Gita 13-14

14.23 "Established within themselves, they are equal in pleasure and pain, praise and blame, kindness and unkindness. Clay, a rock, and gold are the same to them. Alike in honor and dishonor, alike to friend and foe, they have given up every selfish pursuit. Such are those who have gone beyond the gunas."

Well that's pretty cool, I thought when I read that line about equity in the elements. It would be great to not care about the frivolous things of this world such as riches because I could be happy with a little. I read about people who have reduced their amount of stuff, reverse hoarders if you will, and they talk about how nice it is not to have so many things literally cluttering their life. Losing stuff is stressful! Breaking stuff is sad! To me anyway...
I believe having less stuff to keep up with, especially at the rate with which technology is advancing, would be really nice.

Also, I thought I would share the first thing I thought of when I read "alike to friend and foe," because it's funny. Recently, a friend showed me a modern video blog version of Pride and Prejudice. (All of the characters are depicted as typical Western young people in the 21st century. It's called the "Lizzie Bennet Diaries" if you're interested). Jane is introduced as a kind soul who greets her friends, the mailman, and her enemies the same way, "Hi, how are you? It's so nice to see you!" How marvelous would it be to put away spite, actually seeing people as equal, and not just putting on a fake happy face...

The Gita and the Yoga Sutras

As we talked about bhakti in class today, I thought about how it could contribute to becoming one with God.  I've heard a lot lately, that out of love for God, one ought to do everything one does on His behalf. Friends of mine who have adopted this philosophy have explained that all they have is from Him, so it only makes sense to turn it back to Him. A resident of mine just said this morning that when she was in high school, her parents gave her the choice to go to church or not. She said at first, she took advantage of the opportunity to  sleep in at home. After awhile, however, she decided that in spite of how busy she was with school and sports, she would go to church again because God was the only reason she was excelling (and therefore kept busy by) sports and school. Colossians 3:23 sums it up well, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." According to the Gita one should devote all of one's actions to one's deity, whereas the Yoga Sutras direct readers to follow specific spiritual disciplines, such as reading sacred texts, practicing yoga, stilling the fluctuations of the mind.

I suppose I should prefer the former because it allows for more leeway in showing my devotion to God. I mean, I may do homework earnestly, for God, as opposed to being limited by traditional forms of spiritual devotion such as scripture reading. 

There are many noble/mundane things one can do for God, such as study, cook for someone, make a craft (sorry, the imagination bank is running dry). It makes me laugh to think that a person who is new to a certain religion and isn't being discipled in the ways of the faith might misinterpret the aforementioned scripture. A thief could say, well, I'm taking this stuff for my poor friends, in the name of God! Hmm...

HEADSTAND

Challenge: conquered.

I think I've done the headstand five times today. I got up to practice it this morning, and got my legs (and butt) up to the wall! Out of excitement and pride, I did it several times throughout the day to show my friends and myself that I can do it. Unfortunately, it's a little uncomfortable for my head, so I don't stay in the pose for more than a few minutes. Nevertheless, I've done what has felt impossible! I never did headstands/cartwheels and the like growing up, so this is like the big time for me :)

We did the crane pose in class the other day. My journey with that reminds me of this headstand thing.
I first encountered the crane pose a few years ago. I showed a video of it to my dad...out of frustration at my inability to do it. He said, "oh that?" Done. Just like that!
"Really, Dad? Ugh..." He put me to shame. Of course he gave me pointers and suggested I tighten my abs, and really lean into it, casting aside fear of falling forward. I did all that, and only improved a little. For a long time, I practiced it every couple of days. I got to the point where I could do the pose, but I could hold it only for seconds, or I would be able to hold it for a minute, but that was 1 in 10 or so...Now, I'm much better at holding the pose, balancing.

Huzzah :)

Gita Response Ch. 9-10

When I read 9.11-12 "The foolish do not look beyond the physical appearances to see my true nature as the Lord of all creation. The knowledge of such deluded people is empty; their lives are fraught with disaster and evil and their work and hopes are all in vain." I thought of a conversation I had over lunch once with my Jewish and atheistic friends. I wondered aloud how my life would be if I was not a Christian. I said something about how it would be really easy to get caught up in the things of this world and be morally loose. Of course, I wasn't trying to be haughty. I still sin and am still tempted by my innately sinful nature, but it's my Christian duty to eschew those desires with a firm hand. So I do, to the best of my ability. My friends aren't a      
wild and crazy bunch, but there were areas in which we disagreed, part of which I would attribute to my faith. In this case, my friends argued that I would probably be the same person because of my parents' moral values. I had a hard time arguing, especially as the only Christian and "religious" person in the group. I am not calling my friends/non-Christians foolish, but I do think it would be hard to get through life without the spirit of the Lord, a relationship with the Savior, and amazing things to look forward to after this life.

Gita: Thoughts on Meditation

I've tried meditation before, and I find it so challenging. I've also done some reading on it prior to this class, and most people seem to struggle with it. I find that very comforting, because it is a challenge to slow and focus my normally rapid fire thoughts that are all over the place. I love how Krishna talks about it simply. He is not at all condescending or hyperexpectant. I feel as though if he were with me in person, he would encourage me to take my time and do my best. "You'll get there soon. Be patient," he would say.

What a feat! to conquer the senses. I have never heard of yogis lying on a bed of nails or being buried alive before. I thought it was impressive enough in Eat, Pray, Love when Gilbert was able to ignore flies because she was in such a peaceful state of meditation. Nevertheless, these reminders of how meditation can have significantly positive effects encourages me to give it another go. It will undoubtedly start with some hesitancy and frustration. (I'm very impatient and I like to be good at everything. Sometimes when things get hard, I get  discouraged to the point of avoiding that thing). Meditation seems like a great way to build character, and get over myself, haha.

Outside Headstand Inspiration

I’m having the most frustrating time with headstand. I’ve always been afraid of them because of what Megan was saying about hurting my neck. The other day a friend of mine came over and I decided to try a headstand against the wall. After launching my legs and flailing, and failing, I had her pull my legs up to the wall. I spend so much time doing the windmill-like leg pumping move. If they aren’t already, my legs are gonna be really strong soon! The hardest part for me is getting my legs up and to stick to the wall/stay up. It seems that Sarah and Rachel had a lot of success with the butt-to-the-wall method. When I can invert again, I will definitely try that.

Outside of headstands, I feel like I’m grooving along in yoga. I don’t feel as if I’m making a lot of progress in my downward dog, but Dr. Schultz said we’re all improving. Even if it’s a small margin of change, I’ll take it! Something is better than nothing, and really, not getting worse is part of The Goal. On that note, I saw this great inspirational video on YouTube the other day. The following is from a documentary called “Inspire: The Movie” which followed several people on the journey to better themselves by getting healthy. This particular story caught my attention because he found healing through yoga. (YEAH!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOSdRjUfF_Q

I love a good before and after story. It’s amazing to watch what we can do if we choose to get out of our own way and put our all into something. When I grumbled in frustration about my inability to get my lil legs up to the wall, my friend showed me that video. Dude does a headstand in it! I was so proud! I’m going to start practicing every day until I can stay in headstand with my legs up unassisted. Eventually, I’ll do the “bunny hop” version :D

The Gita Response 1

As I read Sri Krishna's advice to Arjuna in Chapter 2, I felt as though he was talking directly to me. I am fasting with my church for the next few days. The first time I fasted was last year, and I skipped dinner. It was awful. I had a bunch of meetings and homework, so it was hard for me to focus on anything but being hungry. Instead of spending time with God when I felt famished, I had to work. This time around, I took my parents' advice to do the Daniel fast, which basically involves cutting out processed foods. I've given myself some leeway since my diet is largely centered around what is served in the dining hall. I'm not about to skip my morning veggie omelette because it's cooked in canola oil. 

