3/9/23 Week 8 Reflections (After Watching the Recording)

Greetings to all!  sorry to have missed class -  was quite a lot undertaken - the yamas in itself are profound ..add in the Subtle body energies   (chakra system) so many strands to discuss.

i wanted to start by bringing academic point Gail brought up in regards to the cakras.. i had been in a discussion months back regarding how west coopts eastern philosophies (and also ancient "western" ones) and "experts" translate as they will   i had a teacher who was not a fan of Anodea Judith's interpretation of chakra philosophy ..     here is an interesting discussion on all that ..   https://hareesh.org/blog/2016/2/5/the-real-story-on-the-chakras

in terms of linking ACE with the cakras - i liked what you said Jen -  about how all our lived experiences affect us ..  and how can we possibly connect with something unseen (in this case our subtle bodies and the cakra energies ) if we have no control in "real world ".   I would go beyond that and discuss how after traumatic experiences - whether little t or Big T - we are fragmented and unable to claim our wholeness.   In terms of trauma - in many of discussions if have in therapy training we discuss the Little T's and Big T's .  one of my meditation teachers Jon Kabat  Zinn  loves to discuss this poem in relation to this :

Me from Myself -- to banish

by Emily Dickinson

Original Language English

Me from Myself -- to banish --
Had I Art --
Impregnable my Fortress
Unto All Heart --

And since We're mutual Monarch
How this be
Except by Abdication --
Me -- of Me?

when we get hurt - we create walls, we now want our hearts impregnable - we dont want more of that crap.   we ABDICATE the ME of ME.  when pain arises we supress it.  we claim detachment.      so interms of childood wounds - we subjugate consciousness and we banish ourselves.    but in doing so we only hurt ourselves.  this becomes a toxic cycle of slef negation when instead we should be LIVING A LIFE THAT IS OURS TO LIVE>  

Derek Wolcott then seems to give an antidote - according to Zin- with these words... 

"The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other's welcome". 

so when we take OUR SEATS  at the feast of our life -- we are living the moment .  and not the narrative. 

so this is also the non-attachment to our traumas.. -  but to do so we need to actually be present 100percent in our life and not be in our heads.. 

in terms of FOCUS AND ATTENTION and APARIGRAHA and the Chakras and our subtle bodies--

on the mat we can observe if we are so attached to "being succcesful" in achieving poses, and how it makes look, makes us feel.  of if we are fearful and hold ourselves back and give 100% to the momet and enjoy the posture.  even in the breathe - if we are fearful or trying to hard to achieve that expected pose, or 'detachment" , etc, - we end up holding our breath/ constricitng our breath in challenging moments , constricitng our life force . 

It is in these moments that we can - if we leave our egos , fears, and pains  behind - we can breath deeply and flow from one asana to another, one breath to another, - we are able to enjoy the transitions as they come and bend with the challenges that come with it. and our subtle energies flow from.one to the other..  ..      we come to understand that in order to have a deeper experience, we must be prepared to let go—of our attachments, our fears, our fixed ideas, and our past experiences.

Wasn't sure where to share this but for anyone who is interested in learning more about the chakra system, a book I would recommend is Wheels of Life by Anodea Judith. This book is packed with information and practices to do and I felt like I really got a lot out of it 🙂

i’d like to start by thanking you Jen for the way that you began the zoom, sharing bits of your life. In general I’d like to thank you for the sharing you do as you deliver the content of the teacher training. I was scribbling in my journal while you were talking, jotting notes about my gratitude for your shares. Then Henrietta made her comment, and I stop scribbling, and was so grateful that Henrietta made that comment on the live zoom. And thank you to everyone who jumps on the zoom and comments, it is really nice to hear your voices. I’m trying to let go of the regret I feel right now, the regret I have for missing weekly zooms 8, 9, and 10n in live format. I really do miss the live sessions and being with all of you. 

aparigraha - let me begin by releasing the things that steal for me, Cosmi harm, and compromise my truth. Wouldn’t that be a great beginning?  What would I like to release and let go of the most: I would love to be able to support the people I love most, but without telling them what to do. And by extension, not being disturbed and upset with the choices that they make.

