshap-ing our destiny

■ The power of collective conscious-ness and the role of tantra in creating a peaceful atmosphere in a troubled world

> Cost and Registration: For more information see insert between pages 72 and 73.


M E D I T A T I O N

Mantra and the Art of MeditationJuly 9–11

With Rolf Sovik

Yoga practitioners use a variety of man-tras to protect and guide the mind in meditation. These include the so’ham mantra, mantras given for individual practice, and powerful mantras from ancient scriptures such as the Vedas. But what sort of protection does the mind need? And what sort of guidance do various mantras offer? This weekend seminar will explore the practice of man-tra meditation in depth—with attention both to the methods for using a mantra and the meanings associated with par-ticular mantras. You’ll learn:

■ The real nature of stilling the mind in meditation

■ The role of trustful surrender in medi-tation and daily life

■ The practical foundation leading to mantra meditation

■ How to complete an extended mantra practice


Meditation Retreats

Come anytime and stay as long as you wish! Enjoy our beautiful 400-acre wooded campus, meditate in the pres-ence of the sacred flame, and create a program of renewal and spiritual prac-tice that is right for you. We provide a quiet room, meals, hatha yoga classes, videotaped lectures, and suggestions to make your program enjoyable. Book a wellness service at the Total Health Center for an additional fee. Weekend seminars are not included.

> Cost: Accommodations only.

Dynamics of Meditation®: The Inward JourneyMarch 5–7 , April 9–11, May 7–9, June 4–6, July 2–4

With HI Faculty

Dynamics of Meditation is the Insti-tute’s flagship seminar. Get in touch with your physical vitality, free the forces of your mind, sharpen your intel-lect, and unfold your innate spiritual self. Topics include:

■ How to sit, breathe, relax, and con-centrate in preparation for meditation

■ How to assess your physical, mental, and energetic capacities

■ How to curb the roaming tendencies of the mind

■ How to meditate on the breath and the primordial sound

> Suggested Reading: Meditation and Its Practice by Swami Rama; Moving Inward: The Journey to Meditation by Rolf Sovik.


Holiday Retreat: Rest, Reflect, & RenewApril 2–4

Join us for the holidays! It’s a golden opportunity—join other committed seekers to reflect on the spiritual mean-ing of this special season and to deepen your practice. See Meditation Retreats (right) for more details.

> Cost: Accommodations only.

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Living Ayurveda: The Power of CleansingApril 22–25

With Carrie Demers, MD, James Miles, and HI Faculty

In our fast-paced, over-consuming world, we have lost sight of the impor-tance of clearing toxins from our bodies and minds. We imbibe food and all sorts of sensory and mental impres-sions that are then stored in our cells and memories. This accumulation burdens us, making us physically and mentally run down, and can lead to ill-ness. Cleansing techniques can remove the debris that clogs us, freeing the bodily fluids, vital energy, and the mind to flow with ease. Come learn cleansing tools to use throughout your life. Our experienced staff will provide informa-tion from a variety of sources, including yoga, ayurveda, and eclectic herbalism. Participants will be led through a juice fast and an optional complete intestinal cleanse. Topics that will be covered:

■ The effects of cleansing on consciousness

■ The benefits of juicing ■ Herbs for cleansing the blood, liver,

and intestines ■ The yogic kriyas■ A cleansing diet and the pros and

cons of fasting■ The importance of intestinal cleansing ■ Types of enemas and their uses

> Note: This program begins on Thursday evening and concludes at noon on Sunday. Enrollment is

Pancha Karma March 3–7, March 17–21, April 7–11, April 21–25, May 5–9, May 19–23, June 2–8, June 16–20, July 7–11, July 21–25

Come enjoy ayurveda’s quintessential cleansing and rejuvenation treatment. Pancha karma promotes healing and renewal by eliminating toxins and restoring the free flow of energy in the body. The four-day program includes:

■ Ayurvedic consultation with our holistic physician

■ Daily ayurvedic massage, oil treatments, and steam therapy

■ Daily hatha yoga and meditation instruction

■ Biofeedback session■ Light cleansing diet■ Various cleansing techniques as

prescribed■ Evening lectures on ayurveda,

cleansing, and meditation■ Concluding physician consultation

with lifestyle recommendations

Relax in a chalet-style Guest House surrounded by peaceful wooded grounds. The program begins on Wednesday afternoon and concludes at noon on Sunday. Space is limited to four participants, and fills quickly; reserve in advance through the Hima-layan Institute Total Health Center, 570-647-1500.

> Cost: $1,250. Add $500 for 4 nights’ private accommodations. A $500 deposit is required at the time of registration.

Tuition-FREE for Members

The Art of Self-Care: Discover the Healing Power of Yoga March 12–14

With Rolf Sovik

Modern medicine offers many helpful tools to address symptoms of sickness and injury. But we can supplement medical care and guard against future illness by cultivating healing strategies of self-care. Yoga serves as an integral practice for self-care, leading from suffering to healing, and from healing to self-fulfillment. Explore the theory and techniques of personal health, and de velop a spirit of optimism that will sustain you through any ailment. This weekend retreat will include:

Asana and deep relaxation methods for:■ Recognizing imbalances■ Creating self-acceptance ■ Awakening inherent healing energy ■ Expanding the physical and mental

space for healing

Meditation methods for:■ Seeing the positive potential of illness ■ Cultivating peace and health ■ Practicing healing mantras■ Turning toward trustful surrender


CLEANSING TECHNIQUES CAN REMOVE THE DEBRIS THAT CLOGS US, AND FREE OUR VITAL ENERGY TO FLOW WITH EASE.



limited. All participants will undergo a brief health screening to determine that these cleansing practices are safe for them. This program is not suitable for those who are pregnant or who have gastritis, ulcers, or inflammatory bowel disease.


