BYC Newsletter #35

Dear Yoga students and those interested in Yoga,

Beginners' Yoga/meditation

It is certainly a good thing all forms are impermanent, as the Buddha said, or I wouldn’t be able to change the shape of our yoga sessions. Here is the way it is shaping up. Wednesday night will be a regular session for those who have a routine to practice. Those who are new will come to the beginners Tuesday night session to have a yoga practice customized for their body/mind. This way I can give my full attention to a new person without boring the minds of those who are already in a practice.

Once you have a routine you can come to the Wed. session to get the support of the session and build on the routine. I’m using a very easy routine to start, and then by adding postures when you are ready, the routine grows into a more advanced practice. It has been a challenge to find a practice that fits the needs of this area since its population is so thin. Yet, people call about yoga each week and some even show up. I hope as the center figures out what works here more will find a home in yoga/meditation.

As you have noticed, I’m including meditation with yoga because many people think yoga is just exercise. What I am sharing is a practice that is like two hands coming together over the heart. In yoga, as it is meant to be practiced, the body and mind are brought together over the heart of intuition and love. It is only when these three aspects of our nature are in union (yoga) do we discover the true potential that is our birthright.

It is obvious as we mature and began to look at our lives and our society that we are not in harmony with ourselves and the world, and, because everyone we see is out of harmony, we believe disharmony is normal. Yet, no matter how hard we try to “make it,” we still are not complete and filled with a sense of well-being that is not dependent on external conditions. Something in us says we should be happy—but we can’t seem to find it.

Finally, after searching the world for lasting happiness, we turn within and head for our true home, our own inner being that has been there all the time. This is the heart of yoga/meditation, the path to, as Jesus said, the Kingdom of Heaven that lies within. This kingdom is not some magical place or some heavenly place or some place we go to if we are good after death. The Kingdom of Heaven is literally within our own heart, but we have lost the keys and don’t even know where the door is.

There are many paths to this door, but there is really only one key, and that is meditation. Whatever religion, whatever practice, guru, therapist, or self-help program, they all go to the same place. As my spiritual teacher said, “Paths are many, truth is one.”

Thank you,
Ed
Om Peace
5/10/07
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