Photo by Aaron Visuals Via Unsplash

“And because I love this life, I know I shall love death as well. The child cries out when from the right breast the mother takes it away, the very next moment to find in the left one its consolation.” — Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

Rabindranath Tagore was one of India’s greatest poets. He is famous for writing the national anthem for both India and Bangladesh and gave Gandhi his title– “Mahatma.”

Tagore’s compelling ideas on death and humility successfully won the hearts of both the east and west. He had an unorthodox way of depicting death as a teacher of many valuable lessons. While many outward thinkers look at death like it is a void, that destroys life with no trace left of existence, Tagore showed us an inward and mystical perspective, suggesting that death is a continuation of our journey and is a teacher of humility.

Tagore lost his mother and best friend only a few years before losing his wife, two daughters and son. These tragedies are eloquently channeled in his 1913 composition, “Gitanjali”–– a collection of poems that earned him the Nobel Prize and reputation of being the first non-European laureate.

This rapid succession of misfortune was no doubt an intense time in Tagore’s life. It is clear from reading “Gitanjali” that Tagore had a close relationship to death. In fact, he calls death a “breaker of barriers” and a “light” that shows one the way.

“I know that the day will come when my sight of this earth shall be lost, and life will take its leave in silence, drawing the last curtain over my eyes. Yet stars will watch at night, and morning rise as before, and hours heave like sea waves casting up pleasures and pains. When I think of this end of my moments, the barrier of the moments breaks and I see by the light of death thy world with its careless treasures. Rare is its lowliest seat, rare is its meanest of lives. Things that I longed for in vain and things that I got---let them pass. Let me but truly possess the things that I ever spurned and overlooked.”

When I read these verses I feel humbled and transformed. I am reminded of the brevity of my own life. I too believe death can be a reality check and can strengthen one’s humility––an attractive and powerful trait.

To be humble does not imply that we are less than others or that we are down on ourselves. Humility has a quiet confidence and requires no bragging or applause. It implies compassion and acceptance of other perspectives. It is the realization that even the things we feel so sure about might be wrong. Death has a way of sharpening these attributes. When we are humble our true greatness shines.

In the words of E. M. Forster, “Death destroys a man, but the idea of death saves him.” For most people, actively contemplating our temporal existence can make life more meaningful and precious. Think of the saying, “don’t sweat the small stuff,” it really rings true when you begin with the end in mind.

One of my favorite Tagore stories involved Albert Einstein. Einstein invited Tagore to Germany to talk about the nature of reality. Upon arriving, Einstein said: “I memorized a line of yours––‘We come nearest to greatness when we are great in humility’ ––I love that line of yours.—I believe it.”

Even Einstein, perhaps one of the greatest scientists of all time, championed the trait of humility.

Even with his extraordinary mind and life, Tagore did not pretend to be a perfectly enlightened sage, nor did he look down upon others thinking he was better. When I read his poetry I get the feeling that, more than anything, he wanted to be thought of as ordinary. He was not afraid to publicly voice his human side and imperfections. I think this is why people related to him.

“I came out alone on my way to my tryst. But who is this that follows me in the silent dark? I move aside to avoid his presence but I escape him not. He makes the dust rise from the earth with his swagger; he adds his loud voice to every word that I utter. He is my own little self, my lord, he knows no shame; but I am ashamed to come to thy door in his company,” Tagore wrote in “Gitanjali.”

I am inspired by Tagore’s courage. He wore his heart on his sleeve. His words remind me about the brevity of life, the obstacles of being human and where to place my attention. For me, much of his poetry transforms the notion of death from foe to friend and from barrier to gateway. We don’t know when our time is up, or what comes after, but the inquiry can evoke humility and help us find joy in the simplicity of life, so we can share that with the people we love.

I read once that right before Steve Jobs died he spent his last moments looking at his family, uttering “Oh Wow, Oh Wow, Oh Wow.” No one knows exactly what Jobs was seeing or experiencing, but when I read this It reminded me of something Tagore wrote. “Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.”

Impermanence and change are certain, as is this breath and possibly the next. When it comes to my perspective on death, my inner being resonates with Tagore’s theories. But, I also respect that other people’s may not.

Despite varying perspectives, we can all agree that life is short and what we do with it matters. A tincture of simplicity and humbleness sprinkled throughout the day can wake us up to the things we may have needlessly spurned and/or overlooked. Practice this and you may start to gain your perspectives on death. You may even find that there is a “consolation” after death and that it can be loved just as much as life itself.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

The audio for Yoga Unplugged blog post: Rabindranath Tagore: On Death and Humility

“A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.”—Thomas Merton

In the hours before his unexpected death, Thomas Merton gave a speech quoting the Dalai Lama, “The time has come brother, when we must stand on our own feet.” Although the Dalai Lama was referring to the Chinese invasion of Tibet, Merton recognized this as a universal message we all should hear. He believed that this quote demonstrated grace. And that even though structures, institutions, organizations and teachers have a purpose, in the end we must all walk alone. I believe that through personal intention, discipline and grace you can awaken and discover your true identity. And that every one of us has unshakeable resiliency, freedom, happiness and love residing deep within.

Merton invested much of his time contemplating the higher truths of reality. He called that reality “god.” He taught that through the practices of contemplation, meditation, solitude and prayer you can change the climate of your mind and shape it into a reality constructed of love. “Your life is shaped by the end you live for.” Meaning, how you stand at the end of your final hours will be shaped by how you invested your time. Challenges will always arise. It won’t matter what you go through, it will matter how you got through it.

Merton was a mystic, monk, poet, social activist, a literary legacy and a bridge between religious cultures. He was described as “the greatest Catholic of the 20th century” and “a voice for this country in the next century.” "Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions,” declared Pope Francis.

In perhaps one of his most loved books, “Seeds Of Contemplations,” Merton defines contemplation as: “...not trance, ecstasy, nor the sudden unutterable words, nor the imagination of lights. It is not the gift of prophecy nor does it imply the ability to read the secrets of mens’ hearts. Contemplation is no pain killer. It is a spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness and for being. It is an anguish of realizing that we no longer know what God is. It is an intuitive awakening in which our free and personal reality becomes fully alive to its own existential depths, which open out into the mystery of God.”

Spiritual contemplation is often projected as being “woo-woo” and/or having little rational thought. If your spiritual practice is not shaking you up and constantly getting you to think and evolve then it might be worth questioning. Like Merton said, it is “no pain killer’ and there can be a feeling of anguish in letting go of what we think life is all about. There are times when I have experienced great pain because I realized I no longer agreed or liked who I was. Thankfully, I have come to appreciate that this process is a form of awakening, where my reality becomes more fully realized.

Thomas Merton was only 53 when he died. In his lifetime, he wrote over 70 books. His contemplations on spirituality led to one of his most famous quotes: “Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true.” I find it comforting that monks who spend all their time contemplating life say these things. We want to believe that life is this simple and that the divine is transparently shining, but this is not the common experience most of us have. “It doesn’t suffice to have someone else tell you—we want the direct experience,” is what my teacher always says.

