Newsletter October 2007

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings. As I sit here in my office/studio in northwest London, I am pleased to report on the progress of a small, diligent group who have begun a verse-by-verse study of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Although we have managed to discuss only three verses, the past two meetings/satsangs have been points of transition in which the deeper meaning of yoga has begun to steadily reveal itself.

As we opened the ancient scriptures the right moment seemed to have arrived to embark on our enquiry into the sacred realms of yoga. The first challenge has been to approach the teachings free from pre-conceived ideas and prejudices. We would like to think that we are full of intelligent faith (as opposed to blind faith), receptivity and endowed with the spirit of right enquiry. In its very first verse, the Sutras tells us that this is what makes it possible for the real communication of yoga to take place.

Atha yoganus’asanam

Yoga Sutra 1.1

You are welcome to join us at the next satsang (Nov 11^th). In addition, or if your personal attendance is not possible, I invite you to take part in an on-line course that is soon to begin. Please have a look on my newly re-launched website to see the details: www.FlyingMountainYoga.org

As our text, we are using the excellent book “The Unadorned Thread of Yoga” which was compiled by Salvatore Zambino. The book is available for purchase, if you can see me directly, or by post when this postal strike is finally over.

With best wishes
Swami Saradananda

"We write to taste life twice…" 
- Anais Nin

Newsletter September 2007

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings. This past week seemed a bit quieter than usual, as though people were savouring the last weekend of the summer that never arrived. Like many yoga teachers, I’ve had a bit of “downtime”, which I’ve spent trying to get caught up on my accounts (I’m almost there), re-doing my website and writing a book proposal for a book on “breathing” (suggestions for inclusion are most welcome!).

Hopefully my new website will soon be “live” – though the former design continues to function. I’m planning to include a section for discussion of questions such as the one that I put to you in my last newsletter: if, as scientists claim, most people use only 5-10% of their full potential, why do you think this might be? The question did to stimulate some good answers:

* I suspect it is because they were never encouraged to see themselves as anything more!!

* Maybe fear stops us using more of our brain capadity? and lack of self worth and esteem.. most people follow the norm and don’t dare to branch out.

* it comes to mind times when we hear stories of moments when humans use their potential fully and often are referred to as miracles or glitches of superhuman demonstration.

* we behave in reaction patterns. An action causes a habitual response from us. Our brains are probably just a collection of those patterns waiting to be activated by the correct situation.

Researching and writing my upcoming book on Chakra Meditations made me question how much these limitations might have to do with the lack of communication between our various energetic levels. For example, a great thought may pop into your mind. If the bridge between your mind and your heart is blocked (i.e. your throat chakra), even partially, impulses become “choked up”. If your ideas, hopes and dreams are not “taken to heart”, they cannot manifest fully. Conversely, when the desires arising in your heart are prevented from being properly thought out, you may act impulsively or irrationally… Just a thought …

With best wishes
Swami Saradananda  
www.FlyingMountainYoga.org

"Most people will not remember what you said or what you did. But they will remember how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

 

Newsletter May 2007

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings. I returned from India a few weeks ago, only to find that Ganesha, one of my best friends, had died the same morning. Although he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer a few months ago, Ganesha was determined to finish his course at Napier University in Edinburgh to qualify as an herbalist (at age 65). He died, just one month before the end of the course and the University has decided to grant him his degree on the basis of the excellent work he had done.

Ganesha will be much missed by many people. He was a good friend and also a great devotee, who may have built one of the largest Ganesha collections in the U.K. His home in northern Scotland, at 57 degrees 55 minutes north and 4 degrees 20 minutes west may be the farthest north that Ganesha has travelled ... unless someone has spotted him at the North Pole.

On an totally different note, there is one question that I would like to “put out there” to (hopefully) stimulate some discussion. It is well know that scientists claim that most people use only 5-10% of their full potential. Why do you think that might be? A “realisation” came to me the other day when I was organising some things for an upcoming Chakra Workshop. It was an “ah-ha” moment that I would like to share with you in the next newsletter. But first, I’d like to hear your comments, in relation to meditation and the chakras.

