Follow the Yogini: Ellyn goes to yoga school
Excitedly I arrived at yoga teacher school extra early for my first day. My teacher is someone that I respect and consider a friend. I feel totally honored to be taking this journey with her at the helm of my ship. There are 11 soon to be yoga teachers sharing this experience. Though we are together, each persons path is truly solitary. This morning we were fully immersed in challenging asanas. In the mid afternoon our minds were stimulated with a yoga discourse on the history and types of yoga……
Ellyn Gray works at Irene’s Myomassology Institute, she is a graduate of Irene’s, a Reiki Master Practitioner, and currently in school to become a yoga teacher. You can follow her experience by clicking the link below. Subscribe to her blog to get regular updates.
May 25, 2011 Comments Off
Sanskrit: Yoga Words and Wisdom
By: Ellyn N. Gray
This week I thought I would introduce a Sanskrit word because we teach yoga classes here at Irene’s and also because yoga has a metaphysical component that on a personal level, I think should never be divorced from its physical practice.
The word is Titiksha. Titkisha on the surface means discipline. It also means patience, endurance, forebearance, evenmindedness or equanimity. By bearing whatever comes your way, without letting it sway your mind, body, or emotions in one direction or another you are practicing titiksha.
I usually practice the physical aspect of Titiksha by going out in the cold weather with lighter clothing on and conditioning my body to be as comfortable in the cold as it is in the warm summer months.
Mentally/Emotionally I practice titiksha by doing the following: when someone says something that would normally be upsetting to me I don’t respond negatively and I just let the mind rest in whatever they say. Then, I do a mental check list and ask myself is any of what they said true, and are there changes that I need to make in my behavior or character. On the flip side, I do not allow myself to be elated by praise any more than I am upset by blame. By doing this your mind and body are calm, both of which the practice of yoga encourages.
Yoga when practiced in its fullness can offer you a new way of dealing with the challenges and triumphs of everyday life. Yoga can help free you from emotional upheavals and mental stress in a way that is natural non evasive and as inexpensive as a few really good books and good meditation techniques.
Try practicing titiksha, with effort and determination, I’m sure you will see the benefit of this practice in many areas of your life!
Book Suggestions:
The Bhagavad Gita By: Paramahansa Yogananda
specifically read pages 200- 205
The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali By: Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
February 16, 2011 Comments Off
