Guru Purnima

We've all tossed around the notion of someone being a guru, a person who is an expert in their field. A guru is also a spiritual teacher or advisor. For many, the image of a monk or holy sage in long flowing robes generally comes to mind. But yoga defines a guru as something different. "Gu" means darkness and "ru" means light. So essentially a guru is someone who turns ignorance into enlightenment... who brings you out of the darkness and into the light.

Usually around this time of year beginning in July, the Hindus celebrate their holy day, called Guru Purnima. This year, it's July 7. Now you may not have a guru you pray to, per se, but we all have teachers who have touched our lives in different ways. This is really what Guru Purnima is all about. It is a day set aside to specifically give thanks to the teachers in your lives, be they yoga or something else. And lets face it, we all have people who come into our lives as teachers, mentors, or advisors. This is a day set aside to specifically give thanks and honor your teachers for all the wisdom they have passed down.

"It is also a day in which Divine energy flows more freely than any other time of the year. The Guru principle is said to be 1000 times more active on this day than any other in the year." (Mike Cohen) To celebrate this upcoming holiday, a special kirtan will be performed at the Yogahome Symmes studio on June 28 at 7pm. It is a great opportunity to come together as a community and honor your teachers past and present.

http://www.yogahome.net/

I hope on the actual day of Guru Purnima, on July 7, you will take a yoga class and give thanks to your teachers and in doing so, you give thanks to your teacher's teachers and their teachers and on and on it keeps going through thousands of years. That's a lot to celebrate!!

Blessings,
Susan

Creating a Sacred Space

Building a consistant yoga practice can take months and sometimes years to establish. But even if you are not there yet, or have the intention of wanting to take your practice further, sometimes creating a special place in your home is all the motivation you need to keep you on track. This is where creating a sacred space comes in.

A sacred space is a designated space in your home where you can sit at an alter to meditate or pray. And it's hopefully also enough space where you can roll out your mat and do a yoga practice.

I know what you are thinking. Alter?! No, it's not the big ornate alters you see in churches with holy statues, etc. A personal alter can be as simple or as detailed as you make it. And it's personal, so you put on it those images or things that have special significance to you. If you want a picture of Jesus or a picture of your cat, go ahead and put it on there.

If you are not big into meditation or find this practice difficult, this alter can be a spot where you come to when you just need to sit and reflect and breathe. My alter is in my bedroom and consists of a cushion I can sit on and a few pieces that ground me: a Tibetan singing bowl, some mantras, Buddha candle (pictured), incense burner, flowers, and a pink-colored rock I picked up on the last nature walk of my teacher training.

It doesn't have to be much. But I hope you allow it to be a personal focal point in your life, a safe harbor, you can go to each day when the world gets a bit crazy and you need a time out. I'll admit my alter doesn't get utilized every day, but it is a daily reminder for me to breathe, sit and practice. What more motivation do you need?

Blessings,
Susan

The Good Earth

I long for a garden. I don't have one currently living in an apartment, but when I have a house, soon I will start one. But if you are lucky enough to have small patch of earth you call your own and can devote it to a garden, it's a great way to take your yoga practice outside. Yoga teaches us about being in the present moment, staying grounded and simplifying our chaotic lives.

A garden also can help us stay mindful of the bigger picture, especially if you grow fruits and vegetables. Where does our food come from? Where does it go after we've consumed it? Who has to labor for it? How much waste are we creating in the day to day living of our lives? One way to address this issue of waste and consumption is by composting.

Composting is utilizing your food scraps (i.e. coffee grinds) and organic matter such as yard clippings and flowers and allowing them to break down naturally in the earth through oxygen, bacteria and insects. This yields soil that is rich in oxygen and nitrogen. If you simply throw these things out in your trash, they end up in landfill and get layered and buried. Oxygen cannot get to it to break it down and the end result is a large production of methane being created, which, as you know, affects the quality of the air we breathe.

Going "green" as never been more important as it is now, especially as we begin to reverse the damage we've already done to our planet. It's never been more important as the economy fluctuates and we stretch our dollars anyway we can to sustain our lives. If simplifying your life as led you to grow your own food, why not take it to the next step and begin composting. Below are some helpful websites to get you started. Good luck.

http://gogreenonline.com/

http://www.compostguide.com/

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/index.html

http://www.vegweb.com/composting/