It seems that many people did not receive my last newsletter (it was sent from an internet café in Delhi) in which I thanked Caroline Shola Arewa for sharing her thoughts that inspired the thought-provoking questions in the December newsletter. So I’d like to thank Shola again; she is an innovative coach, speaker and author who is doing some very interesting work, translating ancient teachings into modern life. To read more about Shola’s work - and to sign up for her inspiring newsletter, see www.creatingease.com

With best wishes

Swami Saradananda  

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do children as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." - Helen Keller

Newsletter March 2007

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings. I'm in India about 5 weeks. The group will join me a few days for our Himalayan Meditation Retreat. Many people have asked me if I plan this as an annual event, so I've tentatively selected the dates for next year: 15-30 March (Easter is early next year; Easter Sunday is on the 23rd of March).

I'd like to thank the many people have written to me since the last newsletter. In fact, I've been a bit overwhelmed with good wishes. Thank you again for all of your prayers and loving thoughts. I am feeling much better, and can now almost smile.

An interesting topic came up for discussion in our "Teach Meditation" course. One of the participants reported that several of her students were unwilling to meditate in front of an altar "because they are Christians". At first I was surprised, as every church has an altar. I see a personal altar as being a very individual thing – a focal point on which you place items that have deep meaning for you – things that inspire you and help you to go into a state of meditation. However, the word "altar" seems to be associate with formal religion in many people's minds. We ended up deciding that it might be better to speak with students about setting up a "meditation area".

These sentiments were echoed by the publishers of my upcoming book, "Chakra Meditations". When I got the final proofs back for approval, I noticed that every place that I had suggested that readers place something on their "altar" the publishers had changed to read "home altar". When I questioned this, my editor told me that they had also had an intense discussion on this topic, as they are finding that there is a growing trend for people to want to "keep their spiritual life separate from religion".

I know this discussion may seem a bit pedantic. But I think it also highlights a need for us, as yoga teachers, to be aware of how students are turning to us more and more for spiritual advice and guidance. On this note, I'd like to take opportunity to recommend an excellent book that I've been reading. It is by Donna Farihi, entitled "Teaching Yoga". She uses the Raja Yoga Sutras as a basis on which to explore modern teacher-student relationships – very interesting and worthwhile reading!!

Also, I would like to thank Caroline Shola Arewa for sharing her thoughts that inspired the thought-provoking questions in the last newsletter. Shola is a coach, speaker and author who is doing some very interesting work, translating ancient teachings into modern life. To read more about her work and sign up for her inspiring newsletter, see www.creatingease.com

Satsangs have been going nicely and it seems that a little yoga "sangha" is starting to develop here in northwest London. If you are in the area on Sunday, 29th April, please join us for meditation at 6 pm, followed by chanting and a talk.

With best wishes

Swami Saradananda  

"Life is a spiritual journey disguised as a physical experience." - Caroline Myss

Newsletter December 2006

OM

Blessed Self

This newsletter is a bit late because I woke up one morning to find that half of my face had collapsed. As a yogi, I tend to think that I am pretty well tuned to my own body. My temporary facial paralysis reminded me of how complex and full of variables my life is. Fortunately, I chose to not believe the doctor in the emergency room who tried to convince me that I’d had a stroke, without waiting for the test results that come back negative. Although my GP diagnosed it as “Bell’s Palsy”, he still chided me for not “listening to the recommendations of my medical advisors” – this was an  enlightening lesson in the laws of karma. Unwittingly, my doctor reminded me that all doctors are really just our advisors – each of us bears the ultimate responsibility of what we chose to do with our own bodies.

It should take three to six weeks to recover from the effects of the virus that has attacked the facial nerves on the right side of my face. I’ve postponed my trip to India so that I can focusing on resting and some acupuncture treatment. This has worked out quite well as it has given me the time and the space to reflect on my “adventures” of the past year. The rewind has been exceptionally informative. Although I see a number of obstacles that attempted to impede my forward movement, I also see lots of karma being worked out and good work coming to fruition.

My book on “Chakra Meditation” is now in the editing/artwork stage – and is due to be released in September. In the meantime, a number of invitations have come in for me to teach workshops on the subject in various parts of the world. My journeys this year have taken me to India, Israel, France, Germany, U.S. and Spain, where I’ve made new friends and met with yogis of various traditions.

Things are really taking shape for the Ganga Darshan Himalayan Meditation retreat. We have quite a few bookings, but there are still a few spaces left. If you are interested, please have a look at my website: www.FlyingMountainYoga.org/

As this old year’s countdown dwindles, you might want to remember to take deep breaths and enjoy as much of this wonderful season as much as you can. Perhaps you will even take the time to wrap-up the gifts of the past year by asking yourself:

• What have positive things did I achieve?
• What have I enjoyed most?
• What things have I done that I would never have thought possible?
• What emotional baggage have I let go of?
• What would enable my spirit to soar even higher in the new year?
  

