Catching-up

It has been a while since I put fingers to keyboard. I have been working on my yoga studies. During our Sunday class 2 weeks ago we sang, I tried to sing, the Gayatri Mantra. This is a very beautiful chant and there are a ton of YouTube videos. My favorite is the one by Enigma.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDnamSM3Z3s

The Mantra in Sanskrit

ॐ भूर्भुव: स्व: तत्सवितुर्वरेन्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि, धीयो यो न: प्रचोदयात्

AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA,

TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM

BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI

DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT

which translates to:

Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life,

Remover of pain and sorrow,

The Bestower of happiness,

Oh! Creator of the Universe,

May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light,

May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.

I have started to read daily from Meditations fron the Mat by rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison. It consists of a daily reading about some aspect of yoga. The first section is on the yamas. This mornings reading for me was about renunciation. This has to do with "practice [abhyasa], and nonattachment or renunciation [vairagya]. Basically, this means that "yoga practice is doing the work, it is following up your intention with action".

The reading continues and discussed the concept of practice not being a substitute for renunciation. This means that while asana and pranayama may change how you feel, relaxed, full of energy, it does not teach us what we need to know to mature spiritually. As the author states "renunciation is the acid test; it is walking the walk".

What does this mean? Well, to me it gets to the point: for me to really benefit spiritually, I have to admit to my "old" behaviors and renounce them, make a commitment to change. Yoga is our support for this.

The reading concludes with the following important thoughts to remember:

"Once we take the first step of renunciation, our practice nourishes us as we are reborn."

Practice without renunciation is avoidance

Renunciation without practice is not long-lived

Together practice and renunciation make all our dreams possible"

These are powerful statement. My take on the above is that "yoga practice without renunciation is empty; it is hypocrisy in practice".

Ruminate on this for awhile.

namaste

mary