Stress Busters: Practical Tips for a Hectic LifestyleJuly 16–18

With HI Faculty

Take a weekend to invest in your own well-being. In this day and age of mobile phones, e-mail, and ever-shortening deadlines, we all need a refresher course on how to reduce stress in our busy lives.

Learn and practice simple asanas, breathing and relaxation techniques, and wellness tips selected specifically for today’s yoga-minded corporate types. Walk away from this weekend feeling empowered to bring balance and calm back to your daily life. Learn:

■ Stress buster exercises for home, work, and even the car

■ Powerful breathing techniques to relieve stress

■ Deep relaxation techniques■ The art of joyful movement■ How to replenish your immune system■ Meditation in action

> Suggested reading: The Art of Joy-ful Living by Swami Rama, Freedom from Stress by Phil Nuernberger, PhD, Science of Breath by Swami Rama et al.


A Y U R V E D A & H E A L T H

Upcoming Programs with Susan Taylor, PhD

Ignite the Fire of Your Mind June 10–13

To live intelligently means more than simply cultivating your intellect. Equally important is the ability to tap your intu-ition and inner wisdom. This module of the Feed Your Fire program will help you discover:

■ The principle of creating a balanced mind with diet, breath, and meditation

■ Nutrients and herbs that cultivate and nurture an active, joyful, and vital mind

■ The relationship between your thought patterns and the foods you eat

■ Techniques for enhancing concentra-tion and memory

■ Finding your creative outlet■ Detoxifying your mind—getting rid

of mental clutter

To register for Susan Taylor’s programs, call 978-255-1379 or visit drsusantaylor.com. To reserve accom-modations, call the Himalayan Institute at 800-822-4547.

Feed Your Fire™ Series Eat, Breathe, Meditate for Optimal Metabolism

Dr. Susan Taylor, a nutritional bio-chemist who has trained in yoga sci-ences for the past 30 years, has brought East and West together to create the Feed Your Fire system of healing, resto-ration, and rejuvenation for women.

Stoke the Fire of Your Body April 15–18

You’ll discover how to properly nourish your body so that it fully rejuvenates your brain and your mental energies. In an invigorating teaching program that combines diet, movement, breathing, and meditation, you will:

■ Discover your unique energy pattern■ Gain a new understanding of nutri-

tion and the brain■ Learn how to ignite your metabolism,

balance your hormones, and maintain your optimal weight

■ Create a Personal Vitality Planner■ Enhance your internal and external

beauty■ Learn restorative exercises designed

to infuse your body with vital energy

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Total Health Center Specializing in Ayurvedic and Yogic Techniques

For over 35 years, the Total Health Center has combined Western medicine with Eastern systems of healing in an integrated approach to holistic health. Our therapeutic treatments are designed for accelerated healing, preventive care, and long-lasting vitality. Join us for a comprehensive ayurvedic health program such as Pancha Karma, Total Detox, or Ayurvedic Rejuvenation, or choose from a wide range of à la carte services, including:

Ayurvedic health programs are supervised by Carrie Demers, MD, medical director of the Total Health Center for the last 12 years. A holis-tic physician, board-certified in internal medicine, Dr. Demers integrates modern and holistic approaches to health, including ayurveda, herbs, homeopathy, yoga, nutrition, and lifestyle changes.

Our combined approach to wellness will help you re-establish your natural state of ease and wholeness,

and restore harmony between body and mind.

For a complete list of services, visit: himalayaninstitute.org/totalhealthcenter.

Call ahead to book your appointment: 570-647-1500

■ Therapeutic massage and body treatments■ Biofeedback■ Holistic chiropractic care■ Individualized yoga therapy■ Consultation with an ayurvedic physician

Total Detox: Reclaim Your Vital Energy and FocusMarch 25–28, June 10–13

With Carrie Demers, MD, Mary Cardinal, Shari Friedrichsen, and James Miles

Take advantage of this profound op por-tunity to gain firsthand experi ence of the rejuvenating impact of a balanced, systematic detoxification process. Learn how to optimize the functions of five major cleansing organs: the colon, kid-neys, liver, lungs, and skin.

In this three-day experiential learning for-mat, you will learn how to incor porate the best ayurvedic and yogic cleansing and renewal techniques into your daily life, so that you can once again feel and perform at your best.

The practical program format incor-porates carefully planned exercise, relaxation, self-reflection, self-massage, juicing, and an herbal extract and di etary regime to facilitate total cleansing and detoxification.

> Added Bonus: All participants of the Total Detox Program will receive a free massage from our Total Health Center.

> Note: Space is limited. This program is not open to participants in any of the Himalayan Institute Residential Programs, including the Self-Trans-formation Program.