How can you cultivate this kind of direct experience? Merton’s prescription is to get quiet, get still and cultivate an interior life through contemplation, meditation and solitude. “Our being is silent, but our existence is noisy. Yet when our noisy actions stop, there is a ground of silence always there.” Merton was a monk who got to enjoy the gift of time that many of us householders don’t have an abundance of. Although many of us cannot fathom the idea of living a life of solitude there is much to be gained from considering the contemplations of the ones who did. The “Merton’s” of the world are like “spiritual athletes.” They repeatedly claim that true sustainable peace can never be found in the world of change. Can you look to the ground that they are pointing to? The ground of silence, that does not change?

If you truly desire to experience the “ground of silence that is always there” then heed Merton’s words. “Don’t let all your time be devoured by activities and strangled with attachments. Learn to be alone. Let there be a place somewhere in which you can breathe naturally, quietly and not have to take your breath in continuous short gasps.”

Physical isolation, contemplation, meditation and prayer comprised, what Merton believed, the ultimate medicine. Whether these things are done in increments of 10 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour, everyday or only twice a week does not matter. Personal retreats radically shift our perspectives. People sometimes think this sort of activity can be selfish—that it is about an “escape” or a narcissistic way of running away from responsibilities. But understood correctly, it is actually quite the opposite.

“We do not go into the desert to escape people but to learn how to find them; we do not leave them in order to have nothing more to do with them but to find out the way to do them the most good.” Merton was strongly against the idea of alienation and did not want people to be confused about what solitude and silence meant. He went on to say that there are two kinds of silence: negative and positive. In his book, “Love And Living” he said: “Silence has many dimensions. It can be a regression and an escape, a loss of self, or it can be presence, awareness, unification, self-discovery. Negative silence blurs and confuses our identity, and we lapse into daydreams or conjure anxieties. Positive silence makes us whole. You realize who you are, who you might be, and the distance between the two.”

In my own personal moments of silence, I have experienced this to be absolutely true. I have gone on long silent meditation retreats that have radically transformed the way I see myself and others. The time alone helps me see what I cannot see when I am caught in the wheels of the “social machine” back at home. During moments of deep meditation, I have experienced tremendous amounts of love, patience, compassion and insight. I have also experienced the fake masks I wear, my shortcomings, barriers and the poor choices I have made. My teacher calls it “shakti,” Merton called it “grace” and others call it “love.” Labels aside, there is an invisible support that can be unconsciously channeled and will continue to evolve your being if you let it.

When I think about personal-development I think of a Baron Baptist quote. “Death is coming to a body near you.” Many esoteric traditions believed this and so did Merton, which might explain why he accomplished so much in his short time. Life is short and you can learn to overcome its challenges if you can invest your energy and time wisely and not squander it on meaningless moments.

Energy follows attention. Contemplation, meditation, solitude and prayer are practices not just for monks but for everyone. These practices, done regularly, shape your energy and reveal your true self. In the words of Thomas Merton: “What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it all the rest are not only useless but disastrous.”

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

The audio version of the blog post "Contemplating The Teachings Of Thomas Merton" from yogaunplugged.org

Photo by Melina Reuter

“Try something different – surrender.” —Rumi

Photo by Erriko Boccia via Unsplash

How do you feel when you are told to surrender, let go or soften into the present moment? I don’t know about you, but for me those words only work when I am feeling relaxed and peaceful. During times of stress, especially when I am caught off guard, surrendering does not happen automatically. It is a behavior that I have to practice.

According to Patanjali, the author of The Yoga Sutras, there are three actions or (kriyas) that constitute yoga: self-effort (tapas), self-study (svadhyaya) and self-surrender (ishvarapranidhana). He believed that these kriyas were the key to easing struggles, living fearlessly, and finding fulfillment in life.

Ishvarapranidhana can be translated in the following way:

Ishvara: a personal choice (in relation to the mystery of life)

Pranidhana: surrender, devotion

Patanjali was a non-dogmatic theist and a genius. He knew that if he wanted to teach the masses about the true meaning of yoga then the general term “Ishvara” would be more digestible. My guess is that he intuited that if you give people the choice of who they can worship they will be more open to listen to what you have to say.

Your personal choice

Over the past few years I have discovered new insights and strategies for embodying the kriya of ishvarapranidhana. The part that resonates with me the most is this concept of “personal choice.” The idea is that by following your heart, and making choices from this place, you are practicing self-surrender. This is much different than feeling like you have to surrender to a force that is distinct and different than yourself, like for example: Jesus, the Buddha, the Divine Feminine, Krishna or Allah.

There will always be suffering

What about surrendering to a state of being, in which all experiences arise, unfold and pass away? Could ishvarapranidhana also mean having reverence for the present moment?

When I think of this question I am reminded of a quote from the Bible: “for the place in which you stand is holy ground.” Is this ground in which we are currently standing holy and perfect in every way? Many of us may answer no. Daily stresses and emotional problems that come up are real and often debilitating—nothing feels “holy” about them. It is no wonder then, that both Patanjali and the Buddha taught that the universal human condition is suffering.

Modern neuroscience now agrees with these spiritual teachers. There is something about our human brains that cause us to suffer. Feeling disappointed with others or yourself, regretting not doing “enough”, the fear of getting older, feeling like you have “no time”––notice your tendency to judge and hang on to negative emotions like these.

The software of the mind has a “looping mechanism” and if nothing is done to attenuate and counteract negative emotions they will loop on relentlessly. This is called “negative neuroplasticity” and is what holds us back from happiness. This built in neurobiological system can either be helpful or harmful depending how you use it. So how can you hack the negative loops and re-wire with positive ones?

Say YES to life

There are new insights and strategies that can lead to positive loops. Adopting a daily practice of saying yes to the present moment is an excellent way to surrender and create a positive loop. “Always say 'yes' to the present moment... Surrender to what is. Say 'yes' to life - and see how life starts suddenly to start working for you rather than against you.” This Eckhart Tolle quote reminds us of what is possible when we say yes to life. Think of it as a form of “self regulation”, or a “devotion in motion.”

Saying yes to life is a way of training the circuitries of your brain. It is also a practice that encourages you to act more from the heart and less from your head. It is not easy to ask the ego to step aside. Letting life inform and guide you is a practice, and the bad news is life might have a different plan for you than what you want. I read once that we are born with one third of our traits and the other two thirds we need to cultivate. What kind of traits have you cultivated? By saying yes to the present moment you start to train yourself to become more resilient when unpredictable stressful moments arise.

