Krounchasana and gaining a wider view of our goals

Krounchasana is heron pose. At the time of this post, its mid-February. It is a good time to look again at the goals we may have set for ourselves at the beginning of the year, and re-evaluate, recover, renew, or even reject. It takes stepping back and allowing a wide view of what we really want, being open to new discoveries while we are working on the goal and a course correction when needed. That’s the message in the graceful, expansive flight of the heron.

blue heron photo from fox haven jounal


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Hanuman- the ever loyal faithful servant

In a previous class I told you the story of the early life of Hanuman and how he was changed into a monkey. I won’t retell any of that story here, but a version of it can be found here.

I will take up the story of the renamed Hanuman, the monkey God and servant of Ram. At Rexburg Yoga we will be having this class on the week of Valentine’s Day and it seems very appropriate because Hanuman and Ram had a most amazing heart connection. This loyalty and trust is unparalleled in the Hindu mythology. Hanuman did everything in the service of Ram. Ram’s name was engraved and embedded in Hanuman’s every heartbeat.

Ram and Sita in Hanuman's heart

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Pigeon Pose

Historically, carrier pigeons were once used to link all the main towns and cities in Syria and Egypt. This was the sole source of communication. In Roman times the pigeon was used to carry results of sporting events such as the Olympic Games and this is why white doves are released at the start of the Olympic Games today. In England, prior to the days of telegraphs, pigeons were often taken to soccer matches and released to carry home the result of the game. Their use as a messenger in war time resulted in many pigeons being awarded honors by both the British and French Governments. Incredibly, the last ‘pigeon post’ service was abandoned in India in 2004 with the birds being retired to live out the rest of their days in peace.

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Warrior and his weapons

A warrior was born for protecting and serving. The requisite was not only to fight against evil and injustice of all kinds, but also to protect everyone’s honor both in battle and at all other times. Each warrior was trained in all necessary weapons of war, but each had his favorite weapon in which he was most skilled. In stories about the warriors of ancient India, three weapons, in particular, were used: the sword, bow and arrow, and the mace.

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Cobra

We prefer to run away and avoid snakes of all kinds but especially the cobra. Yet, the Hindu mythology of the cobra describes how this creature is our divine friend and one to help us work through fear of change and death into the new life.
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Virabhadrasana

In the world of Gods things can happen almost instantly including the actions of Gods, sometimes not well thought out.  Virabhadra is a great warrior who rose out of the ground from a lock of hair of the God Shiva. He is fearsome.  He has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, carries a thousand clubs all in the apparel of a tiger skin.
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Ocean is symbolic of santosha

Observing the ocean is a rare treat and I took advantage last week while traveling with our HS band. There’s probably a symbolic message from the ocean to illustrate every yama and niyama but the first one that came to mind was Santosha or contentment.

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Ahimsa

The first and most important of all yamas is ahimsa or non-violence. This could also be stated as non-harming. All of the other restraints should be filtered through this lens of non-harming. We also know this as compassion toward ourselves and others.

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Heart Month: 7 Symptoms Women Ignore

Heart attack symptoms are not unisex.  In an article published this month in Prevention Magazine, women may experience these seven symptoms that are warning signs that a heart attack may be on the horizon.

1.  Fatigue  –Weeks before a heart attack 71% of women have flu-like symptoms.  Closer to the time of an attack even lifting items may be too taxing.

2.  Non-Chest Pain-  43% of women don’t experience any chest discomfort at all, instead pain may be felt in the  jaw, neck, shoulders or upper back.

3.  Sweating–You might be sweating for no apparent reason.

4.  Dizziness or Nausea–During an attack, women often feel like they might pass out or vomit.

5.  Breathlessness–58% of women report panting or inability to carry on a conversation.

6.  Sleeplessness–Half of women have trouble sleeping in the month before a coronary.

7.  Anxiety–  “Many women experience a sense of impending doom or fear before a heart attack.” says Dr. Legato.  “That’s your body telling you to pay attention.  Trust those instincts.”

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Yoga for Healthy Weight:

Examining our thoughts can help us create the best conditions for a healthy weight. Here are two areas to examine:

First: I am not my body. If I said, “I need a new transmission, or I got a huge crack in my windshield yesterday.” There would be no doubt that I was talking about my car. Even if I spend many hours a day inside my car, my car and I are separate. I am not my car and never will be. Its the same with the physical body. I am not my body.
So if I say, “I have arthritis, or I cut my finger badly yesterday,” I am actually talking about my body. This body is experiencing arthritic or this body has a cut. I am separate from my body even if I live in that body for 90 years. I am separate.

What is the “I” that is separate? I like to call it my spirit and it is my belief that the spirit uses the body as the vehicle to be in the physical world. The spirit is perfect with no disease and no injury ever. The body is the tool to teach the spirit different lessons. Knowing this – that I am not my body, can bring a better perspective to the journey of weight loss or healing.

Second idea: How am I treating my teammate? Let’s say we are watching a doubles tennis match. One team is working together fabulously. They encourage each other and each works very hard at communicating positively at all times. They enjoy the game and seem to work as one. They will likely win many times with this unity.

The other team is sad and embarrassing to watch. They fight and bicker and play mean tricks – and not in a fun way. They are truly enemies and sometimes one of them misses the ball deliberately as if trying to sabotage the game. They speak in cutting and disrespectful ways most of the game. They will likely lost many times with this fighting.

I and my body are on the same team. So which kind of team are we? How do I treat my team member?

This week examine thoughts about our internal dialog and external actions toward our team member. Awareness is the first step to change.

5) My body is my friend. How much do you believe this?

Think about the qualities you most desire and appreciate in a friend; loyalty, compassion, truth, perceptiveness. A friend will be the one who when you most need help – even if that help is a kick in the pants or a call to the police, will give that help. A friend wants the best for you, even if you don’t want it for yourself yet.

This is the kind of friend our own body is to us. Our body gives us messages thru weight, injuries and illnesses that something in our attitude or behavior needs to be examined. We might ignore this message for a long time and even think our body is an enemy because it sends this message, but like the loyal friend that it is, the body will keep sending the message, keep doing the harsh thing until we listen and change something.

We are raised in the culture to view our body as the enemy. We must train it, subdue it, fight it, drug it, judge it in order to get what is culturally acceptable from the body. This fight is exhausting and not making use of an ally in our own camp for health and wellness – the body.

The body is my friend. If we have uploaded all the programming from childhood into the unconscious mind, then we don’t believe this in our heart. So to change that we will use the temporal tapping and the affirmations to go along with that. A more detailed explanation of temporal tapping is here
When you tap on the left side say these affirmations:
My body is not my enemy
I don’t want to view my body as my enemy
My body doesn’t sabotage me

When you tap on the right side, say these affirmations:
My body is my friend
I can trust my body’s messages
My body helps me achieve my goals

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