R E S I D E N T I A L P R O G R A M S


Self-Transformation Program™March 4–30, April 8–May 4, May 6–June 1, June 3–29, July 1–27

Learn and practice proven techniques for transforming your habits and creat-ing a healthier lifestyle in this power-ful four-week residential program. Attend the Institute’s popular weekend seminars and participate in daily yoga classes and progressive study sessions on the body, breath, mind, and soul. With four to five hours of karma yoga (selfless service) a day, you become an integral part of the community, while learning to maintain your practice in the midst of daily activities.

> Cost: Members $750; non-members $825.

10-Day Residential Program

This program includes two weekend seminars, five hours of karma yoga on weekdays, and daily yoga classes and practicums. Begin on any Friday and stay through the following Sunday.

> Cost: Members $400; non-members $440.

Residential Internship Program

If you wish to make a long-term com-mitment to self-transformation and service, join our vibrant community of spiritual seekers. As a resident, you will enjoy numerous educational opportuni-ties, share in daily karma yoga, support our humanitarian efforts, and practice time-tested yoga disciplines. Begin with

Immerse yourself in a community of people devoted to personal growth, selfless service, and the ongoing humanitarian projects of the Himalayan Institute.

a month-long Self-Transformation Pro-gram, included in the cost.

> Cost: $3,000 for one year. Internships of three to nine months are also avail-able; cost is $300 per month after the Self-Transformation Program.

Organic Gardening Apprenticeship ProgramApril 30–September 30

Learn and practice the art of organic gardening while participating in the Himalayan Institute Residential Pro-gram. This five-month apprenticeship provides hands-on experience and train-ing in organic gardening techniques, as well as the full range of educational programs and community activities available to Institute residents. We will focus on a variety of organic methods for composting, mulching, seed propaga-tion, greenhouse techniques, plant selec-tion, crop planning, bed preparation, soil types, planting calendars, pest and pathogen control, seed saving, irrigation, and cultivation. The program begins with a month-long Self-Transformation Program, included in the cost.

> Cost: $1,200 for five-month program. Scholarships are available for quali-fied students.

All residential programs are by ap plication only. Cost includes accommodations and vegetarian meals. To apply or learn more, call 570-253-5551 ext. 3018 or e-mail [email protected].

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Dedicated to a tradition of excellence in teaching for 35 years, the Himalayan Institute offers yoga teachers compre-hensive and systematic training in classi-cal yoga. We teach yogic techniques for body, breath, mind, and spirit in 200- and 500-hour certification programs.

Our program topics include system-atic meditation training, quality asana instruction, training in pranayama and relaxation techniques, therapeutic yoga, yoga philosophy and psychology, anatomy, diet, and lifestyle.

The Himalayan Institute is a registered school with Yoga Alliance, meeting the requirement for national registration at both the 200- and 500-hour levels.

200-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification ProgramThree-Week Training IntensiveJune 25–July 18

With Rolf Sovik, Sandra Anderson, Shari Friedrichsen, Carrie Demers, MD, and HI Faculty

Includes theory and practice of all aspects of yoga, teaching techniques, introduction to Sanskrit, anatomy and physiology, stress management, and mantra meditation. Additional require-ments include assigned reading, home study, exams, meditation journal, and a teaching evaluation. See hita.org for more information on course content. Participation is by application only.

> Note: This training includes Teach-ing Methods (July 12–July15) and Yoga and Ayurveda (July 15–July 18)

> Cost: Tuition $2,400; application fee and HI membership (nonrefundable) $100; accommodations $50/night; books (approximate) $280.

500-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification ProgramSpring Segment: April 23–May 2Summer Segment: August 6–15

With Rolf Sovik, Sandra Anderson, Shari Friedrichsen, and HI Faculty

Two 10-day segments (spring and sum-mer) include all contact-hour require-ments for advanced teacher training. Students may begin their training with either segment. See hita.org for more information.

> Prerequisites: 200-hour certification or equivalent and a regular practice. Open to students of all traditions. Participation is by application only.

> Cost: Tuition $1,500 per segment; application fee and HI membership (nonrefundable) $100; accommoda-tions $50/night.

T E A C H E R T R A I N I N G P R O G R A M S

How to apply: To download an application, visit hita.org. For more information and to reserve your accommodations, call 800-822-4547 (press 6).

Study in India: 200- and 500-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification Programs February 2011

Immerse yourself in the spirit of yoga and imbibe the wisdom of an unbroken spiritual lineage in its homeland. Both the 200-hour and the 500-hour training programs will be offered at our garden campus on the bank of the Ganga in Alla-habad, India. These programs include visits to shrines and sacred sites. For more information visit hita.org.

> Cost: Call 800-822-4547 for more information.

800.822.4547 87

Registered Yoga School


facultymeet our

Greg Capitolo Carrie DemersMary Cardinal James (Slim) MilesSarah GoddardShari FriedrichsenSandra Anderson

Sri Swami RamaFounder

One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and human-itarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. Although he left his body in 1996, his teachings live on in his students and in his books.

Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhDSpiritual Head

Chairman and Spiritual Head of the Himalayan Institute, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait is the successor to Sri Swami Rama. Family tradition gave him access to a vast range of spiritual wisdom preserved in both the written and the oral

traditions. As a young man, he lived and studied with renowned adepts before meeting his spiritual master, Swami Rama of the Himalayas. Pandit Tigunait is fluent in both Vedic and Classical Sanskrit and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the scriptures. He holds a doctorate in Sanskrit from the University of Allahabad, and another in Oriental Studies from the University of Pennsyl-vania. He has written 14 books and has lectured and taught worldwide for more than 30 years.

Sandra AndersonCo-author of the award-winning Yoga: Mastering the Basics and a senior editor for Yoga+, Sandra Anderson’s work draws on her studies of traditional yoga texts and her extensive visits to India, where she conducts an annual yoga teacher training program. Sandra holds a degree in geology and began her stud-ies in yoga while working in the environ-mental protection field. Initiated into the Himalayan tradition in 1988, she lives at HI and teaches all aspects of yoga.

Greg CapitoloGreg Capitolo began practicing hatha yoga and meditation in 1994. He studied with several experienced yoga teachers while working in accounting, finance, and IT. After completing the Himalayan Institute’s teacher training program in 2005, Greg began teaching yoga classes at corporations such as Oracle and Sybase. In 2006, Greg took residence at HI, where he currently serves as the Director of Finance and Information.

Mary CardinalA yoga teacher and educator specializ-ing in therapeutic yoga, Mary Cardinal serves as the yoga therapy coordinator for the Total Health Center at the Himalayan Institute’s headquarters

in Honesdale, PA. She is the former coordinator of the Himalayan Insti-tute Teachers Association, and holds degrees and certifi cation in both tradi-tional and Montessori education.

Carrie Demers, MDBoard-certified in internal medicine, Carrie Demers, MD, is a holistic physi-cian who blends modern medicine with traditional approaches to health. After receiving her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Demers went on to study massage, homeopathy, nutrition, herbal medicine, yoga, and ayurveda. She has been the Director of the Himalayan Institute Total Health Center for the last 12 years. Widely recognized for her expertise in holistic health, Dr. Demers has been inter-viewed by numerous magazines and news papers. She lectures nationally on holistic health and ayurveda.

Shari FriedrichsenShari Friedrichsen has been teaching yoga for over three decades. She is a key facilitator at the teacher training programs at Santa Monica Yoga and the Himalayan Institute. Shari has studied asana and meditation with respected teachers like Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Amma Sri Karunamayi, B.K.S. Iyengar, and Judith Lasater. As a subtle anatomy

800.822.4547 89Deborah WilloughbyRolf Sovik Ishan TigunaitKathy Ornish Irene (Aradhana) PetryszakJames (Slim) Miles Karina Ayn Mirsky

expert, her unique style integrates the breath, proper alignment, and visualiza-tions to draw the student deep into the inner experience of each posture.

Sarah GoddardSarah Goddard earned a master’s degree in materials engineering and completed an eight-year career prior to joining the Himalayan Institute in 2004. A student of yoga for over 10 years, she has taught yoga in corporate, clinical, and studio settings. Sarah currently serves as the Program Manager for HI.

James (Slim) MilesAn herbalist and natural health consul-tant, Slim Miles has worked in the natu-ral foods industry for almost 20 years. He served as the Director of Production and National Herbal Education at Gaia Herbs before coming to the Himalayan Institute in 1998, where he teaches herbal medicine, ayurveda, homeopathy, aro-matherapy, and cleansing for health. As HI Head of Research and Development, Slim customizes herbal supplements and formulates Himala yan Institute products.

Karina Ayn Mirsky A certified teacher of Rod Stryker’s ParaYoga, Karina Ayn Mirsky is the director of Sangha Yoga in Kalamazoo, MI. She draws on her experiences as a performance artist, massage therapist, and cancer survivor to convey yoga as a therapeutic science and catalyst for personal transformation. Karina was featured in the March 2008 issue of Yoga Journal as one of 21 teachers under the age of 40 who are shaping the future of yoga in America.

Kathy (K.O.) OrnishKathy Ornish is a certified yoga thera-pist and teacher through Gary Kraft-sow’s American Viniyoga Institute (AVI), a certified ParaYoga teacher, and has studied in the Iyengar and Himalayan Institute traditions. She is a consultant at the Preventative Medi-cine Research Institute in California and is a program assistant in the Foun-dations for Yoga Ther apy program at AVI. Kathy has a yoga therapy practice and teaches group classes in East Lan-sing, Michigan.

Irene (Aradhana) PetryszakA senior editor of Yoga+, Irene Pet-ryszak served as the Chairman of the Himalayan Institute from 1996 to 2008. She holds a master’s degree in Eastern studies, and has studied and practiced yoga for 30 years in the United States and India under the guid-ance of Swami Rama and Pandit Raj-mani Tigunait. She teaches meditation and yoga philosophy at HI.

Rolf Sovik, PsyDPresident and Spiritual Director of the Himalayan Institute, and a clinical psy-chologist in private practice, Rolf Sovik has studied yoga in the United States, India, and Nepal, and holds degrees in philos ophy, music, Eastern studies, and clinical psychology. Co-director of the Hima layan Institute of Buffalo, he began his practice of yoga in 1972, and was initiated as a pandit in the Himalayan tradition in 1987. He is the author of Moving Inward, co-author of the award-winning Yoga: Mastering the Basics, and a columnist for Yoga+.