Stay open and curious

A startling insight I have developed practicing ishvarapranidhana is the realization that I really don’t understand anything. My ego thinks it does, but that is where I get into trouble. Understanding that I don’t really understand myself, others or the world has become an interesting entry point into self-surrender. My ego shrieks at the idea of deferring power outside of itself, but for some reason (call it grace maybe?) when I stay open and curious, let my ego go and trust in a higher power, magic really does happen.

The power of mindfulness

In order to say yes to life, and allow a higher intelligence to direct us, we need to be “in-tune” to every moment in our lives. If your natural tendency is to rush through your day, you will likely miss meaningful messages that are being transmitted to you at any given moment. How many unconscious mental and physical routines do you have each day? Are tasks like driving home from work, checking the mail, doing the dishes or having your morning coffee things you do mindfully or do you do them on autopilot? If we are not paying attention we can easily become identified with our stories, cravings and phobias and become blind to the extraordinary moments of being alive. Hence, don’t take any task big or small for granted. They are all opportunities to practice living mindfully.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Below are the Buddha’s teachings of mindfulness. You can practice one or all of them, it makes no difference. What matters is your intention.

1. Pause and become aware of your body. Notice your breath. What is your body’s relationship to the environment in this moment? Where is your body in relation to space and time? Sometimes we are so lost in our thoughts we don’t pay attention to where we are. Note how everything is constantly changing. We become mindful to such a degree that we become detached. It is then that we discover we are more than just our bodies.

2. Pause and become aware of sensations. What information are your senses bringing in? Are they pleasant, unpleasant or neutral? These inquiries can lead to powerful self-mastery skills especially with addictions. Just having a devotion to this pause itself can prevent us from behaviors that don’t serve us.

3. Pause and become aware of the thought patterns that are in our consciousness. What are the characteristic thoughts? The memories? The images? Note how you can be dragged here and there by them. The pause itself can be a way to observe thoughts without getting involved, and overtime you can learn to disidentify with them.

4. Pause and become aware of the totality of the previous three. What are the overarching ideas and concepts that shape your daily experiences? The ideologies and structures of your own reality? Eventually you will get better at analyzing them and their constituents.

Meditate on this

Meditation has helped me tremendously with getting in-tune, detaching and disidentifying from all of the labels and fears I like to believe are real. It helps me focus and and get centered on the astonishing reality of my existence right now. When I am not ruminating over my worries I notice I have so much more brain power that can be channeled into my actual reality.

I am not a purist. I value various wisdom traditions available to us on this planet. Patanjali was a yogi and the Buddha (no shocker here) was a “buddhist”. Both had similar views, but different ways of teaching. We can learn from these great masters if we stay open and willing to surrender.

The Bhagavad Gita teaches that “yoga is skill in action”. This always reminds me that life is dynamic and it is how we bring our consciousness to life that makes all the difference in our experience.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Imagine for a moment that you are driving a chariot being pulled by five very strong, wild horses. You’d like your journey to be peaceful, stable and steady, while progressing in the direction you desire right? In order to do this you have to understand the nature of these horses and how to tame, direct and discipline them… otherwise you won’t be traveling comfortably or very far.

The metaphor of the chariot and wild horses is an ancient one. The horses represent our five senses, which are often strong and wild, and pull our mind in different directions. The practice of yoga helps tame the senses encouraging grounding and focus. Think of your body as having an untapped inner technology. It is your job to study the “owner’s manual” to help you travel more peacefully and joyfully through life. Understanding this “technology” has been the life long quest of many mystical traditions.

The yoga tradition contains many maps, techniques and inquiries that help one understand their inner technology and how to use it. Your end goal is to experience expanded states of consciousness so that you can connect with the divine.

These techniques are outlined beautifully in Kriya Yoga, or the “actions of yoga.” The three major components of this practice are:

Tapas—Self-effort or discipline

Svadhyaya––Self-study

Isvarapranidhana—Self-surrender, or devotion

Tapas in particular is a crucial component for taming the wild horses that pull you. This Sanskrit word has many nuanced meanings. On the most basic level, it has to do with “heat” and at a more complex level, it reflects “a heat that produces a positive inner alchemy". Tapas is known for being a fiery discipline that helps one purify mind and body from the limitations and blockages that keep you from experiencing your true light.

Other words to describe Tapas are:

Tenacity

Grit

Courage

Will Power

Perseverance

Determination

As a parent, I find that neither one of my kids have much grit when life gets tough. There is a lot of talk in the house about having grit and the “heat” that it can cause. I remind them that temporary friction and discomfort leads to tremendous progress in the long run. The act of Tapas, or fiery discipline, flexes the mind’s muscles. The more it is practiced the stronger those muscles get.

As the great Mahatma Gandhi once said, “strength does not come form physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” This will, to “be the change you wish to see,” causes friction and heat caused by what Gandhi called the “ego-desire complex”. It is important to remember, that sometimes what your ego desires is not helpful and can even be harmful.

Tapas means different things to different people. Sometimes a Tapas practice involves getting up early in the morning to exercise every day. For others it could be to sit down and meditate, or to start and maintain a healthy diet. Ultimately Tapas is a dedicated practice that helps burn off the impediments that limit or hold us back from true harmony and wholeness.

Nelson Mandela’s famous quote, “our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure,” speaks of Tapas. How much power and progress could you experience in your life if you had the discipline to stay fiercely dedicated to your heart’s path?

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by Fabian Burghardt via Upsplash

Decision Fatigue often results in poor choices. It’s the end of a busy day, your brain is tired of making decisions, so it becomes lazy and impulsive.  

Photo by Vladislav Babienko via unsplash.com

But, decision fatigue can be subtle. Unlike running a marathon until you are physically exhausted, decision fatigue mentally drains you until you are disconnected from your core values.  

Whether you are a CEO, an athlete, a parent or retired—nobody is exempt. Our brains get tired because they work non stop. Getting enough sleep and making sure you have proper glucose levels in your brain are helpful strategies. But, when it comes to ensuring your important decisions will be aligned to your core values on a daily basis—meditation is one of our greatest tools. 

Meditation not only offers a reboot for the brain, it restructures it. The theory of neuroplasticity states that you can re-wire your neural connections in any way that you desire. You can unplug from the circus wheel of life and find inner calm, shrinking the amygdala —the part of the brain that is quick to panic during states of distress.

The foundational teaching used to describe authentic meditation is called “yogas citta vritti nirodha.”  

According to the Yoga Sutras 1:2 this translates to:

Yoga: Union/Meditative absorption

Citta: Stuff in your mind

Vrittis: To turn

Nirodah: To calm, quiet and even stop

This means that yoga is what happens when the stuff in your mind, that is always turning, quiets down and/or stops. Simply put, it pauses a panicky brain.

In this teaching, yoga is used as a noun. It is the result of getting your mind and body to settle down and be quiet. Meditation quickly reveals mental patterns or conditionings-- the stuff in your head that is continually “turning.”  What if the turning quieted down? What if your not so helpful thoughts stopped all together?  

