Monday, March 17, 2014

An ode to Grandpa Garlock via Patanjali's Yoga Sutras

As part of my curriculum for yoga teacher training through Holistic Yoga Therapy Institute, I am required to read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.  I am then further required to journal each week about a Sutra that impacted my life in that seven day span, culminating in a one page article on the Sutra that MOST impacted my life over the course of the training.

Book One, Verse 22 of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras reads:
The time necessary for success further depends on whether the practice is mild, medium, or intense.

In other words (mine), if the practice is intense, then the time necessary for success should be/will be shorter.  On one level, I agree with this.  However, according to Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: The Story of Success, it takes 10,000 hours to successfully master any skill.  And 10,000 hours is 10,000 hours regardless if it takes 5 years of practice or 10 years of practice to achieve.

As the granddaughter of a farmer, who was rarely seen without his hoe in hand, I believe in hard work.  I do not believe in short cuts and I do not believe in half efforts.  My grandfather would definitely have been classified a "master" hoer, having spent thousands of hours in the fields.  My yoga journey has just begun, but like my Grandpa, I plan to cultivate my garden every day.




Below is an excerpt from an essay I wrote several years ago about my beloved Grandpa Garlock:
Born and raised a farmer’s son, farming was all he knew.  Before the rooster even had a chance to crow reveille, my Grandpa was in the fields, hoe in hand.  Gently bent over row upon row of blossoming seedlings, he patiently and tenderly cultivated each plant as if the vegetables being born were his own offspring.
Like Michelangelo’s, David, my Grandfather’s hands were his most dominant feature--too largely proportioned to the rest of his body.  While David’s unusually large hands were used to symbolize strength and power, my grandpa’s swollen, callused hands represented the hours and hours of love and dedication he gave to his farm day after day from sun up to sun down.

When the last sliver of light escaped over the horizon, Grandpa rested.  Twenty minutes after the The Lawrence Welk Show would begin; he could be heard rhythmically snoring to the soothing sounds of the big band--until the next day, when he’d start all over again.

Sanksrit Word of the Week: Samadhi

As part of my curriculum for yoga teacher training through Holistic Yoga Therapy Institute, I am required to read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.  I am then further required to journal each week about a Sutra that impacted my life in that seven day span, culminating in a one page article on the Sutra that MOST impacted my life over the course of the training.

I'm at it again.  Trying to read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and I keep seeing the word SAMADHI.  And, it's not always alone.  Sometimes it's also joined by other words I don't understand.
For example:
  • SABIA (with seed) SAMADHI
  • NIRBIA (seedless) SAMADHI
  • SAMPRANATA (distinguished) SAMADHI
  • ASAMPRAJNATA (non-distinguished) SAMADHI
  • SAVITARKA (deliberation) SAMADHI
  • NIRVITARKA (without deliberation) SAMADHI
  • SAVICHAR (reflective) SAMADHI
  • NIRVICHARA (non-reflective) SAMADHI
So back to the beginning I go.  
What is SAMADHI?

According to dictionary.com 
SAMADHI [suh-mah-dee] is:
noun:  hinduism, buddhism
the highest stage in meditation, in which a person experiences oneness with the universe.

 



In the Yoga Journal article, titled Seeking Samadhi, Judith Lasater wrote: Samadhi is a state of being intensely present without a point of view. In other words, in samadhi you perceive all points of view of reality at once, without focusing on any particular one. 

This reminded me of my first job as a freshly minted college graduate working for a big box home improvement retailer.  Hired as a department manager to oversee the design center, I focused my attention solely on my own department.  Armed with only a degree in interior design and no real world experience, I had no concept of how my department impacted the rest of the store.  In my infancy as a retail manager, I could not see the big picture.

According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: The Story of Success, it takes 10,000 hours to successfully master any skill.  I worked for that company for approximately three years or 6,000 hours (achieving a couple of promotions along the way) before it merged with another big box retailer; it's doors eventually shuttered.   In that time frame, I made tremendous growth as an individual and as a manager, expanding my focus to better comprehend how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.  And while I still had a lot to learn, I'd like to believe I'd achieved some level of retail manager enlightenment.  And perhaps, if circumstances had been different, I may have even reached "master manager" status.