Mary Gail SovikCo-director of the Himalayan Institute in Buffalo, NY, Mary Gail Sovik has studied yoga since 1973 under the guidance of Swami Rama and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in guidance counseling. She teaches meditation and guides women’s spirituality groups in Buffalo.

Ishan TigunaitSon of Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ishan Tigunait received his first spiri-tual lessons from Swami Rama. He earned a degree in computer engineer-ing and worked for IBM before return-ing to the Institute to head the Energy Farming initiative, which provides sustainable rural empowerment for communities in developing countries. Ishan now serves as Director of Stra-tegic Development for the Himalayan Institute and spearheads the expan-sion of the Institute’s humanitarian projects around the world.

Deborah WilloughbyThe founding editor of Yoga+, Deborah Willoughby holds a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Virginia. After a career in Washington, DC, as a writer and editor, she turned her attention full-time to the study and practice of yoga. She has studied with Swami Rama and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait in both the United States and India, and served as President of the Hima layan Institute from 1994 to 2008. She currently teaches meditation, yoga philosophy, and Vedanta at the Honesdale campus.

Deborah WilloughbyRolf Sovik Ishan TigunaitIrene (Aradhana) Petryszak Mary Gail SovikKarina Ayn Mirsky Kathy (K.O.) Ornish



Register…

OnlineHimalayanInstitute.org

By phone800-822-4547

Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. EST

By [email protected]

AccommodationsAccommodations include vegetarian meals, hatha yoga classes, and full use of guest facilities. Please make your reservations at least two weeks in advance.

Regular accommodations(per person, per night)

Pricing Member Non-Member

Dormitory $65 $75Standard Double $75 $95Standard Single $115 $150

Deluxe accommodations (Single occupancy rate below; $65 per additional guest*)


Deluxe with semi-private bath $150 $180Deluxe with private bath $180 $210Deluxe Suite with private bath $210 $240

Guest House (per night; up to 3 adults*)


Guest House $240 $270

*Families with children: Please call for specifics on your accommodation options and class attendance policies. Children ages 6-13 pay half price for meals; children 5 and under stay for free.

Room DescriptionsDormitory: Separate dorms for men and women accommodate up to 18 guests; bunk beds only; shared hall bath. (We cannot guarantee lower bunks. If you are unable to use an upper bunk, please select another type of accommodation.)

Standard Double: Double occupancy room with two twin beds; sink in room; shared hall bath. There are a limited number of rooms with a full bed; please make reservations in advance.

Standard Single: Private room with twin bed(s); sink in room; shared hall bath.

Deluxe with semi-private bath: Double occupancy; sink in room; shared bath.

Deluxe with private bath: Full bed; private bath.

Deluxe Suite: Full bed; private bath; sitting area with sleep sofa.

Guest House: Chalet-style two-bed-room apartment with private bath; small living room/sitting area with sleep sofa; kitchenette with refrigerator (no cooking facilities).

Solo travelers: If you are traveling alone and have reserved a shared room (double), we will assign a roommate of the same gender.

MealsThe Institute’s nutritionally balanced veg-etarian meals are always freshly prepared by our kitchen staff and served with homemade bread. When possible, we serve food grown in our organic garden.

Breakfast consists mainly of hot cereals (cooked grains), yogurt, and fresh fruit.

Lunch is the main meal of the day; it typically includes rice, legumes (dahl), vegetables (subzi), and salad.Supper is light, consisting of soup, a side dish, and fresh fruit.

Plan your experiencePaymentFor the total cost of your stay, add the cost of accommodations to the program tuition (indicated at the end of each program description). Full payment is required at time of registration and can be made with VISA, MasterCard, AMEX or Discover.

Cancellations/Refunds: All monies will be refunded in full, less a $75 pro-cessing fee, if you cancel 24 hours or more prior to your arrival date. If you cancel within 24 hours of your arrival date, all monies will be refunded, less a $250 processing fee. A refund is not available if you cancel on the work-shop’s arrival day, if you do not show up, or if you leave an event early for any reason. The Himalayan Institute re serves the right to substitute faculty for any event and to cancel any program at any time. Upon cancellation, you will be given a complete refund.

Discounts: In addition to the 10% membership discount, we offer an optional student and senior (65+) dis-count of 10% on most programs and accommodations. Discounted group rates are also available. Please call 800-822-4547 for more information.

Financial Assistance: The Himalayan Institute endeavors to make spiritual and educational programs available to everyone. We offer some financial assistance to students who would oth-erwise be unable to attend a program. Scholarships are by application only; deadlines apply. Call 800-822-4547 to request an application.

registrationand guest information

800.822.4547 91

Arrival and DepartureWeekend seminars generally begin on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. and conclude Sunday at lunch, unless otherwise noted in the seminar description.

Check-in time is after 2:00 p.m. on day of arrival. If arriving after the front desk closes, check-in instructions will be left for you at the reception area. Supper is served from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m; if you are unable to arrive by 6:40 p.m., please plan to have supper before arriving at the Institute.

Check-out time is 2:00 p.m. on day of departure.

What to Bring: The Institute provides bed linens and towels. Please bring your own toiletries, including soap, tooth-paste, bathrobe, slippers, etc. You may also wish to bring a flashlight, hatha yoga mat, and umbrella.

Dress: Modest, casual, and comfortable clothing is recommended.

Guest FacilitiesWith the exception of the Guest House, rooms are located in the main building, a former Catholic seminary. In the tradition of retreat-style hous-ing, our accommodations are modest, without the interruptions of television, telephone, or radio.

Wireless Internet: Access is available in many public areas of the Institute.

Himalayan Institute Total Health Center: A range of wellness treatments and health services—including thera-peutic massage, ayurvedic consultations, biofeedback, and yoga therapy—are available by appointment. Call ahead to book your treatment: 570-647-1500.

Bookstore: Our well-stocked campus bookstore carries an extensive collection of books, DVDs, CDs, yoga attire and

accessories, products from our Total Health line, and much more.

Humanitarian trAID Bazaar: At our gallery-style bazaar, you can learn more about our global humanitarian projects and purchase gift items crafted by arti-sans from around the world, including Sacred Link Jewelry, wood carvings, and original paintings.

Wellspring Homeopathic Pharmacy specializes in natural health care prod-ucts—homeopathic remedies, herbal extracts, nutritional supplements, flower essences, and personalized ser-vices—to help heal the whole person.

Hiking Trails: Our peaceful campus is surrounded by 400 acres of woods and meadows. We recommend that you bring sturdy footwear to explore the natural beauty of our trails.

Getting HereDrivingThe Himalayan Institute is located in northeast Pennsylvania at: 952 Bethany Turnpike Honesdale, PA 18431

Enter the above destination in Yahoo or Google maps or visit himalayaninstitute.org/directions.

Global positioning coordinates (GPS)North: 41.65250 West: 75.29916

Approximate driving times from major nearby cities:Scranton, PA 45 minutesNew York, NY 2 hours, 30 minutesPhiladelphia, PA 2 hours, 45 minutesBoston, MA 5 hoursWashington, DC 5 hours

By Air and by LandWilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP) is the nearest commercial airport, approximately one hour’s drive by car.

Other nearby airports include:■ Newark Liberty International

Airport, NJ (EWR)■ JFK International Airport, NY (JFK)■ LaGuardia Airport, NY (LGA)■ Philadelphia International

Airport, PA (PHL)

Buses run from New York City’s Port Authority to downtown Honesdale via Shortline Bus: coachusa.com/shortline; 800-631-8405.

Taxi via Maple City Transit from AVP airport to the Institute is approximately $80 one way, per person ($10 for each additional person, up to 4 people) and must be arranged in advance. Taxi from the bus stop in Honesdale is about $16, one way. Confirm rates when making reservations (credit cards not accepted): 570-253-3944.

Car Rental: The Institute has arranged special rates for our guests with Enter-prise Rent-A-Car (reserve in advance and mention the Himalayan Institute); visit enterprise.com or call 570-253-3844 for details.

Himalayan Institute Branch Centers offer programs, services, products, and humanitarian projects around the globe.

In the US:Honesdale, PA; Buffalo, NY;

Pittsburgh, PA

International:India, Cameroon,

Great Britain, Curacao, Malaysia

Sacred Link Affiliates are like-minded yoga studios and organizations offering a variety of programs and services.

Visit himalayaninstitute.org for more information on our Branch Centers and Affiliates.


HEAVEN ON EARTH YOGA INSTITUTE RYS,300-HR (500 for RYT’s) Yoga TherapyTraining: March 2010 Montreal, July 2010Hamilton, 200-HR YTT 7 Months/8 Week-ends October–May. Accommodations, Or-ganic vegan meals available. Director KarenHeaven Claffey, E-RYT 500. (888) 465-2736;www.heavenonearthyoga.com

ASHEVILLE YOGA CENTER offers 200 and 500hour YA certification programs: 9 months; 5 days; 23 days. Children's, prenatal, yin, ashtanga, more. North Carolina, Tennessee,Florida (828) 254-0380; youryoga.com

TEACH CHILDREN YOGA 200-hour RYS fo-cused on children/families. Home Study Guideavailable. Includes professional mentoring.www.globalfamilyyoga.org or 312-324-3119

ClassifiedsB O O K S & P E R I O D I C A L S

YOGA AND JUDAISM, SECOND EDITION.Steven J. Gold. Revised and expanded secondedition of this underground classic. Learnabout yoga beyond the mat and Judaismbeyond religion, and the many connectionsbetween these two ancient spiritual traditions.Includes theory and practice of yoga and Jewishmeditation, with new material on HebrewMantras and Jewish Healing Meditation.Available at http://stores.lulu.com/yajc,Amazon, etc...

S C H O O L S / T R A I N I N G

SHARING YOGA TEACHER TRAINING. Certi-fication. 200-hr Yoga Alliance. One weekend amonth. Payment plans. One hour from Boston.(603) 630-5576; www.SharingYoga.com

NATARAJ BOOKS 15,000 TITLESYoga, vedic astrology, ayurveda, religion,

children’s comics, language learning booksand much more. Write for free

catalog to: NATARAJ BOOKS, 7073Brookfield Plaza, Springfield, VA 22150.

Phone703-455-4996,email:[email protected]

Web: www.natarajbooks.com

kripalu.org stockbridge, ma 800.741.7353

kripalu yoga teacher trainingwhat does your potential look like?The best yoga education provides a

solid foundation from which students

can grow into their highest potential.