What if you had moments of restful alertness where you could “step outside" of your mental constructs and for once not identify with them? What if, instead, you could see them for what they are: twirling and turning conditions of a “limited nature.”  What if you could then step back into life with a bigger view or perspective along with fresh and new possibilities accompanied with a stronger will power?  

All decisions deplete mental energy to a certain degree. Deciding what to wear, which way to drive, what to eat for dinner, how to answer a text, where to take your next vacation, what kind of action to take in a time of conflict, how to be a better parent, how to spend money more wisely, and on and on. These are just daily typical decisions. These are the easy ones compared to life’s surprise interruptions. The challenges that you were not expecting, but are now forced to solve.  

Studies show that by 4:00 p.m. our will power and self-control are at their lowest. By early evening we are more susceptible to irrational decisions or just avoiding life altogether.  

How To Avoid Decision Fatigue:

1. Embrace a daily meditation practice

2. Aim to make your toughest decisions of the day in the morning from 9:00-12:00 p.m.

3. Get plenty of sleep every night

4. Mind your glucose levels. Don’t allow yourself to get “hangry.”

If these tips feel impossible or unrealistic know that, just by reading this and informing yourself, you have already taken the first step. Changes happen over time and there are no quick fixes.  There is a lot of knowledge out there and finding the kind that works for you and putting it into action will create effects you would have never imagined. 

Gandhi once said: “Strength does not come from physical strength but indomitable will.”  The strength needed to move mountains or simply get out of bed in the morning comes from will power. Will power comes from the ability to unplug, rest, reboot and recalibrate, so that you can stay steadfast and be your best self. The goal is to do all this without ever having to compromise your core values.  

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

In this episode Sarah speaks with the founder of Yoga Unplugged, Jennifer Reuter, about the importance of the breath. 

Learn breathing techniques helpful for managing stress, why it's important to breath from your belly, how posture affects vitality and why the yogis believed that the breath was the key to achieving a long life.

“The unexamined life is one not worth living.” – Socrates

Are you starting to crave a fresh start and looking for new opportunities?

December is a time for reviewing the year and planning for the next. As we get ready to embark on the next decade let us take a moment to engage in our end of year ritual using these four steps: Schedule, Reflect, Strategize and Intend.

Schedule

First, find time.

If you are a busy person, like most of us are, then you know how challenging this step can be. But, if you are reading this article you also know how important this time is. When you take the time to pull back from daily activities and pause for self reflection everyone in your life benefits.

Choose a time that is most convenient for you. Maybe it is a few hours on a Sunday morning or in the early evening, at a retreat, or even on a long airplane ride. Schedule it in your calendar to ensure it happens.

Reflect

Once you have set aside at least a couple hours of time sit down with a journal or your laptop and reflect on your life over the past year.

This is not a time to get attached to your past. It is a time to celebrate your accomplishments and learn from failures so you can strategize the best plan moving forward.

The goal here is to create clarity.

Create three separate columns that reflect each area of your life:

• Professional

• Family/social

• Personal

Think about the experiences you had pertaining to each category. Which ones were joyful? Which were challenging? With the attitude of receptivity, reflect on why those experiences brought you joy or difficulty. The goal is to learn more about yourself and nurture your own authenticity.

As Oscar Wilde so brilliantly stated, "Be yourself—because everyone else is already taken." There is never a better time than now to start being true to yourself. Own, nurture and celebrate every part of you. The planet will thrive as well as our communities and families when we stop being afraid of embracing our individuality. Besides, who isn’t tired of being the person everyone wants us to be? Or, being the person we “think” we “should” be? Or, on a larger scale, “conforming” to some way of conventional thinking?

Strategize

After you have gained valuable information from the reflection process it is time to plan a new year. You now know which areas of your personality require some “house cleaning,” which areas you would like to explore deeper and which areas you would like to nurture and grow.

Some people might liken this step to making a New Year’s resolution, but instead, consider it a course correction. Life is dynamic and full of change. It is normal to get thrown off course and become estranged to your true self. This is another opportunity to amp up your self compassion and dream big.

Take out a calendar and look at each month for the upcoming year. Have a sharp focus on the first quarter, it is coming fast!

Again, make plans for each category of your life:

• Professional

• Family/social

• Personal life

Begin by brainstorming ideas. Not all ideas will manifest, but it is important to write them down anyway so you can have a roadmap to follow.

Intend

Intention is direction and determines outcomes. Wherever your attention goes your energy flows. All great think tanks - ancient and modern - understand the power of intention. In the yoga tradition, the word is “samkalpa.” You can check out last year’s blog if you want a clearer description of how to work with it.

Samkalpa is the intention of the highest kind. This is an internal longing, a prayer from our heart. It is related to our core values and it becomes an affirmation that is non-negotiable.

For instance, as I dream big and strategize my 2020 self-care routines, family trips, trainings, projects, self-development and collaborations I simultaneously invoke my personal samkalpa, “I am peaceful and I am connected to source.” This is my internal mission statement, my inner vow that cannot be compromised.

Peace is something I long for, but it can often get lost or misplaced. So, with every big idea I have for the new year it has to align with this core value.

This samkalpa is like an inner mantra. It is a simple statement, but it is loaded full of nuances, imagery and meaning. Don’t let the simplicity of the statement fool you. The samkalpa has a charge of the highest kind and it literally lives inside you. Wake up with this mantra and try to remember it throughout the day. This intention will not only direct you to make better choices, but it will attract the opportunities you desire.

Yes, there are times when the samkalpa can get lost. That is why this cycle - Schedule, Reflect, Strategize, Intend - is a helpful reboot. Do this ideally once a quarter, but certainly at the end of the year.

“Intention is one with cause and effect. Intention determines outcome. And if you’re stuck and not moving forward, you have to check the thought and the action that created the circumstance,” says Oprah Winfrey.

Challenges will arise. How smoothly you will navigate these challenges lie in how well you know yourself and the tools you use along the way.

The end of the year is a perfect time to use those tools to strengthen your bond to yourself, re-evaluate your life goals and affirm your intentions. Take the time to schedule your year end ritual and catch the energetic tidal wave into the next decade.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by Glenn Carstens Peters on Unsplash

Welcome to our very first episode of Yoga Unplugged Conversations!

A show dedicated to helping you grow, thrive and gracefully make tough life decisions, so you can lead a happier, healthier life.

Yoga Unplugged Team member Sarah Burchard is your host for this podcast. Sarah is a freelance writer, natural foods chef and certified health coach who is passionate about promoting local businesses and food through her writing, farmers market tours and farm-to-table events under the name The Healthy Locavore. When she is not knee deep in food she's marketing events for Yoga Unplugged and supporting the yoga community here on Oahu.