This is day one of my three day (unless it's working well for me, but we'll see) Daniel fast and I have already had a little slip up. I was sticking to my dietary guns today until I got to my staff meeting where my coworkers were passing around Chex Mix and peanut M&Ms. My goodness. My weakness for chocolate was made strong...the first time the bag got passed around. After that, it just sat there. I watched everyone else happily pop those candy colored treats of salty and sweet treats into their mouths. I quickly reasoned with myself that it was social snacking. (I'm shaking my head now...) THIS IS WHAT KRISHNA'S WARNING AGAINST! I should have read this before staff meeting. 2.67 "When you let your mind follow the call of the senses, they carry away your better judgment as storms drive a boat off its charted course on the sea." Unfortunately, I lost sight of my goal. I let the big yellow bag of candy sit in my line of sight. I neglected to give more power to the reasonable side of things, in that there are things that are better for me like vegetables, and scripture (I'm not equating the two, I'm just trying to make my point). Krishna is right, in the line before that, 2.66, "The disunited mind is far from wise; how can it meditate? How be at peace? When you know no peace, how can you know joy?" It is hard enough praying in the midst of sugar withdrawals, but it's harder still with a guilty conscience. Nevertheless, all I can do is pick up and do better tomorrow :)

Yoga from the Inside Out: Final Response

I've felt really overwhelmed lately. Actually, I've felt overwhelmed since I started college. Nevertheless, the stress in my life has been at an all time high recently. I look at my schedule and I say, hmm, what can I cut out? I'm involved in a lot of things, but I love those things and Baylor, so I'm not going to cut anything. Fortunately, I've found areas in which I can cut back. Unfortunately, it seems as if as soon as I trim, the hedges get overgrown even faster than before. I'm doing the best that I can with the time that I have, and I was reminded as I read the epilogue that all I can do is keep moving forward, or as Sell said, "keep going." Every day can't be made of sunshine, rainbows, and cancelled classes, so I just have to do my best, knowing that everything will be alright.

Sell described her kula, the family of her heart. I've been thinking about which group of people in my life I would consider my kula. It's hard to say, because I have friends from high school with whom I was close, but we're slowly drifting apart. Then I have my staff and my residents, who are all great, but I don't feel as intimately close with them as others. There are quite a few people with whom I am intimately close in that I would tell them my secrets and things that aren't secret, but that I just don't care to share with the world. I am a vulnerable person, though, so that's not very telling. I suppose my kula consists of three friends, two of whom are close, and one of whom is just getting to know those two. I talk about everything with them, especially where I'm at in my health and fitness realm. We don't talk seminar style, but when I'm talking with them respectively, those things come into the conversation. In fact, one of them helped me with my headstand the other day. (I have a hard time getting my legs up :( None of them are committed to maintaining a healthy active lifestyle like me, but that's more than fine because they all support me in my endeavors. Sometimes I think it would be easier for me to be consistent in my pursuits if I had more liked-minded friends. At the same time, it makes the challenge of doing right by myself even sweeter because I'm doing it on my own. Furthermore, it feels good to be able to motivate others. At least, I hope I motivate them instead of making them feel judged...

I thoroughly enjoyed Yoga from the Inside Out. It was written well; plainly enough to understand the meaning of the Sanskrit words. I really appreciated how honest and vulnerable Sell and her contributors were about their experiences with yoga and how it affected their lives. This book gave me a lot of insight about how yoga was originally intended, how it is marketed now, and how it's alright that many people use it in many different ways.

Yoga from the Inside Out Response 3

The whole chapter of "Accepting 'What Is'" resonated with me. One of my favorite parts was when Sell talked about why she liked wearing black tights to class. She explained that they were perfect for covering up her imperfections and things she was not yet ready to publicize. A yogini, via her sister, challenged her to avoid wearing black tights, or anything for that matter which restricted the body physically and kept others from the truth. In spite of how painful it may be to come to terms with our flaws, it can be even more painful to keep them hidden. Realizing this, Sell ditched the tights. She explained how free she felt when she switched to wearing yoga bloomers instead of her formerly beloved tights. She was literally free to move without restriction, but she was also metaphorically more free because she was not hiding anymore. The cut of these shorts allowed students to see proper form and how the muscles moved when the pose was executed correctly.