Twenty years later and on a completely different path, this time striving to become a certified yoga instructor, I again find myself in my infancy working toward the same goal:  Samadhi...but this time in Patanjali's terms.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Educated

Every day for the first seven years of Child Numero Uno's school career, I asked the same question the second he stepped off the bus, "Soooo...whatcha learn today?"

For seven years I received the same response, "Nuthin'."
I finally quit asking.
Then one day last year in the middle of sixth grade, Numero Uno bounced through the door, "Hey mom! Guess what?!"
"Whaa-at?" I replied cautiously. (Numero Uno has a tendency to say things I don't want to hear.)
"I learned something new in school today!" he exclaimed.
"You did!?"
"Yep," he said proudly..."I learned I'm an atheist!"

 
First surprise.  Then anger.
"How do you know this?"
"Are they talking about religion in school?"
"Which class?"
"Which teacher?"
Questions shot out of my mouth in rapid-fire succession.
Is that even legal?  I wondered.



I felt shocked, but I shouldn't have.

Truthfully, in kindergarten, when he refused to get out of the van to go to class citing, "I don't want to go to that Jesus school," I should have known then.  When he talked about the creation of Earth in terms of a "big bang" after watching a program on the Discovery Channel, I should have known then. 

I recently read a book titled:  Ten Amazing People and How They Changed the World written by Maura D. Shaw.  The ten people featured in the book were:
  • Black Elk, a Native American Spirit Guide who used his visions to help the world better understand his culture and religion.
  • Dorothy Day, a newspaper reporter turned Catholic advocate for the poor during the Great Depression.
  • Malcolm X, a juvenile delinquent turned minister of Islam who worked for the empowerment of African Americans through peaceful communication.
  • Mahatma Gandhi, a well-to-do Hindu law student turned political activist for freedom of all Indians from British rule and equality for the poorest people of India through his practice of satyagraha, or peaceful resistance.
  • Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, leader of the Civil Rights Movement, and youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he helped African Americans achieve justice and triumph over racism through non-violent protests.
  • Janusz Korczak, a Jewish physician, teacher, and writer who worked all his life for the rights of children.  He along with nearly 200 Jewish orphans bravely marched to the train that transported them to the German death camp from where they would never return.
  • Mother Theresa, a Roman Catholic nun, founder of Missionaries of Charity, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, she lived among the poorest people in India bringing awareness to the needs of the world's sick, hungry, and homeless.
  • Albert Schweitzer, a Protestant pastor, musician, and writer, returned to school for eight years to become a medical doctor so he could travel to Africa and build a hospital to care for the poor.  He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 and used the monetary award to build a leper colony.
  • Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese, Buddhist monk exiled from his homeland for his peaceful, anti-war activities.
  • Desmond Tutu, an Anglican Priest who spoke out against human rights abuses around the world and helped to bring an end to Apartheid, garnering him the Nobel Prize for Peace. 

Each was a warrior for peace; a champion for the poor, the oppressed, the discriminated, leading the world, aiding the sick.  All great humanitarians; all great leaders for change.  What did each one have in common?  Each had a strong connection to their faith.  While not all Christian, their faith played a key role in who they were, what drove them, what they represented.  Each believed in something greater than themselves.

Numero Uno will most likely never be a Desmond Tutu or a Mahatma Gandhi, but as long as he is respectful and shows compassion and empathy toward others, I will be proud.  The Dalai Lama said, "There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies.  My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness."

I am sure Numero Uno is not done challenging me with his beliefs.  Being a card-carrying member of the NRA is probably in his future, but the day he announces he's voting Republican, he'll have to find a new place to live!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Sanskrit Word of the Week: Sutra...as in Patanjali

As part of my curriculum for yoga teacher training through Holistic Yoga Therapy Institute, I am required to read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.  I am then further required to journal each week about a Sutra that impacted my life in that seven day span, culminating in a one page article on the Sutra that MOST impacted my life over the course of the training.