In this episode Sarah interviews our very own Jennifer Reuter. Jennifer is a teacher of yoga, level 2 iRest yoga nidra and Neelakantha meditation. She is also a sound healer and the founder of Yoga Unplugged. She has been practicing and teaching for over a decade and studies several philosophies and religions, as well as the science behind meditation in order to give her students a well-rounded and advanced spiritual education.

Jennifer leads meditation workshops, sound baths, yoga teacher trainings and retreats all over Hawaii. You can also find her teaching weekly public yoga classes at Aloha Yoga Kula in Kailua.

In this episode, Sarah and Jennifer discuss how to follow your intuition and why it is so important when it comes to important decision making. They also address acting on internal messages, signs from the universe, taking advice from others and what to do when your gut lets you down.

Jennifer Reuter is a meditation and yoga teacher, sound healer and founder of Yoga Unplugged. She has been practicing and teaching Neelakantha meditation for well over a decade. In our first episode of Yoga Unplugged Conversations she talks with host Sarah Burchard about how to trust your gut. During this show they address: Acting on internal messages, signs from the universe, taking advice from others, what to do when your gut lets you down and inquiries that are helpful for solving problems. Learn more at www.yogaunplugged.org

When I was in my 20’s I made up a story in my head that I had to have a yoga mat and move through meditative postures in order to practice yoga.

When I got to my 30’s the story grew into something more meaningful. Now, yoga meant that practicing contemplative and meditative exercises would help me understand myself and what would bring me inner peace.

Fast forward to the present moment, now in my 40’s, and my story has changed once again. I still believe what I believed in the past, but I also now believe that yoga is nothing more than universal love.

I often share these perceptions with my students in class to show them what my yoga journey has looked like and how they have influenced my practice.

The reason why these stories have changed so much over time, however, is because of a practice I use called––Jnana Yoga.

The stories you make up

Storytelling is a powerful tool. Recounting past events that happened in your life or making up imaginary fantasies can inspire, teach and entertain.

But what happens when you make up a story about an event that is untrue?

The stories you make up are your brain’s way of “protecting” yourself.

But, instead of helping they can often create unnecessary complications.

Brene Brown is a professor, public speaker and best selling author whose work focuses on courage and vulnerability. She encourages people to use the phrase “The story I’m making up is…” at the beginning of difficult conversations.

For example, have you ever been in a relationship with someone who did or said something that caused you agitation? Did you make up a story around why they did it or what it meant? And did you find out that that story was untrue later?

The danger of storytelling, versus basing your reaction on fact, is that you may be accusing that person of doing something that isn’t true. It is the basis for miscommunication.

“Anybody who's been in — or out of — a relationship can tell you that they're full of miscommunications, misreadings, and other misunderstandings. You say one thing, they hear something else,” says Brown.

By beginning a tough conversation with “The story I’m making up is…” you are telling the other person your perception and admitting that you might be wrong about what really happened.

Another helpful practice is to take those stories and use them for introspection. This is the practice of Jnana Yoga.

Jnana Yoga

Jnana, pronounced as “gya-na,” means knowledge.

Jnana Yoga is a practice that uses knowledge to help purify the mind of misperceptions, which may be blocking you from connecting with others and living in harmony with life.

The yoga texts translate the word misperception, or “avidya” in Sanskrit, as “actively not seeing true knowledge.” They teach, that these misperceptions are the number one cause for all human suffering, making the mind run wild, causing you to cast doubts about your self worth, block solutions to problems and prevent you from taking action.

The benefits of Jnana yoga, or the pursuit of higher knowledge, is that it soothes a restless and broken soul. It purifies the mind, burning the self-made stories you make up, and creates wisdom love and compassion––enabling you to create a more meaningful connection with life.

In Jnana yoga there are three phases. First, knowledge has to be heard and received. Second, knowledge has to be repeated thousands of times in many different ways. Third, knowledge has to become a part of you.

The practice of Jnana yoga begins by asking yourself hard questions like: Who am I? What am I? What do I fear? What am I grateful for? What is joy or love?

It can also include an inquiry into your life’s purpose and/or anything else related to your relationship with the universe.

Brown’s “What is the story I’m making up” approach also works well here. For example, What is the story I’m making up about the nature of my reality? Is it is the same story my parents had? Is it a story I heard in church or from my teacher or guru? What is the story I’m making up about the career path I have chosen or my purpose in the world? What is the story I am making up about who I am?

Neti neti

Neti neti is a Sanskrit term that means “not this and not that.”

It is helpful to use neti neti when you begin asking these deeper questions. It encourages you to not settle and keep asking until you find the truth, admitting that your beliefs are not 100% accurate.

Neti neti creates wiggle room for new perspectives and insights.

Jnana yoga is practiced the same way one would peel an onion. You keep peeling back the layers by asking the same questions over and over until you can get closer to the center, or the truth.

Year after year the inquiries reveal new understandings, insights previously missed, and a penetration into the heart of the matter one seeks.

The story I told myself about yoga in my 20’s is radically different than the story I tell myself today because I keep peeling back these layers and asking more questions.

Listening to the truth

How well you can peel back the layers and find truth depends on how good you listen.

Krishna Murti––Indian philosopher, speaker and writer––is a great example of someone who practiced Jnana yoga. He pointed out the problems we have with our listening by asking these questions: “How do you listen to knowledge? Do you listen with your projections, through your ambitions, desires, fears, anxieties, through hearing only what you want to hear, only what will be satisfactory, what will gratify, what will give comfort, what will for the moment alleviate your suffering? If you listen through the screen of your desires, then you obviously listen to your own voice.”

The practice of listening is challenging, but if you desire thriving relationships, either with others or the universe, then it is important to try.

This is where a daily meditation practice is helpful and essential. It makes you a better listener.

An invitation to practice

“The Yoga Sutras” says that ignorance is the greatest poison.

When you make up stories that are not true they can create toxicity and separation at both the individual and relationship levels.

Instead of getting caught up in your story can you take the time to connect with your heart and ask yourself deeper questions to see what surfaces before taking action?

I invite you to use the practice of Jnana Yoga to prevent stories from turning into suffering. Find out for yourself how Jhana Yoga can make your life change for the better.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by Keegan Houser on Unsplash

“Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.” - Rumi

I have always been drawn to Rumi. But when I discovered that he was the best selling poet in the United States (more popular than Shakespeare) I was even more intrigued. I pulled “The Essential Rumi” by Coleman Barks from my bookshelf, dusted it off and began reading.

I love that his writings are timeless, and that he can speak to anyone regardless of their faith. Despite time, geography and religion this poet speaks to what all humans yearn for: inner transformation, love and a connection to the sacred. His profound understanding of love is expressed so beautifully. “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” In addition to being profound, Rumi is also charming and witty. “Yesterday I was clever, and I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise and I want to change myself,“ was his opinion on transformation.

