Welcome friends! OM Shanti!

People come together in all kinds of ways, what matters is that they get together.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Sundays at Noon - Level One Yoga at Starseed Yoga in Montclair

8-15-10  Acceptance

 Let go of rigid and idealistic ways of being and discover a flexibility and joy in life.  Wake up and realize that spirituality requires an honest courageous look into our real life situations, our family of origin, and our place in the society around us.  Spirituality has become more about who we are than what ideal we pursure. 

Nonidealism - Nonidealism is the first quality of spiritual maturity : "The mature heart is not perfectionistic - it rests in the compassion of our being instead of the ideals of the mind.  Nonidealistic spirituality does not seek a perfect world, it does not seek to perfect ourselves, our bodies, nor our personalities.  It is not romantic about teachers or enlightenment based on images of the immense purity of some special being out there.  Thus, it does not seek to gain or attain in spiritual life, but only to love and be free.  Let go, love, and open the heart to all there is." -Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart

Warm up - Simple seated twist 3 OM's, Balasana for nine breaths releasing any tension or thoughts- bring your focus to right here, right now.  Table/cat/cow, table balance (extend left leg and right arm), end with knee into nose from balance
Body - Adho Mukha Svanasana >plank 3x, lunge (knee into nose first, then step one foot forward), high lunge>Anjailiasana>side prayer lunge, Uttanasana.  At wall: Adho mukha svanasana two ways, first with heels digging into molding, then second with heel of hands pressing into a block at the wall.  This teaches the intelligence of the pose to beginners, then downdog on mat to remember teaching from wall.  Also at wall, Utkatasana (bring entire back neck and head to wall, step out about a foot, bend the knees and slide down the wall coming into chair pose).  Then Utkatasana>Uttanasana on mat 3x.  Surya Namaskar, Virabhadrasana I > Vira II > Vira I, Vira II > Parsvakonasana > reverse Vira 3x > Trikonasana
Cool down - Dandasana with strap, Janu Sirsasana, Upavista Konasana, step foot into hand or elbow for hip cradle and circles, Baddha Konasana, Supta Baddha Konasana, hug knees into chest, Jathara Parvrittonansana, Savasana.

Ending reading from Hugh Prather's A Book of Games :  "Happiness leaves nothing undone.  If you are happy, you cannot fail to hear the Song of God.  If you are happy, you have no interest in darkening your mind with grievances against anyone, and so you are naturally kind and consistently fair.  Joy is in the giving of the abundance of joy.  And so, by being happy, you are all you ever need to be:  loving, just, pure, and compassionate."
Accept who you are and be happy.

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