200- and 500-hour certification

get online today. dates and details, applications, testimonials

kripalu.org/yogaschool

May 1-30, 2010October 2-31, 2010

Over 15,000 Yoga Teachers Trained Since 1969Certificate Upon Graduation

(530) 272-9322(800) 469-YOGAwww.sivananda.org/yogafarm

SAVANNAH YOGA CENTER 200-HR TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM.

Twice a year. April and October.Extensive and Affordable.

Call (912) 232-2994. www.savannahyoga.com.

R E T R E AT S

SWIMMING WITH WILD DOLPHINS. The ultimate Human-Dolphin Connection. Medi-tative, healing Caribbean Island Retreats.Yoga, healthy food, Atlantean legends.www.wildquest.com 1-800-326-1618

THAILAND - KOH SAMUI Health Oasis Resort.Fasting Colon cleansing, Candida, Naturo-pathy, Courses in Reiki, Thai Massage, Yoga.www.healthoasisresort.com

RETREAT TO BELIZE! Raised wooden plat-form overlooking Caribbean on Caye Caulker.Suitable for yoga, meditation, martial artsretreats February-May 2010. Combine innerexploration with eco-adventures: reef snorkel-ing, diving, Mayan ruins, more. Teachers orgroup leaders contact 207-729-7883 or go to greatislandyoga.com

Y O G A J E W E L RY


SACRED ART YOGA. Teacher Training,Workshops and Retreats. 200/500 Hour RYT: Part 1–April 16-25, Part 2–June 4-13. (713) 526-6595; www.sacredartyoga.com

H O L I S T I C T O O L S

BECOME A GRAPHOLOGIST Earn extra money.Be a handwriting analysis expert. Home studycourse. Holistic approach to serve yourselfand others by revealing deep aspects of per-sonalities. [email protected],www.handwritingscience.com

TRANSFORMMYSELF.COM is your Market-place for personal development. The web’s bestresource for your self-improvement needs.Discover a wide variety of e-books & e-coursesdesigned to help you toward growth andimprovement in almost any area of your life. We are your e-Book store for all your self-improvement needs. Visit us atwww.TransformMyself.com.

YOGA STRAPS TO BRIDGE THEGAPS.

Practice Straps carries a full range of yoga strapsto meet your practice needs. Free shipping over $25.

www.PracticeStraps.comStudio/Teacher discounts (800) 395-4287

MINDFULNESS MANTLESa Gift for your Soul

Shawls handknit in Solitudefrom natural fibers and gemstones

to embrace you with earth energy & quiet hearttools for centering, making vital connections,

and embodying change. www.onslenderthreads.com/yoga

PERU ADVENTUREMAY 24–JUNE 4, 2010

Ten days, includes Machu Picchu, Cusco,and other beautiful Peruvian sights.

Daily yoga, organic cuisine, Andean culture. No Yoga Experience Necessary.

www.variyoga.com/peru [email protected]

TROPICAL ESCAPES“Real Retreats, Authentic Adventures” Caribbean Yoga Retreats: Nine venues

Individuals & Groups Welcome!St. Lucia, Jamaica, Dominica

[email protected]


Yoga + Joyful Living (ISSN 1055-7911) is published everyquarter by the Himalayan Institute, a nonprofit organiza-tion. The offices of Yoga + Joyful Living are located at 952Bethany Turnpike, Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431. (570)253-4929. Yoga + Joyful Living is published to promote theauthentic teachings and practices of yoga, the harmony ofexisting faiths and religions, and self-discipline for individ-ual growth on three levels: spiritual, mental, and physical.

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FROMTHESAGES

Whatever moves in this changing world is enveloped by Isha.Enjoy it but claim nothing. Do not covet any man’s wealth.—Isha Upanishad (verse 1)

he 18 mantras of the Isha Upanishad contain the key toall secret sciences and higher knowledge. Reflection onthe first mantra gives us an understanding of ideals and

aspirations that will enrich our lives. The whole universe is immersed in Isha (God). We forget

that God is omnipresent, that everything belongs to God, andthat we have nothing of our own. Ignoring this truth, we be-come so attached to the world of our creation that in the in-evitable flux of change we suffer intense pain and anxiety at thethought of separation from our imagined possessions. The ever-blowing wind of change quickly transforms everything in thisworld, yet a changeless power supports and nourishes all cre-ation.

The objects of the world can be most enjoyed in an attitudeof perfect non-attachment. When pleasures are enjoyed merelyfor their own sake, we become selfishly attached to them—thisdemeans our character and sets us up for future suffering. Butwhen we enjoy the objects of the world in the spirit of detach-ment, they become a means for higher achievement.

Covetousness is a form of attachment. To overcome attach-ment, understand that God is everywhere and cultivate detach-ment by pondering the perishable nature of both the body andthe world. This mortal body and its transient enjoyments arenot the ultimate aim in life.

Finally, do not rob anyone of his property or rights. Due toignorance and lack of spiritual practice, people cast greedy eyeson the property of others with the thought of having it for them-selves. Greed and acquisitiveness cause unhappiness. Moreover,the universe is immersed in God, and nothing really belongs tous. Why then should anyone crave the possessions of others?Who can claim wealth to be his permanent possession?