Rumi makes his way west

Although his writings are 800 years old it wasn’t until 1976 that his work got picked up in the west. The story, was that Robert Bly, an American poet, handed Coleman Barks an early translation of Rumi’s work. “These poems need to be released from their cages,” he said. It took about nine years for Barks to transform them. He had to “transform them from stiff academic language into American-style free verse,” he wrote. Barks released the “caged poems,” which turned Rumi into a common household name.

Who was Rumi?

Rumi was a 13th century Persian poet and a top Islamic scholar and theologian of his time. He was born in Afghanistan, but the rise of Genghis Khan made his family flee to Konya, Turkey, where they settled along the famous silk road. Interestingly, the silk road was a melting pot of various travelers—jews, christians, hindus, and buddhists. The exposure to this diversity impacted Rumi. Although partial to Islam, the tone of his poetry is accepting and tolerant of all religions. He was an esoteric man, that wanted to share his inner experience. ”I looked in temples, churches and mosques. But I found the divine within my own heart,” he said. Exposure to the silk road wasnʻt the only thing that affected him. What really released his genius was the pain he endured after the loss of his most beloved friend.

“The cure for the pain is in the pain.” Rumi had not arrived at his full potential until a painful tragedy took it’s toll. This is truly where the story becomes mystic. The one person he loved more than himself went missing—never to return. Shams of Tabriz was Rumi’s teacher and most beloved friend. Their friendship, which lasted three years, was mysterious, unique and special. One night Shams left and was never seen again. Some speculate that he was murdered by one of Rumi’s jealous followers. Rumi went searching, but never found him. He was deeply distraught and heart-broken over this separation, and as a result he began to whirl on his left foot while singing and speaking poetry. It was the tipping point that gave Rumi his immortal voice.

Mystical moments are not always as they seem

Often times there is a dreamy notion that what sparks the mystical is beautiful and sublime. But it can also be loss, challenge and tragedy that creates mysticism. Confronted with severe inner struggle it seems the human spirit either withers away or transforms, depending on the tools theyʻve been given. In this tale, Rumi is a mystic and built into him was the means to transform. I don’t think he realized then how much his “transformation through loss” would affect millions of people so far into the future.

The loss over Shams disappearance and the years of anguish Rumi spent searching for him, finally ended with a heart moving realization: “Why should I seek? I am the same as he. His essence speaks through me. I have been looking for myself!” What a profound knowingness, that what he had been seeking had been with him all along.

I read this passage to my 6 year old son. I am not sure he really got it, but I put myself in Rumi’s place—pondering how I would feel if my boy went missing and was never to be found. To read his words from that vantage point was very meaningful for me. The harsh reality is that impermanence is a given. We will eventually lose the ones we love, but we will never lose their essence.

This is just some of the potency of Rumi’s poetry. In times of difficulty he can be quite sobering. His agenda is to help broaden our perspectives about the mystery of the universe, the mystery of being human and how they relate to each other.

I love when he reveals his human side. “Sometimes I forget completely what companionship is. Unconscious and insane, I spill sad energy everywhere. Friends be careful. Don’t come near me out of curiosity or sympathy.”

And I appreciate his confident reminders. “You are more precious than both heaven and earth. You know not your own worth. Sell not yourself at little price, Being so precious in God’s eyes.”

One of my favorite versus speaks to the differences of opinions we all have, especially regarding politics or any other heated emotional topic. “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about ideas, language, even the phrase each other—doesn’t make any sense.”

Today Rumi is a globally cherished poet and mystic. His tomb is a sacred shrine, that receives over two million visitors a year. His poetry helps us remember to connect, open up and soften.

Reflecting back on Robert Bly’s comment, “these poems must be released from their cages,” it feels like metaphorically this is what Rumi was doing for us. Through his poetic inspiration, he was helping to release the human spirit from our own “self-created cages,” so that we too may fly, soar, and experience the freedom that we were always meant to have.

Blog post by Jennifer Reuter (Yoga Unplugged)

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by Allie Smith via Unsplash

Every year we take another wild journey around the sun. I have come to the conclusion, that if I don’t consciously try and “map” this journey out it can start to take a life of its own—good or bad. As we all know, life is what we choose to make it, and every new year is another chance to craft it into something special.

When you sit down this month to plot your course for next year, consider using this strategy...

1. Identify your Samkalpa

Samkalpa (Sanskrit: संकल्प)

Sam:  Connection with the highest truth; your heart

Kalpa: the rule to be followed above all other rules; time

A Samkalpa is one of the most practical tools of the ancient yogic tradition. It is an internal compass that gives your life meaning, direction and purpose. Without it, you may experience the feeling of being lost.

The word Samkalpa can be translated to “heartfelt desire.” It becomes an overarching theme for your life, a personal vow.

If you are pondering what this word means for you, I recommend getting quiet. The task of identifying your Samkalpa requires getting into alignment with your core being. When you slow down, get still and sincerely listen, you will feel your Sampkalpa start to bubble up. It will become a clear knowingness, that cannot be denied, and will be the driving force behind all that you do.

A new years intention that I often hear is, “I want to get into shape.” This is a great intention! But, it may fall by the wayside, if you don’t ask yourself the deeper question of “why.”  

When you ponder the reason behind your intention, you will discover your Samkalpa. Using the example of, “Wanting to get into shape,” a Sampkalpa may be a vow to be happier, more radiant or have more energy to play with your kids.

I like to think of my Samkapla as my co-pilot for traveling each year. I remind myself several times a day because the reality is, that change and unforeseen interruptions will happen. So no matter what is brewing, my Samkalpa will help me stay aligned, strong and resilient.

Write down and state your Samkalpa out loud, matter-of-factly, like you are living it now! Feel it in the body as if it is true and real already.

For example, “I am radiant!”

2.  Reflect upon your Samkalpa in three categories

1. Personal

2. Professional

3. Social/Family

Explore the following inquiries in all three categories of your life, in relation to your Samkalpa.

What is going well?

What is not going well?

What do I want more of?

What do I want less of?

What do I want to experience?

How do I want to live?

Who would I like to be?

This reflection process reveals insights that will allow you to craft and plan your upcoming journey.

3.  Plan Time to PLAN

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  —Benjamin Franklin

In order to steer 2019 in the right direction you need to create time for planning. I schedule a series of days, at the end of each quarter, for planning out the quarter ahead. During these sessions I revisit the original journey I mapped out at the beginning of the year, along with any new future opportunities that may have manifested along the way.

In addition, I check in daily and weekly to review what was initiated in my quarterly planning sessions to stay on track.  

4. Choose a companion word

You can help cultivate your character with a “companion word”.  Last year my companion word was “courage.” I chose that word as a reminder to help me trust my intuitive hits, no matter how bizarre they were. It was a good lesson for me that helped me turn my intuition into a trusted source. I wrote the word in the front my journal, so that I would see it every day and not forget it.

What is your companion word for 2019?