why do I need to let go of trying to help direct, or constrict?, the choices those I love the most make? Is it because there are energy channels running through our bodies, and we want to keep the channels free of blockages at the chakras? I am accustomed to suspending my critical mind and seeing and investigating a belief system in terms of the effects it has in the world. In other words, I can let go of my critical, “scientific“ mind and just look at a practice or an idea in terms of the effects it has in the world. So I don’t get hung up on whether chakras exist, and whether these energy energy channels exist.  I just accept it and try the idea and see how it feels. 

what feels the best to me are practices. I really enjoyed Sonia‘s discussion of what I think she called her “god box.“ What a great idea. And then to burn it all at the end of the year. Awesome.

Fthe people I work with, a big project is being able to look inside with kind eyes. It is only after we can look inside with kind eyes that we have the ability to look at another with kindness. At athletic events in the prison gym i used to hand out blurbs as people exited at the conclusion of the activity. The blurb was generally a thought thanking people for their outstanding sportsmanship, even though, most likely, people were yelling things like “you suck!“ during the game. So, I used to hand out blurbs on sportsmanship thanking people for bringing their awesome positive energy into the gym, but I don’t do that any longer. For one thing, the sportsmanship is awesome in the gym now. So now I hand out a blessing by John O’Donohue. It’s a blessing to come home to yourself. Here it is:

May all that is unforgiven you be released.  

May your fears yield Their deepest tranquillities.  

May all that is unlived in you blossom into a future graced with love.  
—————————

in terms of something that I may offer in a focus/concentration section: I would like to think about offering a 5 to 10 minute sitting meditation focusing on breath. Is that appropriate?

I want to start with a big THANK YOU for not including Alcoholism and Addiction in the practice of Aparigraha. My own Journey of Recovery has included MASS amounts of letting go. That has been necessary so my soul, heart, mind and spirit could heal. That healing has allowed me to become free, on a day to day basis, from the need to escape life through a bottle. But never was I able to stop drinking by Letting Go of drinking. 

Letting Go can be as deep or as simple as you want it to be. I try to start by introducing the idea of letting go of what has happened that day, up to the moment I step on my mat. Forget, for this small amount of time, what I did or what I need to do and just be here in the moment. I learned if I can let go of the previous hour....I can start to condition myself to the idea of letting go bigger things and more often. 

I am new to the study of the Chakras but I am intrigued by the ability of "thinkers" to gain this understanding of the body prior to science and medicine....and yet, it is so closely related to what we know to be fact about our bodies today. Before I incorporate much of his information into my practice and teaching I would like to be more knowledgeable about it. But for basic introduction I would most likely introduce the idea of how these areas of my body feel. How am I functioning in these areas? Do I see more or less discomfort under certain conditions? Creating a general awareness and planting the seed of recognizing how I react in my Root, sacral, heart,etc during certain moments or events. 

Balance is such a vital part of my own practice. I recognize that I am not capable of clearing my mind very often. Or even being able to focus on one thing at a time. But through the practice of balance I am. I am unable to balance successfully when I have racing thoughts or my mind is elsewhere. I like to share this as I introduce balance portions of a class. Balance is not always about physical ability. it has a lot to do with the ability to focus. This knowledge gave me the freedom to cut myself some slack and to be better at it some days than others without feeling like I was failing. Balance also taught me to "think" less about what I was doing and focus more. I loved your idea of approaching this segment with the idea of the wind really blowing in the room....That let everyone know that they were expected to fall or teeter, more than they were expected to balance perfectly.

After reviewing the recording reflection I thought about the word Aparigraha. I thought about it in the context of non-attachment. thinking about things that no longer serve me as a person and how to not be attached or defined inside of a role in society. I believe that I have always had this attachment to being this strong woman, who can take on the world on her own, and that defiantly is not healthy nor true. For me, this hit home. It made me reflect on how I want to move through this life, without feeling attached to a title. I want to learn how to be fluid and present. Aparigraha and Chakras, I believe go hand in hand. Chakras which is really engirt flowing/spinning through the body allow Aparigraha (non-attachment) to move more freely.

I have attached a poem that I believe speaks volumes. I appreciates everyones reflections.