NAG Newsletter Winter 2012
Karma Yoga in Daily Life
By Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, from YOGA Magazine, September 2002. Visit www.yogamag.net for more articles by Swamiji.
Reproduced courtesy of YOGA Magazine, copyright Sivananda Math.
Yoga has always been thought of as a series of practices to be done away from the situations of normal social life – in a classroom environment, or in a retreat in the company of 'spiritual beings'. We have thought that if we practise this or that yoga technique we will achieve this or that result. What we have actually done is to make yoga into a mechanical process leading to self-awareness. We have to move away from this idea and make yoga a part of our natural expression. Only then can yoga become a process leading to self-realization.
If we practise yoga as a technique to feel good, then we will definitely feel good for a little while. If we practise yoga in order to relax, then we will definitely relax. If we practise yoga to connect with ourselves internally, then that will also become possible. But whatever the attainment may be it will be momentary, a transitory phase, and when one has to confront life's realities, tensions and frustrations again, then the effect of yoga will take a back seat. Therefore, it needs to be understood that the real experience of yoga happens through karma yoga. Even if you practise hatha yoga, raja yoga, kundalini or kriya yoga you have to combine it with karma yoga in order to have a rich experience of the process.
Some people have the idea that karma yoga has no relevance in their lives, that it is only hard work. Some think that karma yoga is only service to guru, God or humanity. Some think of karma yoga as selfless service or selfless action. None of these definitions represents the real spirit of karma yoga, because karma is an integral part of our personality and life. People have translated karma as action. Some have defined karma as cause and effect. None of these definitions is true. You have to understand that the whole of life is karma and if you avoid karma then you do not exist.
Nature's expression of karma
Nature expresses karma through the elements. The heat of fire is the karma of fire. Expansiveness of space is the karma of space. The movement of the wind is the karma of air. The liquid nature of water is the karma of water. The solidity of earth is the karma of soil. Desires, expectations and thoughts are karmas of the mind. The expressions of the senses are karmas of the body. In fact, we are homogeneous karma. The whole world is homogeneous karma, the whole of creation is homogeneous karma.
Understand that karma is not only cause and effect, not only action. Karma is a subtle ripple-like movement affecting all dimensions of creation. Karma is movement that happens in the body via the senses and in the mind via the mental projections and experiences. If you practise asana, you are altering the karma of the body. If you practise pranayama, you are altering the karma of vitality and the brain. If you practise meditation, you are altering the karma of the subtle mind and of the spirit. This is the way to manage the karmas which influence us in either a positive or negative way. Karma is awareness of the movement of life. It is not hard work, it is not service, it is not cause and effect, it is an understanding of how we interact with ourselves and with our environment.
In the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna states that the subject of karma yoga has never been understood by people in the world. He said this 5,000 years ago and today it holds true because karma yoga is a subject which involves understanding of human nature, which involves developing awareness of the total personality. It is a process of observing our movement in life from gross to subtle to spiritual.
Photographs courtesy of Swami Atmarupa Saraswati
Yoga and Surgery:
Supporting the Healing Process
By Sannyasi Atmadarshan, Executive Course Coordinator, Yoga Academy of North America
After my surgeon went over all the possible outcomes and complications of my procedure, he looked at me and said: “No yoga for a few weeks after.”
I could understand his viewpoint – his wife did an intensely asana-based form of yoga and I definitely would not be able to do anything like that for a long time. Little did he suspect I intended to do yoga even when I was on the operating table.
The style of yoga I practice, SATYANANDA YOGA®, is thankfully a holistic one, addressing the needs of all the systems of the body as well as the mind and emotions. I had never had major surgery before, so as I lay on the bed in the pre-op room, naked and alone, I felt raw fear and I wanted to walk out and take my chances with the growths expanding inside of me. Fortunately I remembered the yoga practice of mantra –“the force that liberates the mind from bondage” – and started whispering one of the oldest chants in the world, a set of vibrations meant to heal the body. Then I added a Durga mantra, reputed to give one the power to overcome any obstacles. I was amazed at the effects of that second mantra and felt calm and composed after only two repetitions.
This was fortunate because the anesthesia assistant stepped into the curtained area and asked me what I was doing and if I needed her to come back later. The other members of the surgical team entered and introduced themselves; mantra was no longer an option. So I engaged in the first limbs of Patanjali’s raja yoga – yama and niyama, which are social codes to improve our relationships with others and ourselves. Having worked in a hospital, I know first-hand how a patient’s mood affects the care-giving team – an anxious patient causes the doctors and nurses to become more anxious and concerned themselves. My own fear would have a negative effect on those who were trying to care for me, so I purposefully chose the yoga practice of ahimsa, nonviolence. I learned the name of each member of the team, joked with them (especially the doctor who referred to himself as “eye candy”), and discussed skiing with the surgeon. The mood became upbeat and I could feel the genuine compassion of those around me as they took me to the operating room.
Anesthesia is a wonderful invention and the next thing I remember is doing actual yoga poses in the recovery room – a series called pawanmuktasana 1, the gentle, systematic movement of the major joints through their full range of motion. I did toe bending, ankle bending, and kneecap contractions – these would help prevent blood clots from forming in the legs – and hand clenching and wrist rotations. The nurse must have noticed the latter because I heard her say to someone that I was doing really well in recovery.