5. Align your intentions with an ancient mantra

There are many auspicious mantras that help channel and direct universal energy. For example, the ancient mantra Namah Shivaya, as taught to me by my teacher, is called the “Panchakshari Mantra.” It is known as the 5 syllable mantra—each syllable representing one of the five elements: space, air, water, fire and earth. Chanting this mantra constitutes its universal oneness. It calms the mind, brings spiritual insight and knowledge, enhances your perception and instills hope and faith.

Practice chanting an ancient mantra like, Namah Shivaya as you move forth on your new journey.

6. REPEAT

Did I mention that change and unforeseen interruptions will happen? The material world from which we operate is constantly changing. That means, that the outside world will knock us off course eventually.

Find your super power of "starting again.”  Meditate, remember your Sampkalpa, adjust your plan as necessary, stay true to your companion word, chant mantra and repeat.

Have faith in your Sampkalpa. Be kind and gentle to yourself. Rest when you need to and practice self-love. Remember, no one else can do it the way you can.   

How will you plan your next journey around the sun?

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Happiness, peacefulness and resiliency are ways to describe our light.

So, how can you increase your own light?  You need to, basically, “hack” your brain.

Did you know that your brain is hardwired towards a negativity bias? 

According to the acclaimed neuropsychologist, Dr. Rick Hansen in his book Hardwiring Happiness, we are programmed to take in the “bad” and ignore the “good”.  He says, bad experiences are like velcro and good experiences are like teflon.

Another interesting insight Dr. Hansen offers is that, “On average, about a third of a person’s strengths are innate, while the other two-thirds are developed over time. You get them by growing them”.

To turn towards the light takes great strength, commitment and persistence. 

I am always dumbfounded why this is.

Our brains, due to evolutionary needs, are engineered to see the darkness. This puts us at a disadvantage from day one.

How can you hack your brain and create more positive circuitry?

To overcome this “stone age” default your brain is set on, it takes work.

After reading Dr. Hansen’s book, I turned up the dial on my moment-to-moment practice, by continually policing where my attention was. As much as possible, I bring my attention towards the light— experiences, projects, people, images and objects that make me smile. This does not happen quickly. I have to sit with it, for five to ten seconds, and “feel” it in the body, let my cells absorb it, and finally, let my brain’s neurons fire and re-wire.  

This is the ancient wisdom of the yoga sutras being explained in modern day language. For the yoga geeks, like me, who are familiar with “samtosha”, a niyama from the famous Ashtanga or eight-limbed path, it is clearly written that by bringing attention to the positive you will experience the “highest joy possible”.  

The positive is "devotion in motion" and it’s returns are exponential.

As Ram Das once said, “All I can do for you… is work on me…and all you can do for me is work on you.”  

We are all in this together. So, celebrate what’s going well, the small wins, a scene from nature, your pet, a child, a cherished memory... and hack your brain towards the light.

Pick up a copy of Dr. Rick Hansen’s book: Hardwiring Happiness. This book does a brilliant job of explaining how your brain has the ability to change throughout your life, and how you can literally create a more positive circuitry, or as I talk about it in my classes, “light”. You can also check out his Ted talk here.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

I read once that our shadows follow us around. We can’t always see them, but other people certainly can. Some will even point them out to you.

This can create an impulse to react with defense, denial or avoidance. These uncomfortable impulses are confirmation that your shadows are indeed real. It is important to notice your reactions and what triggers them, because these are what will ultimately limit your growth and greatest potential.

Over the last couple of months, I have been hunting down my own shadows, and doing my best to use them as teachers. This is so much easier said than done.  

Overall it has been a really good practice on patience, self inquiry and surrender. I am learning a lot about myself, and thanking my meditation practice for being a necessary means for transformation.  

It is not just people that can trigger us, but circumstances and mediums like the news or social media.   

Ramana Maharshi was an Indian saint who taught people to constantly ask important questions like, “Who am I?” He believed that by doing so, one could attain self realization.  

This beautiful inquiry is the act of soul searching, which is one way to hunt down your “shadows” that obscure your “light”.  

Rumi, the mystical poet, said: “It is not your job to seek for love—just seek the barriers that keep it from coming.”  Your barriers, shadows and triggers are not something you should ignore, but instead try to understand, for they hold the key to inner peace.  

Social media and the news are great examples for the global play of shadow and light. They can be colossal triggers that will provide insights to your personality. They can celebrate moments of magic which could be a light for one person, but a shadow to another. What other people think about something is not as important as how we “feel” about ourselves at the end of the day. If you use these mediums, and get triggered by them regularly, then I would invite you to ask yourself why that is.

You can use social media as a valuable tool to hunt down shadows. The “light” of social media is the connection with others, while the “shadows” can trigger unsavory emotions. Ever hear of the new term “Facebook Depression”?  

The psychology of social media is out—if you have not read about how it purposely makes us crazy—check this article out.  Social media is designed to trigger us, and as you already know, triggers are uncomfortable.  But again, triggers are also “keys”, and if you can become aware of, and understand why you are triggered, you can stop stunting your personal growth and mediums like the news and social media will become a different experience.  

Like Michelangelo’s David, we really are all whole, beautiful and complete. As sculptors of our own identities, we have the power to chip away what is unnecessary, so that what is left can shines brightly and serve to the world in a positive way.

I invite you to become a “shadow-hunter” like me. Grab your sculptor’s chisel and start chipping away at what is blocking your true happiness. Pay attention to what sets you off. Try to breathe, pause, notice, ask yourself why you are feeling this way. Meditate on it.  Everyone has a shadow that requires investigation. If we didn’t our world would be perfect. By helping ourselves we help others, and the world becomes a little bit more lighter and relaxed.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Yoga nidra is a powerful meditation technique, that has many benefits for the body and mind and is easy to develop and maintain. For those reasons, yoga nidra is quickly becoming more and more mainstream. This practice, once reserved for “Ashram life” and advanced yoga trainings, is now growing in popularity as a main offering in yoga studios from New York to L.A. 

The reason for this demand is that yoga nidra seems to be an “antidote” for the high-paced digital world. Modern lifestyle has most people over-stimulated and operating from their sympathetic nervous system, a.k.a. “The fight or flight response”. Yoga nidra offers a way to deactivate this response, in exchange for the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest”, nervous system. 

Although you can sit up during this practice, it is usually done while lying in “shavasana”. This 30-minute systematic guided meditation begins with a heartfelt prayer, or an intention you might have for yourself or another. You are then invited to direct your attention into the different layers of your being. The layers consist of the physical, the breath, the mind, and the bliss bodies.

Bringing your attention to each of these layers induces a deep sense of relaxation and well-being which occasionally can lead you into a light "slumber". This light slumber is known as “yoga nidra”, a state of consciousness which is somewhere in between wake and sleep.

Whether you fall completely asleep during the practice (which is quite common) or not, you will start feeling more rested and restored. According to the highly accredited text - Yoga Nidra, “One hour of yoga nidra is as restful as a few hours of sleep.” So, it is also a great tool if you are feeling sleep deprived. 