My thoughts and prayers are with you for a joyous holiday season – and a year filled with great happiness and sublime learning experiences.

Swami Saradananda

 

Newsletter November 2006

OM

Blessed Self

November is my favourite month – maybe it’s because I’m American by birth. The trees are now dressed to match me in their autumn orange. The pumpkins on display in the shops and the cool crisp air bring thoughts of Thanksgiving to my mind.

I remember seeing the advertisements for Thanksgiving that showed a family bowing their heads in front of a turkey. As a child I wondered if were they worshipping some turkey god? Years later, a native-American friend explained that in their tradition, each being who gave up its life to contribute to the meal is thanked.

Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday (so that people can have a longer long weekend). This year it is the 23^rd Nov. Please join us for a Thanksgiving Satsang and feast afterwards on SUNDAY, 12 NOV, 6-8pm. You are welcome to bring your favourite prayer of gratitude – or inspirational saying

Recently, I have had the pleasure of attending several meetings of the Independent Yoga Network. I enjoy the “satsang” and greatly admire the IYN’s open-hearted efforts to establish a self-regulating yoga register. (see: www.theyogaregister.org)

I would strongly urge members of the British Yoga Teachers’ Association to apply to be on the Yoga Register. BYTA members who are a certified by Non-YR Registered Schools may pay the concessionary price of £25 – remember to mention your BYTA membership when you make your application. You can find the application form on: www.theyogaregister.org/registration/102.htm

Please be in touch I look forward to hearing from you.

with OM and Prem

Swami Saradananda

”People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within”. - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Newsletter October 2006

Newsletter June 2006

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings. This month finds me back in London, after a few inspired weeks of teaching advance trainings at Haus Yoga Vidya in Germany. The lovely retreat centre is located in the midst of the Westerwald forest, not far from Cologne. The deep wonderful forest is silent except for the sound of the stream. It was founded by my gurubhai Sukadev as a place for serious (yet joyous) sadhana.

My course focused on the Viveka Chudamani of Sankaracharya, which is considered to be the masterpiece of Adwaita Vedanta. Sankara himself has been described as "one of greatest minds that has appeared on earth".

Addressed to everyone with a desire for liberation, Viveka Chudamani  sets forth the jnana yoga method of discrimination/ discernment in which the spiritual seeker learns to distinguish between the real and the unreal. The aim is seen as freedom from the bondage of the illusion of the world.

Here in London, I’m excited about the new series that I’ll be teaching. In addition to my ‘Teach Meditation’ course, I’ll be doing modules that cover the Raja Yoga Sutras, Pranayama and the Subtle Body. All are designed to help you hone your practical yoga tools and deepen your practice – more details are given below.

Things have been very hectic since I returned from India. I’d like to share with you the pictures of my 60th birthday celebration: www.flyingmountainyoga.org/birthday/index.htm

… and also the pictures of 2006 Shakti-Siva South Indian Pilgrimage:

www.flyingmountainyoga.org/2006yatrapart1/index.htm
www.flyingmountainyoga.org/2006yatrapart2/index.htm

I look forward to seeing you/hearing from you soon.

with OM and Prem

Swami Saradananda

“If you have achieved a human birth, have sufficient bodily and mental strength to do spiritual practice, and have access to scriptures and teachers, but do not strive for self-liberation, it is like committing suicide by clinging to the unreal”.   
- Viveka Chudamani, Sankaracharya

Newsletter March 2006

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings. I’ve just returned to London after 10 weeks in India. It was one of the most hectic trips I’ve ever done, but highly enlightening!  It helped me to notice how much of the real pilgrimage is the journey within.

A trip isn’t a pilgrimage if it isn’t difficult, if we aren’t forced to learn something new about ourselves. The blessings of the pilgrimage are the obstacles that we face.

Being in India always reminds me how a purely rational point of view can induce a kind of blindness and deafness. It limits what we are able to see and hear. If we think that something isn’t possible, we can’t see or hear it. Children don’t have these limits – so are often accused of ‘making things up’.

In many ways, travelling to India is like being a child again. All of the things that we learned as children don’t apply. We can’t speak the language, eat properly, dress ourselves (I still get tangled while walking in a sari), or even use the toilet. But in spite of this, or maybe because of it, if we go with the flow, the experience can be exhilarating and freeing.