Sounds easy enough, right?

But I have a question...

Who exactly was Patanjali and and what is a Sutra? 

Okay.  So that's two questions.

Don't get me wrong.  It's not as if I have never previously been exposed to these words.  You cannot read any book on Yoga without reference to Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras, but I have no clear understanding of either and if I'm going to be asked to reflect on them, then like R.E.M. sang, "Let's begin again.  Begin the begin."

Let's start by defining the word, Sutra.  According to the article, What is a Sutra? submitted by yogaphilosopher on the Toronto Body Mind website
The common dictionary meaning of the word ‘Sutra’ in Sanskrit is thread, string or cord. The word ‘Sutra’ as used in literary context has a wider meaning. It is an aphoristic or cryptic statement which expresses a vast idea within a few words. Some scholars opine that extremely important works were written in Sutra form so that they could be easily memorized and retained for the benefit of posterity. A Sutra is like a quick note jotted down by a speaker, on which he would elaborate when delivering a lecture.
Okay.  Got it.  That explains a lot actually.  The Sutras are composed of 195 (or 196 depending on the source) concise statements such as:

1.  Now the exposition of Yoga is being made.
2.  The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga.
3.  Then the Seer (self) abides in His own nature.

...and so on until you reach 195 (or 196)....except that I'm simplifying slightly, but I don't think it matters for the purpose of what I'm trying to convey.  The bottom line is the Sutras read like bullet points.  The full explanation is missing.  It is up to the person delivering the speech to elaborate on each point.  Or perhaps in this instance, it is up to the yoga student to research and reflect upon each point and extrapolate the message into their own life.


The word Pantanjali itself is a Sanskrit proper name and many Indian scholars with that surname have been credited with writing important documents on subject matter such as: grammar, medicine and yoga.  The Patanjali I'm interested in is considered, "The Father of Yoga," for compiling his thoughts and knowledge of yoga into what is essentially considered to be "an ethical blueprint for living a moral life..." approximately 2000 years ago.


For more information on both Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras, Sherry Roberts has written a wonderfully informative article titled, Patanjali's Eight-fold Path.  Another great article titled Who was Patanjali? written by Richard Rosen can be found at YogaJournal.com.

As for me, now that I have a better understanding of Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras, I'm ready to Begin the Begin.

The first Yoga Sutra to resonate with me is in Book One, Samadhi Pada, which translates to Contemplation Chapter, verse 14:  Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.  Based on this mindset, although I attended my first yoga class more than 4 years ago, I have only been practicing for one year.  According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: The Story of Success, it takes 10,000 hours to successfully master any skill.  So how long is 10,000 hours exactly?  If I spent 40 hours a week, the same amount of time the average, hourly, full-time employee spends clocked in, it would take 250 weeks to reach 10,000 hours.  Breaking it down further, 250 weeks is the equivalent of five years.  Now add in the reality factor of my life. I am not a full-time yogi, but rather a full-time mom and wife so multiply by 2 and my equation comes closer to 10 years to reach 10,000 hours.  And that's okay.  I am not in a hurry.  In fact, the opposite.  I am taking my time, savoring the experience of learning, savoring the experience of  meeting new people and making new friends, savoring the journey one minute at a time.


So, while it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, it only takes 200 hours of study to become a certified yoga instructor.  That's a big disparity, but everyone and everything has to start somewhere.  And, I think the beginning is a good place to start. I have no intention of ending my education and training at the minimum amount of hours required and most of the yoga teachers I've met have many, many years of education and teaching experience in their arsenals. 

Patanjali wrote:  Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.  I will continue to delve deeper into the world of yoga increasing my knowledge for the betterment of myself as a person, as a wife, a mom, a writer, and as a teacher.  This, Mr. Patanjali, I declare in all earnestness.