The Importance of Beginning with Asana

How can we effectively use the eight limbs of Patanjali's yoga in order to see changes we want in our lives? The changes I'm referring to are being happier, more content with our physical life experience and more fulfilled and connected in our relationships with others.

A good starting point is the practice of asana. Asana is the sanskrit word for seat and means to assume the physical postures of yoga with your body on a regular basis. Although asana is the third limb, it can be the beginning of everything, the beginning of steadiness, ease and lightness in the body and mind. Hatha yoga is based on the principal that changes in consciousness can be brought about by setting in motion currents of subtler forces and thereby contacting deeper levels of consciousness. The poses themselves trigger the endocrine glands to release certain chemicals which bring about a feeling of remarkable well-being which helps one discover discover the joy of kindness to others. The asanas should be done with regularity to release discomforts of the body and mind. When these discomforts ease up, then we are able to focus more purely on the first limb, yama, and the second limb, niyama.

The first limb, yamas, are:

ahimsa - non harm to others in thought, word, deed.

satya - truthfulness to others

asteya - non-stealing

brahmacarya - not abusing others sexually

aparigrahah - greedlessness.

The yamas all deal with our actions toward others and realizing that our actions toward others create karma. This means treating others well will bring well-being to us in the physical world and in our emotional world. This is the key to happiness!!!

The second limb, niyamas, are:

saucha - cleanliness in body and mind

santosa - contentment

tapah - hard work over a period of time

swadhayaya - the study of our self

ishvara pranidhana - devotion to a power greater than us.

The niyamas are like vows we take toward our enlightenment. Keep your mind as well as your physical body clean, be content in your circumstances, take your practice seriously everyday, study your reactions to things, and offer up all of your efforts to service of God in the form of other beings.

These are the first three limbs of Patanjali's eight limb practice of yoga. They are a good beginning point because they are all physical and we can see measurable results in our daily lives. We can witness the fruits of our good actions and see where we need to make improvements. If you need to make improvements in a certain area of yuor life experience, it's best to find someone who is accomplishing what you would like to experience in a graceful way and use them as an example. Refer to them mentally throughout the day and send them blessings. Focus on their artful handling of difficult events with ease and mental clarity, bring them to mind before reacting to different challenges in yuor physical experience, then become like your hero, acting with grace, clarity, and compassion. Become who you aspire to become by having greater reactions to yuor personal challenges. This is an effective use of yoga in our lives.

Loving Ben Roethlisberger, even if...

The media in our culture is so fickle. It teaches our minds to fall out of the state of yoga, which is the cessation of these fickle fluctuations.

Ben Roethlisberger, of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is really getting abused. This week, the media is saying that he can't deliver for the fans. We all know that to be untrue since nothing is ever one person's fault but a collective effort by all members of organization.

I sat down the other day to offer my efforts of Tonglen to ease the suffering of my Beloved Ben Roethlisberger. Then I asked, "Ben, can I count on you to e there for us?" After awhile, I got the response: "Lynn, can I count on you to be there for me?"

I am being called on to provide love that is unchanging for Ben. This is Boundless Love. This is the practice of love as taught by the Buddha. We learn to love this way when we learn to look at another person as our self. Everything that manifests itself in the world is a wonder. Practicing seeing things through the eyes of love can help us see ourselves as wonders of life. When we look at the person we love, we can look at him with this understanding.

When we love someone, we feel strong. We feel happy because we have found a companion who can understand us. That is pure and beautiful. We need to practice th is feeling with mindfulness. If we don't take careo f our love, it can easily turn into fickle fluctuations.

We know what to do and what not to do to bring happiness and peace to the other person. This is true love. My practice as a lover of Ben is to never allow any negative words affect my devotion to bringing happiness and peace as energy to him.

The Buddha spoke about four elements that constitute true love:

1. Maitri-- the capacity to be kind and offer happiness.

2. Karuna--the capacity to relieve suffering.

3. Mudita--the capacity to bring joy every day.

4. Upeksha--the capacity of nondiscrimination

Then in true love, there is no discrimination. The pain of the other is our pain; the happiness of the other is our own happiness. If we do not understand our partner, if we do not share in his suffering, this is not love at all. It's just consuming the other person to satisfy our own individual needs.

My relationship with following the career of Ben Roethlisberger is for gaining more insight on boundless love and compassion. First, I learn to love one person with understanding and insight, then expand that love to embrace others. This is boundless love.

Love is no different from meditation. When we meditate, we look deeply inside to our joy and peace, and to embrace our suffering and transform it into wisdom and liberation. The same is true when we practice the art of boundless love. We love Ben Roethlisberger despite what the pundits say.