I’d like to share some of my stories and pictures of India with you, so I’ve organised a ‘South Indian Tea Party’ at the Woodlands restaurant on Marylebone Lane. You are all invited on the afternoon of Sunday, 19^th March.

Although I had looked forward to coming home to the daffodils, spring still seems a ways off. I’ve returned to a lot of work and a lot of teaching – on all levels and a great variety of classes: weekly classes as well as monthly workshops – meditation, asanas, pranayama and philosophy. See below for details. Mostly I’ll be teaching in London, though I will be doing a 10-day advanced teachers training in Germany at Easter time.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

With OM and Prem

Swami Saradananda

“It is said that we each march to our own drummer. The key is in finding the right rhythm”.  
- message from my brother on my 60^th birthday

Newsletter November 2005

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings. On Wed, 11^th Jan, I’m planning to celebrate my 60^th birthday in the beautiful Devi temple of Mookambika in South India. You are warmly invited to join the celebration. There will be a maha-puja – and the day in Mookambika always ends with the Devi being taken out in procession.

Planning and thinking about my birthday has brought to mind the old saying “It’s better to give then receive’. It seems to me that a better way to put it would be, “When you receive in the proper spirit, you are giving a priceless treasure”. 

When you listen deeply, you are receiving. When you ask advice, when you show interest, when you open yourself up to others, you’re giving by receiving. The greatest gift you can give anyone is to make them feel needed.

When you give, you are the one in control. But by allowing yourself to be on the receiving end, you are permiting yourself to be appear vulnerable in public.

Try an experiment this month – take from people: receive their guidance, their pain, their stories. If people do not give spontaneously, ask them for their opinion and their help. Then watch for the joy that you are giving by receiving.

And... if you really want to ‘give’, Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thurs, 24 November this year – my favourite holiday!!

with OM and Prem
Swami Saradananda

“I thank God for my handicaps, for through them, I have found myself, my work and my God”.  
- Helen Keller

Newsletter October 2005

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings from Gdansk. As I watch autumn arrive in Poland, the home of my ancestors, the roles of grace and guidance come to mind. Last week, the Indian celebration of Navaratri began with its initial focus on Durga, the form  of the Divine Mother who protects and purifies. As yogis, relating this symbolism to our personal practice, can bring new depths and insights. We can see how yoga and meditation initiate a deep churning of the mind and body, rather like shaking out a rug to get rid of what we have been sweeping under it for years. So the first stage of sadhana is purification.

As teachers, we have shakti, the power to inspire students. It is our responsibility to nurture and guide. This second stage, after purification, is symbolised by the form of Lakshmi. She is the 'Mother Nature'  who provides all of life's esentials, who gives 'wealth' in spiritual as well as material form.

But enlightenment does not come simply by receiving a 'teaching'. Nor does it come merely by purifying and strengthening ourselves. Enlightenment, in the form of Saraswati, comes when a person speaks directly with the Divine and decares, "I no longer need nor want a mediator to filter your guidance for me. I request You to move my life directly. I am ready to form an intimate union with You".

Navaratri, Rosh Hashonah and Ramadan all began on the 4th October. May the blessings of this auspicious season be with you.

I'll be back in London next week and look forward to attending 'Diwali on the (Trafalgar) Square' on Sunday, the 16th of this month.

with OM and Prem
Swami Saradananda

"Life is like photography. You can use the negative to develop"  
                        - Swami Beyondananda

Newsletter August 2005

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings to those of you still reading their email. Many of you may be enjoying a yoga vacation, or practicing yoga on your vacation. But for everyone, there is a special yoga that I’d like to recommend that you try this month: pay attention to where you are and what is going on around you. Try to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. If you see one ‘new’ thing daily, your life will be a joyful journey.

As yogis, many of us have been known to search for ‘secret teachings’. But, most serious seekers soon realise that few teachings are really concealed. Instead of knowledge being hidden or unavailable, the more usual problem is that few of us have the eyes to see the Truth that is in front of us. 