The ideals embodied in this first mantra of the Isha Upan-ishad nourish our understanding and spiritual practice: see thesame God in all and everywhere, perform actions and enjoy theworld without attachment, and do not deprive others of theirrights. The highest good, for both individuals and society, flowfrom these ideals. ■

Translation and commentary by Swami Rama;

adapted from Book of Wisdom: Ishopanishad.

¤ÀŸ ΔŸ–Òamidam –arvam æatki†ca jagatyŸº úagat |tena tyaktena bhu†j¤thŸ mŸ g‡dhaÅ kasyasviddhanam ||

Listen to this verse in Sanskritat yogaplus.org/ishopanishad1.

T

96 yoga+joyful living

Anatomy ofHatha Yoga

A Manual for Students, Teachers,and Practitioners

byH. David Coulter

With a Foreword by

Timothy McCall, M.D.

Publisher:Body and Breath Inc.

US $29.95 retail

Distributor:Cardinal Publishers Group, 2402 N. Shadeland Ave., Suite A, Indianapolis, IN 46219

toll free: (800) 296-0481 tel: (317) 352-8200 fax: (317) 352-8202 www.cardinalpub.com

Anatomy of Hatha Yoga is the first modern authoritative sourcethat correlates the study of hatha yoga with anatomy and physi-ology. Yoga teachers, personal trainers, medical therapists, or any-one who is curious or troubled about how the body responds tostretching and exercise will find in this book a cornucopia—partly new and partly old—of readable and reliable information.It was written and edited to meet the needs of a general audiencelargely unschooled in the biomedical sciences, and yet to attract andchallenge the interests of medical professionals.

—Body and Breath Inc.

Revised Edition

Figure 10.4b. A dissection ofthe peripheral nervous system(adapted from Sappey, 1889)

Winner of the Benjamin Franklin Awardfor Health, Wellness, and

Nutrition

Over 100,000 copies sold

Praise for Anatomy of Hatha Yoga

“The result of an obvious labor of love, Anatomy of Hatha Yoga explains hatha yoga in

demystified, scientific terms while at the same time honoring its traditions. It should

go a long way to helping yoga achieve the scientific recognition it deserves. Useful as

both a textbook and reference, this work is a book that all serious yoga teachers and

practitioners will want on their shelves. It will also be welcomed by sympathetic

physicians—and there are more of us all the time—as well as physical therapists and

other health professionals.”

—Timothy McCall, M. D., author of Examining Your Doctor:

A Patient’s Guide to Avoiding Harmful Medical Care

(from the foreword to Anatomy of Hatha Yoga)

“Anatomy of Hatha Yoga will be the bible for yoga instructors and practitioners who are seeking

in-depth knowledge explaining the anatomy and physiology of their discipline. It will be years, if

ever, before anything comes close to surpassing it.”

—Michael J. Alter, author of Science of Flexibility and Sports Stretch

“Anatomy of Hatha Yoga by Dr. David Coulter contains useful information not only

for yoga instructors, but for anyone working with the musculoskeletal system—

physical therapists, bodywork therapists, chiropractors, personal trainers, and mas-

sage therapists. I recommend it to everyone who does any kind of bodywork.”

—Ohashi, author of Do-It-Yourself Shiatsu, Reading the Body, and The Ohashi

Bodywork Book

“. . . this ranks as one of the most impressive books to come our way in the last several years. . .

Advanced students and yoga teachers will want Anatomy of Hatha Yoga as a desk reference and

will find themselves consulting it repeatedly in the years ahead.”

—Phil Catalfo, Yoga Journal

“Coulter uses anatomy to illuminate the structure and execution of the poses and, at

the same time, brings the anatomy alive through the poses and selected exercises. . .

if you are a Yoga therapist or teacher, or a student who enjoys breaking down the

poses and putting them back together again, then you will most definitely want a

copy of this book to refer to over and over again.”

—Richard Rosen, International Journal of Yoga Therapy

“The book is certainly exhaustive and comprehensive in its scope and breadth, offer-

ing insights into such kriyas, and more subtle aspects of Yoga practice such as mudras and

bandhas from a Yogic as well as from a Western scientific point of view.”

—Jane Sill, Yoga & Health (UK)

“Every posture is analyzed exhaustively in terms of the muscle and joint actions

involved, and there are many tips and observations that will help the student to

improve his/her yoga practice.”

—Ruth StC Gilmore, Spectrum (UK)

“(Coulter) leads the reader through the intricacies of anatomy systematically, with a

watchful eye on the goal: to understand yoga practice better. . . For example, three ways

to accomplish the sometimes awkward feat of isolating the rectus abdominis muscles in nauli

kriya are explained in a section on abdominopelvic exercises.”

—Rolf Sovik, Yoga International

“Coulter’s book is by far the most comprehensive and stands as a definitive statement on

the relationship between yogic practice and human anatomy, as anatomy is defined in terms

of Western biology and physiology.”

—J. S. Alter,

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries

“(Anatomy of HathaYoga) is a premier book in the field. Every yoga teacher as well as any health

professional or layperson interested in exploring the anatomical and physiological

aspects of hatha yoga should own this unique publication.”

—Martha J Greenberg, Ph. D.,

Doody’s Reviews, reprinted in Choice

yoga

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