Similarly, if we act as if we are doing well all the time, we are encouraging people to keep their less than happy emotions inside. This is why I don't like the ubiquity of the phrase, "how are you?" People seem to feel as if it is more necessary to ask how someone is doing than to simply smile at them. Even "hello" is better than an insincere "how are you?" especially because it is rare that someone would care enough to sit and listen if the response is, "not well - here's why..." Anyway, I wish it was socially acceptable to be more vulnerable and up front with our feelings. I think we would all be healthier if we didn't hold things up so tightly...No one can smile all the time.

As Sell went on, she discussed the importance of loving oneself unconditionally. It is easy to set goals and believe everything will be perfect once x, y, z goals are achieved. Nevertheless, that isn't how it should be. We must start making peace with ourselves now, learning to love a new part each day. Part of that process is lovingly accepting what is real. When I read this part of the chapter, I thought of the television show "What Not to Wear." For those who don't know, WNW is a show hosted by two fashion experts, Clinton and Kelly, who make it their mission to make over the wardrobe and look (makeup and hair) of a person whose friends and family have submitted their name as a fashion don't. WNW is funny because the hosts are very blunt and free with truthfulness, but things get serious and emotional when the contestant is confronted. They feel attacked and silly once they see how unfortunate/odd they looked through the eyes of strangers. As the hosts of the show talk with contestants about the root of their eclectic stylish ways, the reason often draws back to low self esteem. People who are heavy set will often wear clothes that are several sizes too big because they think it makes them look small. The hosts remind the contestants that they must dress the body they have, not the body they want. We must love ourselves for who we are, where we are. It's important to dream, but it's even more important to treat your current self with respect and unconditional love.

Yoga from the Inside Out Response Two

The second fourth of the book talked about treating the body as temple according to kaya sadhana which refers to using the body as a means for change. This, as opposed to how I normally perceive yoga and other exercises, is very different from using exercise to change the body itself. It wasn't until I got to college that I realized I could grow spiritually through my body. It's a sacred temple which I should revere and respect, especially because it is a house for my delicate soul. I find comfort in the fact that despite how my body wears and tears over the course of my life, my soul and spirit will be constant. Hopefully they will be growing positively, but the point is that they don't age or weaken like my body inevitably shall. Nevertheless, I must try to my utmost to keep my body running well in a state of healthfulness partly out of respect for my soul, but also because I'll experience life to the fullest if I am physically well. I think this is different for everyone, simply because we're all different. For me, being kind to myself includes getting 7-9 hours of sleep. I can function well enough on less than that, but there's a noticeable difference in my ability to focus and my eating habits are pretty poor when it's day 2 or 3 of 5 hours of sleep. I also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables because I really like the taste and the juiciness. When I'm traveling or for whatever reason don't have some fruit and/or veggies for more than a day or two, I feel groggy and insatiably thirsty, even if I am drinking a lot of water. I've learned that my body requires a lot of downtime, which I'm usually not willing to give it, thanks to my Type A tendencies. As a result, I do my best to take a 30-45 minute nap everyday since I have a hard time "doing nothing," that is, sitting up and letting myself be. I feel best when the aforementioned things are happening in my favor.

Yoga works wonders for people who are mental wanderers. I used to, and still do but less frequently, let my mind wander off in conversation, in class, basically anytime. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with daydreaming, but life isn't meant for us to tune out, or stare the clock down wishing minutes and days away...As Sell said, "Like pearls strung together to make a beautiful necklace, the moments we stay conscious and present will string together to form our lives and our practices." I get a lot more out of my day when I am intentional about being happy/mentally present wherever I am. If I may be a little morbid, I'm not guaranteed every day, and so I have to take advantage of what God has given to me. For example, I took biology my freshman year here, and I would zone out nearly every class period. I ended up getting a less than stellar grade in the class, and I can partly attribute that to my mental check out. It was really disrespectful of me to let that continue to happen that way. I wasn't giving my professor credit, and I wasn't doing myself any favors by missing out on the lecture. Turning it back to yoga, I have to be fully engaged in practicing yoga - making sure my alignment is right, my ribs are pulled back, buttock flesh down, and that I'm taking steady breaths. It's a lot! but it pays dividends. Once I cultivated the skill of multitasking (for lack of a better word) in my yoga sessions, it was easier to be present when listening to my friends in conversation, and eventually listen better in my classes.