Other benefits also include: deep relaxation throughout the body and mind, reduction or elimination of stress, anxiety, fear, anger and depression and an engagement of deep states of meditation. 

The Yoga Nidra map:

1. Set your intention.

2. Heartfelt prayer for yourself or another.

3. Physical body: Sense and perceive your physical body and arrive in the present moment by doing a body scan.

4. Energetic body: Count breaths, elongate breaths, and experience the sensation that arises from the breath work. This raises awareness of where energy is stuck and where it's flowing.

5. Emotional body: Invite the polarity of opposite feelings and sensations into your practice, like warm and cool, left and right, safety and fear. Often we experience emotions on this polarity. For example, someone living in fear desires safety. Yoga nidra teaches that you don't need the positive end of the polarity to be comfortable, safe, fearless, joyous, and vulnerable.

6. Body of intellect: Notice thoughts, beliefs, and images that arise in the guided exploration of opposites. They offer insight into your long-held belief systems and answer why we are the way we are.

7. Body of joy: Recalling memories that are pure joy and ease helps reset a mental baseline, and can alleviate anxiety levels while offering an ever-present sense of calm.

If you are interested in learning more about yoga nidra research visit: www.irest.us/research

If you are interested in learning more about the practice I recommend the following books:

Yoga Nidra: A meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing by Richard Miller, Ph.D. 

Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep by Kamini Desai Ph.D.

Yoga Nidra by Swami Satyananda

If you are interested in finding a practice on the go I recommend: 

The Insight Timer meditation app

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by: Brandon Smith

Sound bathing is a meditative practice using sound, that can be done lying or sitting. It utilizes gongs, Tibetan and/or crystal bowls, chimes and other musical instruments to help transform the subtle body to a more clear, relaxed and stress-free state. Certainly physical practices like running, spinning or power yoga can help reduce stress levels, but the practices that slow you down and utilize stillness can be extremely potent and insightful for stress management.

Sound bathing is growing in popularity because it is effortless and it works. The only effort is mentally letting go, and relaxing into the journey of sound itself. These instruments create powerful and multi-dimensional ripples of sound that grow into waves. These waves literally travel through the air and into the muscles, bones, and cells-bathing the entire physical and subtle body. It becomes a psycho-acoustic gateway to heightened states of awareness, that brings you from a physical to a meditative state.  This is helpful for people who doubt the benefits, or struggle with meditation.

Lets not forget the agenda of yoga, which is ultimately about the calming of the incessant mind-chatter. There are many pathways to achieve this, but sound bathing offers the power of sound to help quiet and calm looping thoughts. Getting the thinking mind to settle down is no easy task, but with the help of the instruments it becomes more accessible. The instruments are not playing any specific songs or melodies.  Once the logical and analytical part of the brain realizes there is nothing to “figure out” or “do” it disengages.  This makes it more possible for you to get out of your head, and into the healing effects of the moment-to-moment experience.

Sound Bathing is based on the scientific principles that all matter, and most importantly the cells in your body, vibrate to a precise frequency when healthy, and to a dissonant frequency when in “dis-ease”.  It creates resonance in the body and entrains brainwaves, proving that the strongest pure vibration in any given environment will bring all other like vibrations into uniformity with it. This is why resonant vibration, rhythms and tones can help balance brain hemispheres, stress levels and even tension in body tissues and cells that have fallen into “dis-ease” or “dis-harmony”.  Excessive energy is toned down and deficient energy is made full.  

Sound Bathing can also help recalibrate the parasympathetic nervous system. Signs of this include heavy arms and legs, regulated heartbeat/breath and in some cases sleep.  

Sound bath practitioners report a full range of experiences, from nothing to having outer body experiences. Some people report bodily sensations, visions, and “other” sounds that didn’t happen. Some people fall asleep, some get agitated, and some are in complete bliss. 

One thing is for sure, meditation meets you where you are. It is through your practice that you can learn to meet, greet and be with whatever is passing through. The moment to moment experience of being with what is arising, unfolding and passing away teaches you not to identify with the impermanent aspects of your life. Through the practice you will instead, learn how to identify and anchor into, your core essence. The essence that is timeless, endless and free in nature. 

Clinical research from around the world, including studies from The National Institute of Health, have shown a myriad of positive effects from sound, vibration and music. Stress reduction, pain management and even cancer treatment are just a couple categories that have been studied. 

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard

Photo by: Brandon Smith

Meditation is no longer a new age, hippie or eccentric concept.  It is now a common household practice that people embrace to help maximize the best outcomes of their lives. 

The field of neuroscience now demonstrates the amazing benefits of meditation: enhanced memory and creativity, reduction in depression, better sleep, compassion towards self and others, and an overall more relaxed disposition (to name a few).  It is true, meditation makes life better.  

Meditation is sometimes referred to as a restful alertness. Fundamentally, it is a journey from a lot of activity to less activity. It is a process and a practice of attempting to go beyond the conditioned, “thinking” mind and into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. 

By turning your attention to a single point of reference, or focal point, you can train the mind to discover the unbounded and vast inner spaces that lie under thought.

Natural vs Artificial practices

There are two categories of meditation: natural (aktrima) and artificial (krtima).  According to the great sage Abhinavagupta, both are necessary. Aktrima practices work with your innate inner silence, and ktrima practices work with effort or the thought that something needs to be done. Ktrima practices could include: reflection, prayer, contemplation, visualization, walking and/or eating.

Some of the biggest misconceptions around meditation include: I can’t stop my thoughts, I have no skill or talents in that area, I am too busy to meditate, I tried it one time and nothing happened.  

My teacher says, that in order for a meditation to be successful, you need to have the “theory” or deep understanding of the practice, as well as, the practice itself.  You can’t have one without the other.  Often times people want to meditate because they have heard it is beneficial, but because they don’t understand the “nuances” it becomes challenging and/or frustrating.   

In this world of constant challenge and change, meditation is the antidote.  It is a “practice” that trains your mind to settle down, and enables you to discover that there is a place inside of you, that is NOT constantly changing. The place inside that Deepak Chopra describes as: “the silent field of infinite possibility”. 

This place inside of you, is really the better version of yourself that you may be seeking.  It is the change-less place that will stabilize, strengthen and calm you, so that you can be in the world with more well-being and harmony. It is the place that is located under the inner narrative. By learning how to "tap" into this place you can restore health, purify your heart, strengthen your spirit and bring more compassion to yourself and others.

Meditation is a “natural” activity that all humans need especially in this stressful modern day world.  It has been proven that it works, and you can see benefits immediately.   However you might read or hear about meditation, it will always be an experiential journey and never an intellectual one. You must give it a genuine try and be the judge for yourself.

A Yoga Unplugged collaboration - written by Jennifer Reuter, edited by Sarah Burchard