As many of you may know, I’m a great traveller. In fact, I’ll be giving a talk on the ‘Yoga of Pilgrimage’ at the Yoga Show in September - more details in the next newsletter. For now, I’d like to end by saying that I've found that the real pilgrimage of life begins not when we ‘go forth’ on an adventure, but when we open our eyes and go about our everyday business.

 with OM and Prem
Swami Saradananda

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes.”  
- Marcel Proust

Newsletter July 2005

OM
 
Blessed Self

This month I’ve been meditating on the element of  ‘space’, ether, ‘akasha’ in Sanskrit. How many of us have consciously developed this element within ourselves? How few of us even understand the nature of this concept and its importance in our lives. Yet, if I want to create ‘something’ in life, I must to create the ‘space’ for it. This means making space in my diary as well as clearing physical space. I also need the mental and emotional ‘space’ to develop it. As I’m thinking of doing a book on chakras (not confirmed yet, but will keep you posted), the thought of space brought me to the throat chakra: vishuddha. It is from this energy centre that speech emanates, giving expression to the longings of the heart. The voice of a person who has developed the fifth-chakra affects listeners by changing the ‘space’ of their minds and being. Prayers and songs may arise from the heart, but they find expression through the throat. Meditation on the vishuddha chakra is said to bring calmness, serenity, purity, a melodious voice, as well as the ability to express oneself both vocally and in writing. It promotes understanding of the hidden messages in dreams, and enables one to interpret scriptures and be a good teacher.

In the ‘Yoga for Yoga Teachers’ workshops, we have been exploring space from different perspectives. In the first workshop we focused on the sagittal plane, i.e. movement forward and back + up and down, the realm of memory, planning, action and movement. Next it was the horizontal plane, i.e. forward and back + right and left, the territory of  receptivity, attention, searching and communication. In the final workshop of this series, on 5 August, we will explore the vertical plane, i.e. up and down + right and left, the dimension of analysis, deliberation, intention and presentation. Each workshop is a module in itself and I am hoping to further develop them into monthly mini-studies with homework assignments to enhance practice on all levels. I welcome your comments and suggestions – and look forward to seeing you.

 with OM and Prem
Swami Saradananda

REMINDER: 2 minutes silence at noon on Thursday. Take the time to join in to the nation-wide silent prayer against violence

I live my life in widening circles
That reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
But I give myself to it.
    - Rainer Maria Rilke, Book of Hours 1,2

Newsletter June 2005

OM

Blessed Self

As I stood in Tadasana, mulling over the question: “Where do I stand in life?”, I noticed my physical tendency to keep my weight on my heels. I began to draw parallels with various issues in my life. In an attempt to bring mind and body ‘down to earth’ I tried shifting my weight forward and found myself becoming unbalanced in the opposite direction.

Balance is very important in my life. Whatever I do, I try to do it with utmost grace and poise. But finding my balance is very difficult. Some weak link always seems to pull me out of line. Balance requires inner strength. Balance is based on inner equality and equanimity – strengthening weaknesses, loosening tensions.

Balance involves grounding, brining up the questions: How do I ground myself without getting stuck? How can I build a firm foundation without my life getting set in the stone?

These are some of the questions that I would like to continue to explore in the upcoming series of ‘Yoga for Yoga Teachers’ workshops at the Special Yoga Centre. We had nine participants for the first workshop, so we’re off to a good start. The next one is planned for 8 July (see details below). Hope you can make it!!

with OM and Prem
Swami Saradananda

”This is the place
the journey begins;
Half rooted in the earth,
half floating in the endless sky”.
- Tadasana from Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold
by Leza Lowitz, published by Stone Bridge Press

Newsletter May 2005

OM

Blessed Self

Loving greetings. As I settle myself back into life in London, I find my life going through many changes. I hope to have a permanent (still keeping in mind that nothing in life is permanent) place to live by June. 

I've just returned from teaching a series of Shakti-Siva workshops in various centres in Germany. Preparing for and giving the workshops made me think of the feminine-maculine inbalances in our society - with the results that many individuals find themselves constantly drained of prana, dysfunctional families are the norm, society itself seems consumed by meaningless activities without heart and our environment suffers from mistreatment. Most of us fully appreciate the organization and efficiency of the masculine principle but have difficulty cultivating an inner landscape of openness and insight. It seems that restoring a balance of natural intuition and compassionate action would begin with the use of the intuitive principles of 'not knowing' and 'bearing witness' - principles to which I was introduced while working with the Peacemaker Community.

Now that I'll be making London my home and base, classes are starting to develop. I'll be teaching a weekly class at the Special Yoga Centre on Wednesdays at 11.15-12.45. This will be followed by a meditation session (ending at 1.30). Please drop by when you can; the address is Pember House, Pember Road, London NW10. I'll also be doing monthly workshops for yoga teachers (details below).

with OM and Prem
Swami Saradananda

"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."
 -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow