They Took Away Nap Time. I'm Bringing it Back.


In Kindergarten . . .

Salt Lake City Yoga

everyone valued nap time. It gave us a break from all the rigorous stimulation of learning new things, interacting with other people, and striving tounderstand this beautiful yet complicated world.

For some reason, someone decided that nap time was a luxury, expendable, a frivolous waste of time. Well, they were wrong. And I'm bring it back.

Rest is something we can become adept at or poor at. Have you ever been around someone who doesn't know how to relax? Exactly. It's a mess. Is that someone (at least sometimes) you?

Our ability to rest is one of the markers of our wellness.

I've been teaching Yoga Nidra from 6-7 pm on Wednesday nights at 21st Yoga to help people rest. Not just napping (although it frequently happens). In Yoga Nidra we follow a specific method, like a guided meditation, that offers practitioners deep rest as the gateway into experiencing the truest part of Self. It's profound yoga with amazing side benefits.

And when you finish you feel like you've not only discovered something about yourself, but also as if you just awoke from a long, satisfying nap.

Then, you can go back home and be less of a pain in the ass to all those around you.

In the spirit of service, I'd like to give you a free 30-minute Yoga Nidra recording that has been specifically designed to help you understand and appreciate emotions at the same time as becoming very relaxed in your body.

I'd probably sell this online for around $5 but I'd like to give it to you for free because I think we all could use it. In this recording, you'll hear my voice guide you through Yoga Nidra and the gentle, dulcet sounds of my clarinet in the background. Some soft chimes will bring you back out.

I invite you to carve out 30 minutes to do this practice today. Then, please join me Wednesday nights for the live sessions. You won't regret it.

Enjoy! Share it if you want.


Scott
 

What's Good: Gear and Clothes Guide

Tell me if this resonates with you . . .

Your yoga mat has started its end-of-life journey toward compost and you need a new one but as you search the internet you have no idea which one to buy. There are so many different mats and it's too overwhelming so you just keep using your old mat, the one you like(d), even though there seems to be more of the mat left on the floor when your done than exists in your yoga bag when you leave.

Or your friend kindly taps you on the shoulder after yoga to tell you that she knows the color of your underwear, not because she's an undie-psychic, but because the material and stretch-quality of your yoga pants allows for little to be imagined.

That and it's the holidays, a time when we maybe want to buy some yoga stuff for ourselves or our friends or let Santa know what we might want, provided we find ourselves on the "Nice" list.

Well, in my 16 years of teaching and practicing yoga, I've come to know a great deal about yoga gear and stuff, everything from yoga mats to meditation cushions to yoga clothes, and for what it's worth, I'd love to give you my two-cents of advice about a few things.

Best Yoga Props: Hugger Mugger 
Crazy-ass name, great company, wonderful products. One of the things I love about this company is that they are from my fair city of Salt Lake and are perhaps one of the worlds largest retailers of yoga equipment but haven't lost their connection to their costumers.

When outfitting my yoga studios (may they rest in peace) I used Hugger Mugger to get top-of-the-line yoga bolsters, blankets, straps, blocks, and rental mats. The CEO or COO of the company stopped by the studio to check in with our needs and asked me for feedback which he readily took and incorporated into his products. Hugger Mugger makes clothing and mats but whereI feel HM really excels is in their yoga props like bolsters, blocks, etc. They do make a few yoga mats that are middle to high range quality. Their best mat that both my wife and I have used for years is their Para Ruber Mat. It's grippy, made of eco-friendlier rubber, and will last a long time. It's a bit pricey but is their top-shelf mat and worth the cash in my opinion. In the spirit of full-disclosure, if you go to their siteyou may see me modeling a bunch of their stuff. I'm not paid to represent Hugger Mugger, I just love this company and stand by (and on) their products.

Best Yoga Mat: Manduka
There is one yoga mat that stands miles above the rest, the Maharaja of  all yoga mats, the one that you'll  need to buy only once, the mat that gets better (more dialed and grippy) with time, and that's the Manduka Pro. It's a thick, heavy mat that grips well, works well with sweat, and stays put by not bunching or folding under my hands and feet. 

I spent over $100 for this mat (bought one for my wife, too), but since I'm serious about yoga and I find myself on my mat, either practicing or teaching, several times a day, the Maduka Pro is no-brainer, just the tool of the trade. I love this mat and didn't think twice about dropping over $200 for two yoga mats. 

Manduka company sells other stuff like bags that easily tote their enormous mat, cork blocks, etc., but for my money, I can get that at Hugger Mugger. They make a bunch of other mats but I think that this company is made by their Pro mat.

The one thing that Manduka doesn't sell but SHOULD is a rolling luggage caddy to haul around their heavy-but-worth-it Pro Mat. 

I am one of the rare people who bought my second Pro Mat, not because the other one wore out but because my truck was stolen and when I got it back, the three things that didn't come back with it was my trucks catalytic converter and both my and my wife's Manduka Pro Mat. They never caught my truck thief but wherever he is, I hope he's using my extraordinary mat as the platform for his soul-searching and self-improvement.

Some people love the tacky quality of the Jade Mat but I don't love this mat. It sticks, but doesn't hold up if it ever gets left in the sun, it breaks down relatively quickly, and has a lingering petrol smell that I don't love. Check it out for yourself to decide. 

Best Yoga Pants (ladies) K-Deer, Albion, Uintah Standard(closed down)
No body love popping their butt in the air in downdog, or bending over into a forward fold knowing that the elastic in their pants is revealing everything that your pants are trying to cover. I swear, in my job I see more underwear than the sales force at Victoria Secret.

Public Service Announcement: tights do NOT double well as yoga pants, especially if you mind others seeing what's underneath them.

Instead, buy a pair of pants from K-Deer. They make the absolute highest quality of pants I've seen. These pants are chic and unique. I love that they are made in America and not promoting sweat-shop or child labor. In my opinion, K-Deer is two steps ahead in quality of all other brands. I bought a pair for my wife for Valentines Day. She says that she loves their quality but says they keep you a little warm, great if your body temp runs cold.

She loves K-Deer's tops even more than she loves their pants. 

Another brand my wife really loves for yoga pants is Uintah Standard. They are Salt Lake local, 300 south, so that's cool. 

One more company I really like, in part because they are local to Salt Lake City, is Albion. They have a great online presence, a great selection, and even have a store in City Creek Mall. They also sell a bunch of other stuff, including swimwear.

Best Yoga Clothes for Guys. M Body. I'm always searching for good yoga clothes for men. John Cottrell is an incredible yoga teacher with a wonderful business that sells yoga clothes for men. If you want a excellent yoga clothes for men, check out his site or drop by 21st Yoga to look at them or buy them. I stand behind John's stuff. 

Best Meditation Stuff: Insight, Hugger Mugger, Shambhala 

Good meditation gear can mean the difference between a great meditation and your feet falling asleep, where all you can concentrate on is whether or not you're feet will need to be amputated after the session.

First, I love the meditation timer from Insight Timer. It's an app that you can download on your iPad or phone available through your app store. It is a has a nice bell and is versatile to allow interval bells during meditation so if I'm doing a long meditation, I know that every 10 minutes or so, I will hear a bell to either mark time or bring my wandering mind back to presence. There are thousands of guided meditations on there, including a few of my own. Also, you can connect with other like-minded people all across the globe with this app. 

Personally, I meditate using a Hugger Mugger's V-Shaped Meditation Cushion and their standard zabutan underneath my feet. I can sit like that for hours without my feet falling asleep. Both are relatively affordable and great quality. 

If you're going for the gold with meditation gear, check out the meditation supplies at Shambhala. My friend and mindfulness teacher Vicki Overfelt swears by their stuff. I've used Shambhala stuff before and I agree that they are really excellent.

Please share your favorites with all of us by leaving a comment below. 

What I Love

I've started a practice with this email that I've loved continuing each Thanksgiving week. It's been an emotional and heart opening writing practice for me to simply list all the things I love. I know that gratitude and love aren't necessarily the same thing but rather than a trite list of things I'm grateful for, I like to add a little gasoline to the heart flame, go right for the jugular, and frame this list with all the things I love. 

So, Kleenex nearby, here I go . . . 

I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. Here's a pic of me with my two greatest loves!

It may be strange, but I love to hear my love's sleep. When Elio wakes in the night, I'm on the "night shift," so I get up and help put him back to bed. I hold him or give him a bottle and when I can hear his breathing turn deep and rhythmic, I know he's asleep and I creep out of his room to slide back into covers that have lost their warmth. I slide into bed next to Sen and listen for her soft, somehow feminine breaths. I close my eyes and with my heart resting in the comfort of my loves sleeping, I allow sleep to take me. 

I love Seneca. She's a rare and remarkable woman. She sees my best, encourages me to reach further and stretch myself and holds my heart tenderly. She's an incredible baby-mama and I want to be a better man because of her. She's everything to me. I love you, babe.

 

It's been an ass-kicker of a few months! Mostly because my sister was killed in a motorcycle accident. Yet because of this,

Scott & Charity.JPG

there's been a wonderful heart connection with our family. Going to Europe, specifically Paris, was on my sister's must-do list and that's exactly what we did this summer, on our way to Spain for our yoga retreat that Kim Dastrup and I hosted. I loved traveling with her, showing her one of my favorite cities in the world, dragging her all over that town. I will always cherish those memories.

I've experienced a few moves in these last few months: yoga studios a few times and homes a few times. It's always unsettling to uproot, but I've replanted both into a wonderful home in the aves and a beautiful studio at 21st and 21st. I'm really, really, really, happy to have both of these homes, both to lay my head and raise my family as well the wonderful home studio to teach yoga. 

I love teaching yoga. It NEVER feels like work. I love how it makes me grow and learn while I'm trying to teach. I love that it connects me with people and I'm honored by the trust that people give me. I love that people share their experiences and practice with me. It's a real honor. Thank you. 

I love moving my body. I've been outta commission for the last 10 weeks or so tending an Achilles injury but that's feeling better and I can't wait to get back into the action with my yoga practice and my trail running love. 

I love running on a trail. I love talking with a friend over coffee. I love good music. I love writing this newsletter. I love playing sax with my amazing band, The Soulistics. I love growing and learning. I love connecting to spirit. I love collaborating with cool people to offer incredible yoga and mindfulness workshops. I love Yoga Nidra. I love meditation. I love working hard. I love relaxing with a glass of wine on the couch and talking about the day with my love. I love Justin's Peanut Butter Cups. I love frozen hot chocolate at Hatch Family Chocolates. I love a good beer. I love Seneca's cooking. I love sitting down to an amazing meal cooked by Sen and her dad. I love playing in the yard with Elio. I love bath time together. I love singing songs with him. I love watching him grow. I love to feel his little arms around my neck as me makes exaggerated and earnest grunts while he hugs me. I love live music. I love a road trip. I love San Francisco. I love my family. I love my surviving sister, twin, mom and dad. I love Publik Coffee. I love a nice pen. I love a good shave. I love traveling, specifically traveling with Seneca. I love the opportunity to grow. I love connection to others. I love to watch others try and grow and meet their dreams. I love a nice pair of shoes. I love shirts that have been dry cleaned and pressed. I love a nice bottle of wine. I love to make my house beautiful. I love to play the sax. I love to close my eyes and improvise on a tune. I love a good massage. I love hosting yoga retreats. I love other yoga teachers. I love my soul sisters Kim, Christy, Nan, Vicki, and Marit and my soul brothers, Steve, John, and Jason. I love art. I love the symphony. I love dressing up and going out on a date. 

I love YOU!

(eye dab, nose blooooow!)

Make your own list and share it somehow. What a great practice! 

Happy Thanksgiving. 

Source Your Magic

Once, Laurence Olivier, the master of masters, perhaps one if not THE best play-actors of our time had just delivered his finishing lines of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The entire theatre was cupped in a quiet, magical revery, a rare experience that only happens when witnessing the finger of God. Then after several long seconds, the audience exploded in exuberant applause.

Olivier stormed off stage, marched straight to his dressing room, and slammed the door. Perplexed, the stage manager eventually knocked timidly on Olivier's door and entered.

"Mr. Olivier, what's the matter, you were absolutely brilliant?" To which Laurence Olivier roared, "I know, and I have absolutely no idea how I did it!"

Have you ever read a poem, seen a dance or acting performance, heard someone speak, or witnessed or something, where you sensed that that person was tapped into pure magic, something enormous, larger than just the every-day conversation? 

I'm confident that YOU have had an experience where you sourced that kind of magic within yourself to do something extraordinary.

Sometimes, experiencing that kind of magic is purely accident. But what if you could practice sourcing that magical part of you so that you could somehow turn it on at will, especially in those really clutch moments.

One of the best ways I know of practicing sourcing this magic is through Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is a relaxing form of awareness practice. It's kinda like a guided meditation.

What you do is lie down and listen to me guide you to get relaxed . . . really relaxed. Then I guide you into an acute awareness of myriad things including sensations in your body, your thoughts and emotions, and even those inner-archetypes like that inner wise person, healer, or protector who often have a surprising message for your conscious mind. You are more powerful than you probably realize and Yoga Nidra helps you to source that power in a very real and practical way. With practice you will gain a relationship with the magic inside of you. Maybe sounds out there but is really practical and simple and feels amazing. 

After Yoga Nidra, you emerge feeling extremely relaxed, if nothing else, and we always do our best work when we are relaxed and at ease. But more often than not, you come away with some sort of greater insight into your deep inner-self.  

If you'd like to experience a FREE learning module developed to help manage stress, click below on the link below next the picture with people lying down.

Also, I'd like to invite you practice sourcing your own magic with two really cool offerings. 

First, I'm teaming up with the inimitable Nan Seymour for our Dream and Write workshop happening THIS Sunday, November 20 at the Snowbird Cliff Spa. At this unique, not-to-be-missed event, we'll practice sourcing that magic within ourselves in the form of yoga and Yoga Nidra. Then, Nan will lead us through some brilliant writing exercises to help find a voice to that magic. You're guaranteed to come away feeling relaxed, nourished in heart, and aware of the magic within you. 

Plus, your tuition gets you access to the world-class Cliff Spa, so bring your bestie and come prepared to luxuriate in the roof-top hot tub, salt water pool, or sit in the steam room or enjoy the quiet of the solarium. 

We've filled up the afternoon session and have opened up a morning session from 9 am to 12 pm. There are only 20 spots and they are going fast. 

This incredible workshop PLUS spa access for only $49. 

Second, starting this week, I'm starting a Yoga Nidra class on Wednesday nights at 21st Yoga (formerly Fallout) from 6-7 pm. Come and enjoy a class of gentle movement, a brief discussion about the practice, and then a long, decadent Yoga Nidra practice. Use your regular class pass or buy a drop-in. 

Hey, you have gifts and the world needs your gifts. Learn to practice sourcing the magic within you so that you can effectively share your incredible gifts with the world. 

Have a wonderful week, everyone.

Scott

Taming the Dragon

Take a deep breath . . . 

No matter how you tended to voted, this presidential election most likely invoked some spike in emotions and possibly a chance to practice running through your repertoire of your favorite 4-letter words.

Yesterday, before the election results came in, I happened to be listening to a record made by some of my favorite jazz artists, Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana. The title track, Taming The Dragon, is a musical dream sequence narrated by Brad Mehldau where he explains a dream of his in which he's riding shotgun next to a character mash-up of Joe Walsh and Dennis Hopper, driving down the PCH.

In the dream, some dude driving a sports car cuts them off in traffic and the Brad Mehldau character in the dream gets all bent outta shape and asks his driver if he's going to go and start some $h!t with that guy. Instead of getting bent, the driver just looks straight forward and explains to the Brad Mehldau character that whatever actions you send out into the world have consequences, that includes words too. The driver doesn't get mad. He just keeps driving.

Brad Mehldau analyzes his own dream as he  wakes up and surmises that all the characters in the dream are parts of himself and muses that while at first the driver character seemed like a party guy and a rebel, he was but only in an extremely noble way--rebelliously NOT reacting to the situation. The driver represented the part of himself who didn't have to get bent by events.

Brad continues with the notion that, and this is the important part at least for me, the pissed-off part of himself was like a dragon and with the dragon you're not supposed to conquer it, but rather tame it so that you can learn to use its immense power to tap your more noble self into the drivers seat.

For the last month or so I've been testy and irritable more than I (or my wife) appreciate(s). I'm sure my testiness is a combination of many things including the myriad emotions resulting from the loss of my sister to a motorcycle accident a few months ago, moving both my home as well as yoga studio home a couple of times, this insane presidential election, and maybe more. I don't really identify as grumpy or ill-tempered but "there is" grumpiness. It had come for a visit and that's just what was. 

So, I decided to cleanse. I cleaned up my diet. I'm getting more sleep. As part of that, I'm even more selective about what music I listen to and what books I read (Brad Mehldau is most certainly still in my rotation). All forms of consumption were shifted to what would serve my best Self. 

Then, listening to this track helped me to become aware of the profound idea that my dragon is whatever energy I'm feeling as the result of all the aforementioned events in my life. Instead of trying to kill the dragon or just put him to sleep so I can get on with being what I think of as a nice guy, I get to learn to somehow harness that energy and allow it act like a battery that will fuel me to drive toward those things I care about. 

One week into my cleanse and I feel much, much better. I feel lighter in body, mind, and heart. Seneca says that my countenance is clearer and I'm much more pleasant to be around. Yet, I'm choosing to keep the energy that arose from my previous angst, especially that of the election, to drive me forward creatively toward those ideas and projects that move me. It would be a waste to let this die. 

This recent angsty energy has fueled some really creative ideas including some great yoga projects, retreats, and classes. One of those ideas was a meditation that might help you to also transform the energy from anxt to action toward whatever realms you care about.

As a teaser, get ready for not one but TWO international retreats next year to Mexico and Spain, a Yoga Nidra class starting at our new 21st and 21st location starting NEXT WEDNESDAY 6-7 pm, and my Yoga Nidra: Sourcing Your True Power online course starting next year. Plus, I've got two or three other amazing opportunities that are hatching in my brain that are too new to even articulate.

This election has made me think very hard about some issues I really care about. It took parading these issues through the rhetoric of this election for me to understand how important they are to me. It's caused me to use the energy of my dragon to resolve to go out and get active with those issues instead of just complaining about them.

This dragon has some damn good ideas! 

One of the ideas I came up with was a meditation I'd love for you to try it. It's a meditation where you get to lie down, get relaxed, feel centered and grounded, then go on a mental journey deep into your belief center and tap into your current feelings about the election while remembering those issues, values, and principles that move you. Then the meditation directs you to use that energy as fuel, like a battery to insert yourself proactively into the world.

Whatever your emotions after the election, use that feeling as your dragon that you may learn to tame and whose mojo you can source to drive you forward toward those issues you care about, be it social justice, integrity, economic or political principles, or whatever. 

Don't just post another snarky comment on social media. Get off your duff and use that energy to get involved in something you care about. Do it today while that energy is raging. Volunteer, educate yourself (or others), donate, contribute, build, and create. Do it. 

Respond rather than react to those incendiary emotions. 

Tame the dragon. 

Hear the track I was listening to

Living Your Philosophy: Yamas and Niyamas

This week we are going to focus on the internal and external guiding principles of yoga’s philosophy, the yamas and the niyamas.

As described in the in The Heart of Yoga, the yamas and niyamas are the ways in which we practice yoga as per our intentions toward others and our behavior to those around us, including our environment.

The Yoga Sutras, written by yoga scholar Patanjali around 200 AD, describes the pathway to experience Samadhi, or a feeling at one with all things, the end goal of yoga. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali describes the 8-limbed path of yoga, 8 different ways we practice working toward Samadhi. It’s important to understand the 8 limbs of yoga are not to be practiced sequentially. Rather, they are explained in the Yoga Sutras listed from gross to subtle and practiced all at once. They are simply listed in the order from gross to subtle.

The first two limbs on our journey toward Samadhi are Yamas and Niyamas. These are considered the most gross because they are ways of practicing how we are in relationship to ourselves and others.

The Yamas refer to our relationship with others. The following is a list of the Yamas:

Ahimsa: Nonharming. I believe that non-harming is the first observance because if you are still operating under the illusion that another person is fundamentally different than yourself, that belief acts as the non-starter to the other practices. First, do your best to not harm another being. The lower law of Ahimsa is not to harm but what Ahimsa truly refers to is the ability to not only see others as the same divine expression as yourself, but to treat that other person with the divine dignity they (and you) deserve. Ahimsa not only admonishes non-harming, but it’s higher law invites us to not hate another person either. Therefore, the true law of Ahimsa is pure love. I believe that this is what predicates all the other yamas, niyamas (and all the other limbs of yoga, therefore) because if you understand the connection of all things and can express the divine presence of love, then all the other principles become readily understood and practiced.

To truly understand and be in complete love, shoots you directly Samadhi, like a secret passageway to the end of the race.

Satya: Truthfulness. Sometimes it’s hard to speak the truth but truth is fundamentally bound to your identity of your being. Satya invites us to consider our words and actions by how they might harm another. Never use Satya as a way of causing harm. Sometimes the truth hurts but Satya and Ahimsa invite us to practice truth in a way that doesn’t harm another.

Asteya: Non-stealing. Like it states in the Gayatri Mantra, as mentioned in Week 3 of Deepen Your Practice, if I truly understood the unity of all things, I would have the thing that I’m searching for. So, it truly doesn’t make sense to steal something from someone else if I understand that I am stealing from my own expanded identity of Self.

Brahmacarya: Right Relationship. The word Brahma means truth and carya is the same root as car, the vehicle that drives you. So, Brahmacarya is all about driving to truth, specifically holding relationships that keep you driving toward your highest self. If the only thing you have in common with a friend that you both hate so-and-so, then that’s not a relationship that is rooted in your own fundamental goodness. Sometimes this yama refers to only holding sexual relationships in the light of how that action drives us to understand our own divine potential. As you might imagine, this is an often hotly debated (no pun intended) topic.

Aparigraha: Not taking advantage. The basic message is to avoid opportunities to take advantage of the situation. Don’t exploit another person for your own advantage.

Next in the realm of practicing understanding ourselves through the practice of yoga is moving more from the outward realms of the yamas to the subtler and inner realm of the niyamas.

The following is a list of the niyamas, the attitudes that we hold within ourselves:

Sauca: Cleanliness. The principle of Sauca (pronounced sow-cha) is about keeping your body, mind, and spirit, clean. I believe this refers to keeping your space around you clean, as well as keeping your body pure with good food and nutrition. Within Sauca, is the invitation to also keep our mind pure by not harboring thoughts or fantasies that would cloud us from always moving toward our highest nature of being.

Samtosa: Contentment. Being content is a spiritual practice. The false notion that the grass is always a greener can be a cancer that will our ability to be present with what we have here. I like to practice contentment by appreciating those things which I find immediately in my environment; I like to go to the little library near my house rather than the big library down town because I like to practice celebrating what I have in my back yard. I like to patron the restaurants in my neighborhood and make friends with the owners because I believe in local business and would prefer to support my neighbors rather than a chain restaurant. This is one of the ways that I practice contentment. Once, while in savasana, a voice came into my head, my own voice, but maybe the wiser part of me. It said, “ What if this was all there was? Can you be happy with the way that life is right now, rather than waiting for what might lie over the next horizon?

Tapas: The heat necessary for transformation. Any growth, be it physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, financial, career, or anything else, is going to experience a little bit of friction. This friction is tapas. I like the analogy of a kiln: you can shape the wet clay all you want but when you put the clay into the kiln and through the heat, your clay vase comes out the other end unalterably changed to be the capable vessel it was designed for. Understanding this heat for transformation process gives us perspective for the challenges we face in life. Another example that I’d like to thread through this and the following two niyamas is running. I love to run. When starting to run after a season off, I will expect to experience a little of the friction of working my muscles into shape as well as sometimes even fighting the desire to stay at home curled up with some Netflix instead of the effort of going out and hitting the trail.

Svadhyaya: Self-knowledge. Tapas invariably leads to a deeper understanding of Self. There are many ways to practice this principle but using the example above, if I were to go through the challenge of running, I’d learn quite a bit about myself, including how my body moves, where my appropriate levels of exertion lie, and even what my character looks like when faced with a challenge. Like graduating from one high school and then onto college, so too does this self-knowledge qualify me to experience a deeper level of learning in the form of tapas. This tapas leads to greater self-knowledge, deeper tapas, deeper self-knowledge, etc. Until finally, this process is superseded by the last and ultimate, the inner-most principle, Isvarapranidhana, which means to lay it down at the feet of God.

Isvarapranidhana: To lay it down at the feet of God or to see all of your actions with a divine perspective. If using the running example, I maintain my cycle of tapas and self-knowledge knowing that somehow this experience of running is the simple tool that is helping me to understand my own divinity. That tool could be yoga, family, art, science, whatever. The perspective of what all of our work is leading us toward is at the heart of this niyama.

I’ve created a myth that illustrates these last three niyamas, the most important in my opinion, in a way that think is fun and interesting. Please stream or download if you like a good story.

I'll have that uploaded on my Deepen Your Practice page in a day or so. Check back in to hear this fun story.

Resources:

In addition to the book that we are reading from with my current Deepen Your Practice course, The Heart of Yoga, another great book to have in your yoga library is Bringing Yoga to Life by Donna Farhi. In it she takes principles like the yamas and the niyamas and applies them to every-day situations that I feel really makes these principles come alive in a modern context. Not only is Donna Farhi an amazing teacher, but she’s also a great writer.

If you want to learn about the yamas and niyamas straight from the source, check out Desikachar’s translation of the Yoga Sutras in the back of The Heart of Yoga. One of Desikachar’s gifts is his economy of words to distill the meaning of this ancient and important text without confounding it with verbose and labored explanations.

Mantra Mag Q&A

A BIG thank you to Hugger Mugger and David Newkirk Photography

Incase it's hard to read, here's the text version of the feature:

Q:  What's something that you've struggled with and what helped you overcome it? 

Perhaps my largest struggle in my life has been feeling hamstrung by self-limiting beliefs. The single most effective remedy for me to conquer self-limiting beliefs has been to regularly practice Yoga Nidra. If you’ve never done it, it’s like a very specialized guided meditation. I’ve used Yoga Nidra as an immensely powerful tool to help me recognize my True Nature, in part by seeing beliefs as changeable and therefore reprograming self-limiting beliefs into self-empowering beliefs. Through Yoga Nidra I’ve been able to embed different beliefs that are more in line with my True Nature.

 

Q: What's something that is essential to your healthy routine? Anything you swear by?? 

Something I find essential to my healthy routine is the no-stress approach to physical movement. I love to practice yoga and to do triathlons. Whether it’s advanced asana or cresting the hill on a long trail run, I’ve found that by maintaining a keen awareness of my body and not pushing it past a comfortable intensity, I have few or no injuries, I have developed power and speed (speed for swimming/biking/running), and when I finish my practice or workout, I have more energy than when I started. I feel like the “no pain, no gain” mantra is a product of an age that celebrated mind over matter. Yoga has helped me to embrace our Information Age where through practice understanding the body/mind/spirit I gain more by practicing mindfulness with matter. I listen to the information that my body gives me and work with my body instead of against it. The no-stress approach to movement has been essential to my growth.  

 

Q: How did pick yourself up in one of your lowest moments?  

A few years ago, after a long and arduous struggle, I was forced to close TWO yoga studios. It had taken me years to build and develop these businesses and by the time I closed my doors, my blood pressure was through the roof, I was emotionally and financially devastated, and I felt ashamed to have let all of my students and staff down. During this incredibly challenging time, I began a landscaping project at my house and found myself saved by the unlikely healing power of pulling weeds. There was something about connecting with the earth, being left to my own thoughts, and seeing the satisfying results of a hard day of hard work in the form of a beautifully clear patch of soil. I began to work through the problems of closing the studios like I did pulling weeds: I didn’t worry about the entire project all at once but simply focused on accomplishing the finite task of what lay immediately at my fingertips. This landscaping project pulled the weeds of worry, stress, and heartache from my soul. And in time, this provided the fertile soil for me to plant something new in the form of new projects including my website: scottmooreyoga.com.

The Things that Scare You

 What if this week you practiced being with those things that scare you? Call on the spirit of Virabadra, the warrior, to practice strength and focus, call on Tadasana, Mountain Pose, to practice being steady and strong and unmovable, call on Dhanurasana, bow pose, to at once shoot the sacred arrows designed to strike the demons of fear that plague your heart and at the same time keep that heart wide and open. 

 
This week, I invite you to step up to the edge, call on your higher self, and take the leap. Only you know the fears which creep in your heart. This week, practice inviting your fears to the surface to find the power you know is there somewhere and remind yourself of the part of you that is beyond fear. This week, come to yoga with the intention of addressing your fears. Come ready to walk away with greater strength in body and heart. Come ready to find the strength to abide with those things that scare you.

Scott   

I Go Among Trees and Sit Still.
 
I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.

Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.

After days of labor,
mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last,
and I sing it. As we sing,
the day turns, the trees move.
 
Wendell berry

 

Prana: the Primary Driver

What is Prana?

Prana is a sanskrit word that means life force energy. Prana is what animates  you and everything else in the Universe. It's energy that you can feel, see, and sense and also all the energy that makes more subtle things happen like thought. In fact, in the gradation of our being from gross to subtle, Prana lies one layer more subtle than breath and one degree more gross than thought. Therefore, we can learn to direct our Prana by thinking about our breath moving into a part of our body (or mind or heart). With practice, the feeling of Prana is tangible and can be a profound method of developing healing, power, and presence. 

Try this: sit comfortably, close your eyes, and begin ujjayi breath if you know it or just deep breaths. As you breath, visualize your breath as a color moving through your nostrils and down into your right palm then back out your nostrils. Keep your focus on your right palm. Do this for two or three minutes and then notice the difference between your two hands. It could feel like a warmth, a tingle, a lightness, or many other things but this is the feeling of Prana. 

The aim  in the ancient practice of Tantric philosophy is to expand to the your highest version of Self as quickly as possible. The areas of focus to evolve Self are everything from our yoga, meditation, and spiritual practices, to how we spend our energy on vocation, free time, community and much more. The primary driver for all aspects of growth in the Tantric philosophy is Prana. 

Learning to recognize Prana and then how to control it by using breathing techniques, aligning your body through asana, and removing mental prana barriers through meditation, is one of the ways to develop immense power in every aspect of your life. And according to the Tantric philosophy, it is the single greatest method of developing your being to expand into the greatest version of Self as quickly as possible. 

Chakras: Prana Convergence Points

The word Chakra means spinning  disk or wheel.  Myriad energy practice traditions throughout the world point to subtle body systems of energy.

In yoga, the chakra system is made up of 7 primary chakra points. These seven points are aligned vertically along the spine. To be more specific, the two main Prana channels of masculine/feminine energy, or yin/yang, begin at the base of the spine in the sacrum and cross in a serpentine or double-helix fashion along points of the spine to the top of the skull or above the skull. Each place that these two channels intersect cause an energetic convergence creating a chakra. Think of these points like a spinning top.

Each chakra moves with a different frequency which associates with color, sound, organ function, as well as other physical, emotional, or spiritual needs. Likewise, each chakra might be assigned a mantra or visualization that helps a person to be more aware of that part of their being. It is said that a true yogi is someone whose energy is constant and fluid like a steady stream of a river and free from disruption, excessive flow, or stagnation.

Disturbances in Prana (blocks or energy bleed out) can be caused by things like stress, injury, trauma, illness, blocked emotions, etc. Essentially, in the body/mind/spirit model, anything that happens to one part of your being can effect all other parts. Therefore, understanding and becoming aware of how Prana affects your chakras not only helps you understand yourself on a deeper level, but for those who connect to Prana readily, can also be a very effective tool for vitality practice and healing. Chakra practice is also a wonderful way of practicing Awareness. 

The Wisdom of Kenny Rogers


You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em . . . (lyrics by Don Schlitz)

Everything dies. And hallelujah. Like that first job I had when I was a teenager when I'd dress up like a chicken and go stand on the sidewalk and invite people over to eat at a fast food restaurant while fielding drive-by cat calls, single fingered gestures, and death threats. I'm glad that job died. And the restaurant too, for that matter.

I was happy the day that my fifth-grade romance with Kelly Campbell died. Something about our relationship was very sweet: I gave her the Twinkie from by lunch box. When I lost my interest in Twinkies, she lost her interest in me. So I'm happy that died. Breaking up with Kelly Campbell made way for my romance with Brooke Anderson to whom I even gave a locket on Valentines day with my picture in it. I was 11 at the time. It was very serious.

We die too-several times. Regardless of what you believe in regarding reincarnation, try the idea that we die and are reborn several times during our lifetime. I'm certainly somebody different now than I was even five years ago. We all are. That old self who was a little flaky or maybe overly committed to work and underly committed to also having a personal life might need to die in order to give birth to a more satisfying way of living. Old habits, relationships, the old self, can all die. Some things live their season then croak on their own and other things need to be euthanized. With the mindfulness we practice in yoga, perhaps we'll be savvy enough to know when to sustain things, when to let things die, and when to kill them.

The Yoga Nataraj is a statue that depicts Shiva, a Hindu deity, as a dancer with four arms. The dance refers to the constant cycle of birth and death, sustaining and evolution, that happens with all things. We set ourselves up for disappointment if we attach ourselves to any part of this cycle understanding that everything is changing. It's like trying to enjoy the scenic view while riding the Scrambler, that diabolic amusement park ride designed to spin you mercilessly in circles, eventually scrambling your brain, or making you puke, or both. The Nataraj suggests that everything is turning, changing as we speak. Just as things are dying, something else is being born.
                                        
We practice this death every time we rest at the end of class in savasana. In many ways, our yoga practice represents our life: we're born, we grow and learn, we slow down and eventually lie down. But at then we get to start over. We do so with renewed life, keeping all the good stuff and letting the rest decompose. It's like a computer update-we get to use the most current version of our own personal operating system.

Practice rolling through this cycle by coming to yoga this week. What in your life needs to die so something else can be born?

Indeed, this is the theme in our Fall Yoga Retreat in a few weeks. 
        
See you in class.

Scott


Enjoy this quote from Annie Dillard's Pilgrim At Tinker Creek, a book that has been killing me, lately.

“Nature is, above all, profligate. Don't believe them when they tell you how economical and thrifty nature is, whose leaves return to the soil. Wouldn't it be cheaper to leave them on the tree in the first place? This deciduous business alone is a radical scheme, the brainchild of a deranged manic-depressive with limitless capital. Extravagance! Nature will try anything once.”

 

The Yoga Worst-Case Scenario Survivors Handbook

One of my favorite and most useful books in my library is one called The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.

Its bright yellow hard-backed cover makes it durable so I can take it with me everywhere, and easy to find when I’m in a pinch. This Survival Handbook contains a lot of information; you know, practical and essential know-how for things like giving your cat the Heimlich Maneuver, how to escape your car when it has been completely submerged in water, and how to escape from killer bees.

One section that is glaringly absent from this essential how-to is a section on what to do for those “Worst-Case Scenarios” involving your yoga practice. So, in the interest of helping humanity avoid any preventable disasters (and I realize I may be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for this) I would like to offer my own appendage to this already very informative book. I offer this information from personal experience either in practice or teaching. It cannot be overstated that I have experienced or seen everything in a yoga class — everything.

What to Do in Class When Your Cell Phone Rings

1. Look disapprovingly at someone else in the room.
2. Pretend it didn’t ring and pray the battery in your phone dies.
3. Calmly walk over and silence then turn off your phone. Under no circumstance should you answer the call.
4. If you are a doctor or have a young child at home who may call you during an emergency, tell the instructor before class that you will put your phone on vibrate and if in the rare circumstance it should ring, that you’ll discretely leave and take the call out of the studio.

How to Come in Late to or Leave Early from Class

If possible, plan your day to arrive early, and don’t leave rushed, but I’d personally rather people come late or leave early than not come at all.
1. If coming late, while standing outside the studio, unroll your yoga mat and place it longways over your shoulder. Do not whip open your mat in the studio.
2. If possible, scout a spot in the studio to place your mat quickly and quietly.
3. Listen and make sure to come into the studio after the class has chanted and once the class begins moving.
4. If you are leaving early, tell the instructor beforehand that you’ll be leaving. Plan to sit or rest in savasana for a few minutes before you leave.

How to Keep from Coughing in Savasana

In this desert climate and with all the ujjai breathing (whisper breath) we do during class, it’s common to have a dry throat at the end of class.
1. Hydrate before class and keep water close to your person.
2. Most studios allow students to bring water to class. Swig several ounces right before savasana.
3. If you feel a cough coming on, focus on a different chakra than your throat chakra and repeat this mantra, “I am hydrated. I am calm. I am the ocean, or something.”
4. If you begin coughing, discretely leave the room and find liquid.

How to Survive if Someone in Class Has Severe Body Odor

Unfortunately some practitioners do not apply the ancient yoga philosophy of Sauca (pronounced sow-cha), the virtue of cleanliness, in body, mind, spirit and relating to personal hygiene.
1. Focus on pranayama (breath work) that emphasizes your exhale.
2. Slip the odoriferous individual a copy of the yoga sutras with highlighted passages pointing to this philosophical point of cleanliness
3. Remember that we are all sentient beings (though some of us have more acute senses than others) and each are part of the Whole, even those individuals who have really, really, bad B.O.
4. If you realize that you are the one with the B.O., discretely find a restroom and rinse your pits. Hand sanitizer contains mostly alcohol which kills bacteria. Rubbing some under your armpits may neutralize the odor. Shower regularly and use deodorant.

What to Do When You Are Trying to Impress Someone and Can’t Do the Pose

1. Fake a cramp.
2. Mutter in semi-audible tones that you are tired from performing this same pose (which is usually very easy) earlier on that day in your 3-hour personal practice and need to rest.
3. Complain that you learned how to do the pose differently.
4. Perform a different pose that you can do very well.

What to Do When You Have a Real Muscle Cramp

The exact cause of muscle cramping is not well understood. Cramps are thought to be the result of overexertion and fatigue of a muscle and loss of vital minerals such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. Oxygen deprivation is also a possible cause for muscles to cramp (inefficient energy resources in the muscles when oxygen is deprived).
1. Stay well hydrated to prevent cramping.
2. Ease your way into and through each pose. Practice the balance of steadiness and ease (Sthirum and Sukam) while performing every pose, especially if it is an unfamiliar pose or you have previously fatigued the targeted muscles.
3. Maintain your deep and slow breathing. Oxygen may help muscles perform regular energy production. See Krebs Cycle.
4. Increase the aforementioned minerals into your diet by eating bananas, watermelon, low-fat milk, kale, spinach, leafy greens, or broccoli however make sure that these foods are appropriate for you Prakruti, according to the Ayurveda model.

How to Avoid Passing Gas in Class

Yoga is designed to be very cleansing on several levels. Unfortunately, social norms don’t support all methods of cleansing caused by yoga.
1. Avoid eating at least two hours before class.
2. Visit the restroom before class.
3. If you feel air moving in your digestive organs, discretely leave class, visit the restroom and practice a squat pose until gas is relieved.
4. If you or someone proximal does pass gas, apply similar methods as sections: How to Survive if Someone in Class Has Sever Body Odor and What to Do In Class When Your Cell Phone Rings.

How to Avoid Doing Partner Yoga Postures with the Sweaty Guy

1. Fake a cramp
2. Invent an injury and explain that you will need to do a different pose.
3. Pretend your cell phone rang, that your a doctor and need to take the emergency call.
4. Use this opportunity to use the restroom.
5. If you are the Sweaty Guy, consider bringing a towel to class or and perhaps and extra t-shirt to put on in case you are partnering in poses.

 

On The Corner of Justice and Compassion

Last year I was walking to meet my dad for lunch while listening to voicemails. I was alarmed to get a message from the Salt Lake City Police Department. We live within spewing distance of a hospital and the officer in the voicemail informed me that someone that morning had left the ER feeling, “grumpy” and decided to bash in my truck’s passenger window with a rock outside my house. After a moment to process this information, I decided that it was decidedly glass-shattering only and not earth-shattering. I hung up the phone and I said out loud to myself, “Meh. I’ll fix the window. I’ve been dealt worse. Next, please.” And with that continued down the street toward enchiladas and my dad.

Perhaps I’ve become immune to the mishaps of Nina, my trusty, rusty truck. This is the second time that someone has purposely broken my passenger-side window. And two years ago this same truck was stolen right out of my hands—literally, I was holding onto it as it went.

Nina was found almost a month later but without a catalytic converter and a stereo, which incidentally was already broken so I guess the joke’s on him. Instead of grand theft auto, it was more like mediocre theft auto.

Between vandalism, theft, and occasionally breaking down, it sometimes feels like my truck is cursed. But then I have to remember the fact that my truck was very generously GIVEN to me with no strings attached at a desperate time of my life and for over 10 years it’s been fairly reliable. With all of its bumpy roads, and despite logic or reason, one thing about this truck is true: This. Truck. Won’t. Die. Regardless, I plan on finding an auto-shaman to smudge it or conduct some sort of auto-exorcism.

While I decided to respond to the news of my broken window with a, “Meh,” to say that I was entirely nonplused about my broken window would be to largely oversimplify my emotions. I was relieved that the call from the police revealed something as benign as a broken window but money was tight and I was not jazzed about paying for a new window simply because someone couldn’t deal with feeling, “grumpy” in a way that was more productive than bashing in my window. After a little more thought about my broken window and what it would cost to fix, I started to get fully pissed off.

I teach yoga and mindfulness for a living yet I’m not immune from feeling anger. I believe the mindful approach to anger is not to ignore nor react to it but instead to acknowledge and to respond to it with my whole body, mind, and spirit. If anger arises in me, I must satisfy the animal instinct of that energy maybe by busting out some yoga postures, crush up a hill on a run, or by sitting in my truck alone (preferably with all the windows intact) and screaming all the four-letter words I know, four-letter words other than love, hope, . . . and nice.

But before I teach others about the mindful approach to anger, I have to do the work on myself. One thing I’ve learned from yoga as well as many misguided years of trying to “control” my emotions, is that everything is connected and if my body can’t express emotions, then they will shut off or express themselves in other ways which are usually destructive or alienating.

One beautiful reward of this inner-work is the love I have developed for all emotions, including anger. I’ve learned that every emotion is a powerful tool that helps ground me to the present moment. As I work to understand my True Identity, that biggest part of me which can’t be defined by where I live, what degree I have, or which kind of car I drive (or don’t drive if it’s been recently stolen), the more I feel comfortable when an emotion rolls by because I know that I don’t have to define myself by that emotion. This emotion is just doing a drive-by and like everything else in this dynamic universe, it will eventually pass on down the road.

Knowing that this emotion will soon drive away actually frees me up to truly experience it to the fullest. It takes practice but when I feel anger, I try to experience the feeling to the fullest, to be grounded by it, rendered present by it, and then hopefully respond to it by maybe busting out some sun salutations or strapping on my running shoes and going for a run for an incredible release. All in a good day.

Back to the broken window . . . After first hearing about my broken window and deciding that it wasn’t a life-ending tragedy, the reality of the situation began to set in. I started to think about who bashed in my window, how even if they did catch the guy, that chances were that I’d have to go through the effort and pay to have the window fixed. I started to get pissed.

But fortunately, after only a few minutes of fantasizing about retribution, what I’d say to the guy who broke my window if given the chance, this lust for justice as well as my anger, drifted away and out of sight. Somehow justice grew into compassion for whomever bashed in my window because when I play out the more-than-likely scenario in my head, anger or retribution seemed frankly absurd. 

When I truly thought about it, I realized that nobody feels great after leaving the ER. Or maybe this person experienced something supremely tragic in the ER, either to himself or someone he cared about, and had emerged with such emotional cataclysm, one that had risen to what was probably blandly described as, “grumpy” by the SLCPD, such that the only response in this blind fit of emotion was to bash in a window.

Out of the ER, there’s really nowhere to go but past my house. Perhaps the first objects one would most likely see after leaving the ER is my truck parked at the curb in front of my house. It’s bright red, you can’t miss it. It would almost scream, “Hey, you! Upset? Need something to hit? I’m ugly, inanimate, and insured. Hit me!”

He must have strode directly toward my house and recently landscaped yard, a project I took on a couple of summers ago as an emotional life raft against the raging sea of my own craziness when my two yoga studios were terminally sinking. During that project I discovered the healing magic of pulling weeds! There are few things more satisfying than looking over a plot of newly cleared soil with a mountain of weeds next to it.

This guy must have seen one of the 10-pound rocks I placed decoratively on top of the bark chips, contemplated the hard and unforgiving truth of rock bottom, then looked at my unblemished car window, back at the rock, back at the window. . . The temptation was no doubt irresistible. I think a message written on the rock that said, “Hey, friend! Could I suggest maybe pulling a few weeds to remedy your upset?” may have proven fruitless.

My brave Chubby Hula Dancer attached to the dash of my truck (actually, re-attached after her kidnapping two summers ago) was thankfully unharmed in the event. I bet she was nervous as she heard the commotion of this disturbed fellow coming her direction, saw him approaching like a drunken bear. And as he was wheeling back his arm, rock in hand, her fears confirmed, I bet if you were listening closely you might have been able to hear her soft, consoling voice now resigned to the inevitable, speaking to him under the din of his furry, “Come on, Honey. Make it good. Make it count. And don’t worry about me. I’ve dealt with worse than a rock through a window.”

After one explosive crash it was done. Chubby Hula Dancer didn’t even flinch. Eager to leave the scene, I’m sure the disturbed man continued on downhill like a storm cloud rolling across the landscape. And if you were listening closely you could probably hear my Chubby Hula Dancer say, “I hope you feel better, Punkin.”

Now as I think about it, I bet smashing that window felt fucking amazing. And for all I know, they guy who smashed my window was completely lucid, deciding that smashing the window was the best way to respond to what he was feeling. I have to concede that.

That day I received the news about my window, many different emotions passed by me like cars wizzing by me on the freeway. By the time I got home I had largely processed my anger and fleeting desire for justice. By then I’d firmly decided that my broken window was just information, nothing more and nothing less. At home, I found the big rock tucked under the pedals on the driver side.

As I swept up the glass, despite all my frustrations, I hoped he hadn’t hurt himself. I didn’t see any blood. Glass everywhere, all over in the cab, all over the street, all over my bark chips, but nothing else was disturbed. My stereo had been conveniently stolen when my truck was jacked so there was no worry about that going missing. After sweeping glass, I went on an exhilarating run fueled by my former frustrations.

I fixed the window and 12 hours later my truck was back to normal. The world turns. Both the smashed window and the run were just occurrences, and somehow both were necessary.

If ever you find yourself leaving the ER near my house, first let me offer my condolences; I’m sure you weren’t there by choice. When you leave, you’ll see my truck parked outside of the first house you might come to. If you’re feeling upset, could I suggest maybe pulling some weeds? But if weeds just won’t do and you somehow have the wits to be fully connected in body, mind, and spirit and decide that smashing my trucks window is really the only solution that feels right, then God bless. There’s a rock nearby with your name on it.

And after, please know that this is getting expensive. Maybe you could also please leave a few bucks in the broken glass somewhere for a replacement. Or maybe a pie.

And if you’re wondering which house is mine, you can’t miss it. It’s the one with a red truck parked out front near the corner of Justice and Compassion.

 

Know Thyself

In yoga, Swadyaya, means self-knowledge. If one is aware, it is difficult to experience any challenge and not come to a more intimate knowledge of Self, the True Self.

Like the poet Rainer Maria Rilke states in his poem, The Man Watching,  "Winning does not tempt that man./ This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively,/by constantly greater beings." By our struggles, we grow stronger, even in our defeat. We understand ourselves more because of the struggle. It's understanding that though you were pummeled by your challenges, there remains a deep part of you that is still very tough. It's knowing the part of you that is larger than the fight. This is Swadyaya.

Swadyaya is also learning from all those things that didn't work. With this knowledge we become free from our bonds of misunderstanding (avidya) because now we can see what was holding us back from knowing our True Self.

There is help. Ganesh is the elephant-headed deity in the Hindu tradition who, among other things, helps us gain Swadyaya. He frees us from obstacles because with his great memory and knowledge of us he knows our purpose, our path, and our problems--our dharma. Ganesh represents the part of us that remembers who we really are. Like my wife says, "he helps you see your own inner AWESOMENESS."

This understanding of self relates to a story told to me by one of my teachers, Dr. Richard Miller. A famous yogi, Ram Das, came back to America from years living in India to visit his brother who was living in a mental health institution because his brother thought he was Jesus. When Ram Das arrived, he was wearing a long white robe, flowers around his neck, long, white hair and beard and sandals. His brother asked Ram Das, "Why is it that you walk around looking like that and they lock me up?" to which Ram Das replied, " The difference between you and me is you think that you're God and I know that I'm God." Through years and years of refinement (read Tapas), Ram Das had an intimate knowledge of his True Self. Ram Das had experienced and practiced Swadyaya. 
 
With greater Swadyaya we qualify for deeper work, and like Rilke says, be "defeated, decisively,/by constantly greater beings." This is how we grow.
 
Let's practice getting to know ourselves better this week. See you in Class!

The Man Watching  
By Rainer Maria Rilke

I can tell by the way the trees beat, after
so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes
that a storm is coming, 
and I hear the far-off fields say things
I can't bear without a friend, 
I can't love without a sister.

The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on  
across the woods and across time,
and the world looks as if it had no age: 
the landscape, like a line in the psalm book,  
is seriousness and weight and eternity.

What we choose to fight is so tiny!  
What fights with us is so great.  
If only we would let ourselves be dominated
as things do by some immense storm,  
we would become strong too, and not need names.

When we win it's with small things,  
and the triumph itself makes us small.  
What is extraordinary and eternal
does not want to be bent by us.  
I mean the Angel who appeared
to the wrestlers of the Old Testament: 
when the wrestlers' sinews  
grew long like metal strings,  
he felt them under his fingers  
like chords of deep music.

Whoever was beaten by this Angel  
(who often simply declined the fight)  
went away proud and strengthened
and great from that harsh hand,  
that kneaded him as if to change his shape.  
Winning does not tempt that man.  
This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively,  
by constantly greater beings.

                --Translated by Robert Bly



Down and Dirty

salt lake city yoga

I broke hours of silence during treatments at the Ayurvedic ashram to say awkwardly to Haridas, the 17-year-old boy toweling off my naked body: "So... um... do you like football?" Intimate strangers, he and I. We spoke very few of the same words and communicated mostly by gerunds and gestures. I'm learning humility.
 
When I was 17, I would help my invalid grandfather wash and dress and eat. A stroke had rendered him almost helpless and at the time my young mind found it difficult to understand his frustration: after all, we were doing all the work for him. I understand a little better now how he might have felt about the basic dignity of simply washing yourself.
 
"Humble" comes from the Latin word "Humilis," or Low, and "Humus," or Earth. To become humble is like an act of lowering to the earth or your most basic elements, or returning to dust, your origins. And while humility may be difficult, humiliating really, it is the opportunity to stop pretending, to go back to the start, and give it another try. We have no choice but to strip away the entrapments of ego, the feeling of being impenetrable, feeling in control, etc. That's why I traveled 9 thousand miles to Aditya, the ashram in Kerala, India, to do Panchakarma and get my body, mind, and spirit back to the start.
 
Maybe this is why my wise Ayurvedic teacher, Jaisri, would encourage me to put myself in nature whenever I struggled with questions and doubt, whenever I could not see clearly. Getting back into nature was going back to the origin. Being in nature is my opportunity to become humble in the face of this big beautiful world and to make myself naked to it, to let it teach me, just like I must allow the boy here to bathe me.
 
In this culture it seems we value someone who "has their s--- together." We like to give someone a pat on the back who has worked hard to polish the armor of their egos. We congratulate people who seem to be embracing success, partly because we are all afraid of humility-all afraid that after the polish and shine and sweet smells and smiles and sunshine are gone, it's just us, a vulnerable naked human being like any other.

Aditya Ayurvedic Ashram Kerala, India

Aditya Ayurvedic Ashram Kerala, India

While we may feel temporarily safe when we pretend that nothing can harm us or hurt us or even put us in a bad mood, resting in this apparent pretense may stunt our growth and keep us from the truth: that humility gives us compassion and loving-kindness, for ourselves and for all beings.
 
This week, humble yourself (or be humbled) by going to a new class, or by practicing your nemesis poses (especially those that are difficult and make you feel dumb). Also, enjoy humbling poses, poses where you let go of the control, of the ego, of the show, like savasana, child's pose, pigeon pose, etc. Get ready to learn. And ask yourself: What do I get by humbling myself, by letting go of the hard-fought image of having "it all together"?

Poking Buddha in the Eye

One afternoon, during my summer yoga retreat at Molino Del Rey in southern Spain, my 1-year-old, Elio, and I were chillin' by the pool.

Elio teaches me volumes about what it means to look at this beautiful world with new eyes. On this day, next to the pool, Elio found a statue of The Buddha, the statue depicting The Buddha with his constant, serene smile large enough to hold the entire Universe with compassion. Elio was insatiably curios in The Buddha, his focus on The Buddha was whole-bodied; he had to know every inch of that statue with his eyes, hands, and mouth. 

There was The Buddha, unyielding in his serenity while this curious toddler batted him around like a soccer ball. Still, The Buddha didn't waiver. Nothing could deter the equanimity from his face. 

This statue reminded me of The Buddha nature within all of us. Elio reminded me of the Lila or "play" that the Universe exhibits by all of its changeability, the fact that everything in the Universe is quickened by life, movement, energy, and pulse. The Universe is like Elio as it slaps us around, pokes our eyes, licks our nose, and generally plays with us, not from a place of malice, but almost out of simple compulsion. What if in Universe years, The Universe is just a toddler, exploring all the parts, including us, with insatiable curiosity? What if we, through practice, could remain constant, grounded and serene, just like The Buddha, despite the fact that sometimes it feels like The Universe is simply messing with us? 

May we see the Buddha Nature in every being and practice knowing it in ourselves. 

You Take Care of Everybody. Who Takes Care of You?

Are you the kind of person who puts others' needs before your own, even when that sometimes means that you sometimes grossly neglect yourself? I do sometimes.


Don't get me wrong, I can be as selfish as the next guy sometimes. Still, I'm a recovering "pleaser," you know, the chronic condition where you'll do anything for anyone, even at your own expense, just so you'll be liked or not make waves.
Several years ago, in the dead of winter I was, making the preparations for a Native American sweat lodge ceremony. Though several people were going to participate in the ceremony, just the Medicine Man, a Native Elder, and myself were preparing the sacred stones and blessing them as we placed them into the bonfire.
These stones would represented the bones of the earth. They would sit in the fire for several hours until they glowed red hot at which time we'd remove them from the fire and put them into a special pit in the sweat lodge. After all the rocks were in, the participants would then climb into the low dome structure by humbly kneeling and repeating, "Aho Mitakuye Oyasin," meaning, "To All My Relations," evoking each person's complete tribe of past present and future relations to join this sacred ceremony. Then each person would climb in and take their seat in the circle around the red-hot stones. Once each person was in, the door would close, extinguishing all light from the space except the heavy, crimson glow of the stones. Then the ceremony would begin as the stones began their medicine of purifying and clarifying the body, mind, and spirit of every being accompanied by the legions of their relations.

 

It was bone on bone: the red-hot bones of the earth beginning to settle their heat into the bones of my body. A current of sweat began dripping off my entire body. The medicine had begun.  


As I sat in that sacred ceremony, I began to think seriously about something the Elder had said to me during the hours where he and I were preparing the sweat lodge. The Elder and I were using a pitchfork and shovel to manage and place the stones into the fire and at one point, the Elder stabbed his pitchfork into the snow, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, "How do you take care of yourself? It is very selfish if you do not take care of yourself. If you do not take care of yourself, then those who rely on you to take care of them must then take care of you. You have to take care of yourself, for you and for them. Don't be selfish. Take care of yourself." 

At the time I didn't know what to say to the Elder. Later, in the sweat lodge, I sat in the burning darkness, heavy in the thought of the Elder's words. I thought of the presence of all my relations, those who rely on me to be me so I can fulfill my role in the tribe. I'm sure my son, Elio, now 1, then -7, was there with me, probably sitting on my lap. At that moment I made a promise to myself and to all my relations, known and unknown, that I would do my duty to take care of myself so that those who rely upon me for all I need to do would not have to take care of me or worse, put up with the cranky version of me who feels deprived of joy because he's burdened by the needs of others. I understood that by taking care of myself, I'd pick up my responsibilities to my relations with gladness and not only with a rote or begrudging sense of obligation.

The only intoxicating elements of that ceremony were heat and truth and they were the medicine that conjured the vision of my grateful relations because I learned to care for myself. 

Now, I care for myself by going on a run, playing my saxophone, and having some quality time with my family. I live dangerously close to Hatch Family Chocolates and I care for myself by periodically walking over there for something delicious and I eat it without a spec of guilt. I go to a yoga class, sit and meditate for a half hour, eat healthy (cuz that's often more delish than chocolates). I go to coffee with friends. I commit myself to my intellectual and spiritual learning by signing up for a training or a buying a book. I listen to music. All in the name of self care.

How do YOU care of yourself? You owe it to your tribe and you owe it to yourself.

Make a list and if yoga is on that list, I hope to see you in class sometime very soon. If reaching new states of bliss and relaxation while simultaneously blowing your mind and understanding the secrets of the Universe through Yoga Nidra is your thing, then maybe you'll register for my online Yoga Nidra course.

Whatever it is, don't be selfish and take care of yourself. 


Scott

The Aftermath

Half Ironman. Check! 

Thank you sincerely to everyone who wished me well on this endeavor. By far, that was the most physically enduring thing I've ever done and I could feel your hopes cary me along the entire way.

One compound word: ass-kicker! 

Here's how it went down . . . 

The night before I started to get a bit of a sore throat. What terrible timing! I don't know if it was nerves or starting to feel sick, but I slept terribly that night. I got up at about 4 am with only a few hours of sleep under my belt, gathered my stuff and drove down to the event.

Despite the early hour, poor sleep, and sore throat (and now throbbing headache), I left the house feeling like I wasn't in the best shape to be doing what was going to be the most physically challenging event in my life . However, over the past few years, I've been practicing the ability to change my state by doing some simple powerful visualizations and conditioning those responses to change my state by doing breathing exercises coupled with a "power move," for me it's a manly grunt with a solid fist-pump. And doing this while listening to AC/DC helps to really change from feeling blah to YAUGH!!!! Minutes after I left the house, I was ready to get out there and not only succeed, but I was determined to have a great time doing it.

I practiced just observing my sore throat and headache. I was fascinated, though not surprised, at how both dissipated by merely observing them and not trying to fret over or fix them. Neither went away but they were both dialed back to the point of not even noticing them during the event. 

So, the day before the event, the organizers were forced to cancel the 1.2-mile swim portion of the event because of an "algae bloom" in Utah lake. Yeah, gross. Ain't nobody got time for that! Instead of the swim, we did a 1.2 mile run, then the regularly scheduled 56 mile bike, then the regular 13.1 mile run. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed to lose the swim because of all the training I'd done and because I was gearing up to do the full experience but perhaps part of the "tough"you get to experience in this event is to deal with the fact that things don't always go as planned. Tough beans! Make it happen.

The event started wonderfully. I was feeling great. Then about mile 25 into the bike, on the west side of Utah Lake, my knee started to hurt. I used my yoga breathing techniques to breathe prana into the knee and tension out. Soon my knee felt perfect. I felt like I was cheating the system by using all these ninja techniques I've learned in yoga. 

About mile 35 into the bike, I was feeling my legs burn. I wasn't even half way done with the event and I felt like my energy was winding up. I was doing really great with hydration and fuel but my legs were still burning. So, I remembered my visualizations I did for weeks prior to the event: I remembered a time a time when I felt amazing during a bike ride and brought all those sensations, emotions, and energy back to the surface. Boom, energy was back again. My mantra was, "Energy in. Tension out." I wasn't breaking any land speed records but I was moving steadily forward and feeling good. . . until my back tire blew out. 

I stopped, and to my luck,  no sooner did I remove my punctured tube then did the aid-van arrive. Out stepped a tutu-wearing bike cowboy named Rorey who kindly asked me to step aside while he replaced the tube, pumped the tire, and replaced the tire onto my bike in what seemed like seconds flat. It was like watching a seasoned, professional cowboy rope a calf at a rodeo. Disclosure: no bikes were harmed in the production of this blog post. 

After about 4 hours, I'd finished the bike portion and was thrilled to be on the run portion of the event, my strongest sport. The run comprised two 6.5 miles loops. I made the first loop and was though I was very tired, overall I was feeling pretty good. My legs were tired, it was starting to get hot, but I had no pain in my joints. I just continued with my mantra, "Energy in. Tension out."

Also, when it got grindingly tough, I'd look down at my arms to access my lifeline: I had used a Sharpie to write in big black letters, "Sennie" on my left arm and, "Ellie" on my right. Seeing these names remind me of my two most favorite people in the world and to put my heart back into the race. 

And right when I rounded the first loop, I saw Sennie, Ellie, my mom and sis, standing there and cheering me on. Seeing them gave me wings. "One more loop! I'll be back here in an hour," I yelled, as I pumped my fists in the air for the last gust of energy to finish this thing. 

Every mile got harder and harder. I was reduced to making little goals for myself, "just get to the next mile marker, that's all." I'd arrive to the aid station and make a new goal for the next. I was spent. It was not sheer endurance to keep going. One. Mile. At. A. Time. Eventually, I'd reached the point in the course where all I had to do was make the turn and head back along the road for the last 2.5 miles and to the finish line. I was on the home stretch!

Then I realized something terrible. I realized that they hadn't marked the course very well at that aid station, and the staff was too busy censoring the rap music they were playing to steer me in the right direction, that and my brain was on energy-saver mode and not thinking clearly, such that I'd completely missed an entire leg of the course the first time around, about a mile and a half long. Shit! It would have been easy to chalk it up to a misunderstanding and finish the course the way I'd thought it was supposed to go but I knew I couldn't do that. I'd only be cheating myself. So, I did that leg TWICE to make up for not doing it the first time and added 3 more miles to what I thought I had to do. 

Nothing has ever taken so much self-discipline than that act of running those extra three miles when I thought I was so close to finishing. It took every bit of resolve in my soul. It was a matter of my own integrity and one more hidden way that this race asked me to see what I was made of. 

During the longest three miles of my life, I knew that my family must be wondering why I was taking so long. This extra but not extra leg added at least another 30 minutes onto my run. 

"Energy in. Tension out. Energy in. Tension out. Sennie. Ellie. Sennie. Ellie" was now on constant repeat to the rhythm of each footstep.

After an eternity in this struggle, along a path that seemed like it never ended, I finally turned the corner and there it was. The finish. My family was there and the opulent welcome to simply stop running. I was done. 

Never has anything felt so satisfying as to simply stop running, lie on the grass, and close my eyes. 

I was grateful for all the yoga techniques I knew to help me finish this incredible event, especially the yogic principle of Vidya, or clear seeing. I truly saw clearly that while your perceived limits are not always as fixed as you might think, there still is no substitute for training well. More importantly, I saw the power of the heart to pull you through very physically challenging circumstances. Truly there is a connection of body, mind, and spirit. 

If you are interested in exploring ways to conquer your own limits and honestly Source Your True Power, please check out my online Yoga Nidra course which starts this Friday. I promise that if you don't love it, if you don't find a deeper, more powerful part of YOU by doing this course, I'll refund your money, no questions asked. I'm really proud of this course and I think you'll love it too.

PS

For any other triathletes out there, I'm nearing the finish on the production of a Yoga for Triathletes DVD and meditation product to help triathletes gain an edge, recover, and prevent injury in their sport. Stay tuned . . . 

How I Plan to Hack 70.3 miles

My legs were jelly, my lungs on fire, my feet felt like cement. It was mile 20 of my first trail marathon. I only had to run 6.2 miles more but it may as well have been 620 miles left to run. Then, to add insult to injury, right at the mile 20 marker, I found myself staring up into the teeth of brutal mile-long climb. I was done. Sprit wrecked. Nothing left. Game over.

My twin brother had made a playlist to for me to listen to as a way of accompanying me on this arduous run. The night before, I'd loaded the songs onto my iPod and had made a point to not look at the content so that each song would be a surprise. Somewhere around mile 7, I smiled to hear one track which was simply my brothers voice saying, "Run! Run! Run! . . . Keep running! . . . Don't stop running." 

So there I am at mile 20, ready to expire. At that point, my plan was simple: crawl under a rock to die. Just as I'm looking around for suitable rocks, into my earbuds bursts the powerful and iconic power chords of the heart-pumping adrenaline anthem, Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (fitting), the theme song used in at least one of the Rocky movies.

You know the song, don't pretend you don't. Sing along with me, "Dun. . . dun, dun, dun . . . dun, dun, duuuun. . . 'Risin' up, back on the street . . . Just a man and his will to survive ." 

I'm embarrassed to say it but as cheeseball as that song is, and as much as my inner-hipster would have loved to just roll eyes or chuckle and continue on with plan A (dying under a rock), hearing that song caused something to stir inside of me. With Eye of the Tiger thumping in my ears, my eyes focused, my legs found some steel, and I forgot the burn in my lungs. Fueled by some hidden and mysterious power, I started to crush up that slope with singular resolve .

"It's the eye of the tiger, It's the thrill of the fight, rising up to the challenge of our rival. And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night and he's watching us all with the eye . . . OF THE TIGER!"

Now, I can't even read those lyrics with a straight face, however at the time nothing could have been more serious. At the top of that killer hill, I found myself even doing victory leaps, pounding my fist in the air as enthusiastically as Rocky Balboa himself after his impossible win.

I went on to finish the run, which, incidentally, was my very improbably plan B. 

So one minute I was ready to die with absolutely nothing left in me and the next minute I had conquered what I felt was the impossible and had even found hidden strength to finish the race. No fuel. No sugar or caffeine. Just some cheesy song in my earbuds. What is that about?!

The topic of limiters, specifically the plasticity of your limits, has fascinated me, especially as I've explored my limits as it pertains to running. And I think even the notion of your limits being plastic is itself provocative. 

Since my first killer trail marathon, I've been using some powerful techniques that help me understand limits for what they are: "perceived" limitations. I try not to see limits as Truth. We've all accomplished the impossible against all odds at sometime or other. I propose that we have much more power over our perceived limits than we think we do.

You can train a dog not to leave the yard for fear of getting a shock for doing so, a response that has been conditioned into that dogs brain even when there is no longer a mechanism that administers shocks. Likewise, we fail to see the truth about many of our own perceived limitations. What do you feel are your limitations in life? Do you have a boss you're tired of? Do you believe that you can never get ahead in your finances, or that you will never meet the love of your life? 

In Yoga his misapprehension about limits or anything else is called Avidya, or the antithesis of clear seeing.  First, understanding that we might have a misapprehension about something we've previously thought as Truth is a huge step in the right direction. So, to call our limitations perceived limitations rather than iron-clad barriers is very powerful in itself. 

One of my favorite learning modules in my online Yoga Nidra course: Sourcing Your True Power, is the one where we focus on the notion of limiters; to understand them for what they truly are and to move past them by using the techniques of Yoga Nidra (a specific form of powerful guided meditation) as well as through the power of visualizations. The power of our beliefs works both for us or against us so why not program our minds to succeed or move past what we thought was previously impossible? A nice thought but in this course we Source Our True Power by understanding and practicing control over perceived limits.

So, I've registered for a half Ironman. It will probably be the biggest endurance event of my life to date. It happens this Saturday, July 16. It's 70.3 miles long: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Any trainer worth their salt would probably say that I've woefully undertrained for this event. They might say that while a wonderful, 3-week, fun-filled trip to Europe, replete with cheese, bread, beer, and pastries, may have wonders for my spirit, it may not have been the best way to prepare for a half Ironman.

However, I'm not worried about the race. I believe I can do it and that is that. I've been using Yoga Nidra, visualizations, and the malleable practice of belief as my secret ninja techniques of to hack these 70.3 miles. I've prepared my mind and spirit for the race in addition to all the other physical training I've done. Sure, my body needs to be ready but more importantly so does my mind.

I'm ready. 

I can certainly use all your good vibes and belief that I can do this too. So this Saturday, between the hours of 7 am to 1 pm, sometime visualize Scott Moore somewhere around Utah Lake Utah Valley randomly jumping up and down victoriously pumping his fists in the air.

I don't think they let you wear earbuds on a triathlon so I'll be the crazy, happy guy singing Eye of the Tiger to himself.

Holding Space

salt lake city yoga

We don't need to change or be better than we are. We practice deep compassion as we extend this same privilege to other people and things around us and allow them to simply be, especially those things that would easily turn our hearts bitter.

As we practice yoga and meditation, we cultivate and practice being. We also reduce the suffering known as Dukkah, which would hold us back from experiencing our highest self.

One act of holding space is allowing yourself to be with a person or thing and allow them to be just as they or it is. I'm thinking of a friend who is sick or experiencing something mentally or spiritually challenging. Simply being with that person and holding space for them, without the need to fix or change anything, just being, allows a deep compassion to exist between the two of you.

Another act of holding space is the decisive act of making room in your heart for that which would sooner canker your heart with feelings and make your mind fester with "shoulds" and what-ifs." When you hold space for someone or something, you don't have to fall in love with this person or thing but you are simply offering compassion toward them or it by not becoming sour toward it. And by so doing, you ultimately offer your own heart and mind in the same compassion--the heart that flourishes when it feels abundance and love, not bitterness, and the mind that abounds when it is sheltered from shoulds and what-ifs."

Here are a few examples of holding space:

The NYC 4 Train: stopped en route causing me to miss my flight home (years ago).
Me: bought a NYC 4 Train T-Shirt--holding space for the 4 Train.

World: Just as it is.
Me: Accepting the world as it is.

Holding space is often the first part of forgiveness toward yourself and others.

This week, practice holding space for things that your either don't understand or which bother you.

Scott

I'm In Training

I'm In Training

So, I registered for a half Ironman. On July 16 (less than two weeks away) I'll be swimming for 1.2 miles, biking for 56, and running 13.1. It's a lofty endeavor and I've spent the last 6 months training.

While on vacation, I had to put my training on hold . . . or so I thought. Traveling can be vigorous. Please don't think I'm complaining when I say that we walked around 5-10 miles a day while we were in Paris and New York. Walking is a great way to see any city AND it is an undervalued form of training as well as daily exercise. Running is great but walking is nothing to laugh at. It uses different muscles and is challenging. Instead of complaining about it, I adopted the mantra, "I'm in training," thinking about my race coming up.

Also, try sitting in a plane, wrestling with a  restless 11-month-old for 7.5 hours, then getting off and performing the clean & jerk maneuver with all your luggage that is waaaaay over the weight limit. Then, heft a stroller, portable crib, multiple carry-ons, full-sized and overweight suitcase all across Paris on public transit to arrive at your lodging, all with the kid strapped to your chest. "I'm in training," kept going through my head and it felt like all that effort wasn't just inconvenience, but valued training. 

clean jerk

The European vacation was great and once I got home, I started up with my regular swim/bike/run training but the opportunities for the everyday and lesser-recognized forms of training didn't stop. Up all night with a teething kid: "I'm in training." Hefting several bags of groceries: "I'm in training." Gotta bike to teach cuz you accidentally locked your keys in the car: "I'm in training." 

Of course I'm training for not only the physical part of the race but also for the psychological and mental parts too. And really at the end of the day, it's not about one race. It's about the cumulative experience and how I can incorporate it into my everyday. 

What is all of this everyday effort training you for? You get to decide. Maybe balancing life with effort and ease. Maybe seeing every struggle as an opportunity to be present. Maybe even as a chance to perfect the part of me that doesn't have to complain about difficult things (sometimes I can be a whiner). 

What are you training for?