I went home soon after that and continued my yoga practice. Throughout the first couple of days I did the pawanmuktasana 1’s at regular intervals and added the basic breathing practice of natural breath awareness. I’d often told my own students that natural breath awareness changed brainwave patterns, facilitating release of mental stress and of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. Time to put the practice to the test! And it worked – as I simply observed the natural ebb and flow of my breathing, I felt much calmer, my body relaxed, and I felt the aches melt away. As the days progressed I added full yogic breath to get air down into the lowest regions of the lungs in order to prevent mucus buildup there, and viloma, which my mentor recommended. In viloma, one inhales only partially, then holds, then inhales a little more, holds, and so on until the lungs are full. With the exhalation, one lets the breath go. Interestingly, when the breath let go, so did all anxiety about the healing process, and I was in a much better mood when I was finished.
Now, a week out of surgery, I am still not able to do anything like what most people would consider “yoga”. But I am discovering so much in the process. I have learned compassion for those in ill health and how to use modified inversions to ease swelling. I have learned to modify some sitting meditations – such as trataka, which is typically done upright, gazing at a candle flame – so that they can be done effectively lying down. I now know through experience, not just theory, that the practice of antar mouna (observing the sensations of the body and the thoughts of the mind without trying to change anything) can help one deal with trauma and facilitate healing at the deepest levels. Through these practices I went from feeling angry at my body for being sick and weak to grateful for its powers of adaptability and regeneration.
I look forward to continuing to disobey my surgeon’s orders and to doing more yoga in the weeks ahead!
Photographs courtesy of Swami Atmarupa Saraswati
Vastu Shastra: Yoga for Your Home
By Jignasu Sagarmurti Saraswati (Sandra Shotton)
Jignasu Sagarmurti is a Certified Vastu Consultant, Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist, and Yoga Instructor (RYT 500). She is the owner and director of Island Yoga Vista in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
"People seldom think of their homes as living entities but the benefits of understanding this premise are truly life-changing.”
- Michael Mastro, Architect, Vastu Consultant and author of The Way of Vastu
The origins of Feng Shui are being revealed and taking on a momentum in popularity throughout the world. The Chinese practice of creating harmonious surroundings that balance energy has resonance in other cultures as well. In looking at the science of creating balance, the time has clearly come when most people are familiar with Yoga, becoming acquainted with Ayurveda, and now ready to meet the other sister, Vastu Shastra.
These three sister sciences grew out of the same period of time and culture, known as the Vedic Culture over 10,000 years ago. In fact they come from the same book, called the Atharva Veda. So with the same language and same understandings of the workings of the Universe (as well as the human being) these great sciences have not only been preserved throughout time but are making an important reappearance in cultures all over the world today. It seems this is what the world needs now to bring health, wellbeing and balance back.
Sages from long ago preserved this knowledge in scriptures called the Vedas. The knowledge of Vastu Shastra, the science of building, has been used throughout time and is apparent in many well known structures all over the world, including the Egyptian and Mayan Pyramids, the Roman Coliseum, the Greek Parthenon and the Taj Mahal.
In 1922 archeologists began excavating Mohenjharo, an ancient city in the Indus Valley and discovered that this 5500 year old city had been built on the principles of Vastu. The streets and buildings aligned to the cardinal directions, the kitchens in each house were in the southeast, home of the fire element, sleeping areas in the SW earth corner and the buildings all rectangular with an inner courtyard, home of the space element.
About three thousand years ago monks carried the information from India, through Tibet to China where it was adapted to the culture and environment there and became the various schools of Feng Shui, the art of placement and design that improves the flow of energy.
Vastu Shastra is universal, it does not change over time or in different places. It is about living in harmony with the natural environment. It is understood that nature is in balance; all places in the world are naturally beautiful and harmonious 
when not disturbed by human beings. When we build we disturb the harmony unless we take into consideration the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, space) together with the directions and their planetary influences thereby gaining the support of nature.
Understanding that the magnetic energy from the North and the solar energy from the East exert positive, beneficial influences whereas the gamma rays from the West and infrared rays from the South are not life supporting, influences how a Vastu home is built as well as how a non Vastu home is rectified.
When the spirit of a home is honored and enlivened using the methods of Vastu it affects the energy of all who enter as well as the health, prosperity, spiritual wellbeing and relationships of those who live there. Vastu Shastra, like Yoga and Ayurveda, are true gifts to this world that we may all benefit from easily and naturally.
Photographs courtesy of Island Yoga Vista: yogavistananaimo.com.
North American Gurukul's Seva Initiative Project
“You are full of Energy, use it for the service of others, raise their consciousness level and live to make the world a better place”
- Paramahamsa Satyananda
NAG continues its mission to provide funding to SATYANANDA YOGA® related service projects in North America through our Seva Initiative project. The Seva Initiative is an effort to continue Swami Satyananda’s message of “Serve, Love, Give,” and bring Satyananda Yoga to under-served populations.
Accredited Satyananda Yoga teachers who are eager to develop or continue a project based on the teachings of Swami Satyananda are encouraged to apply. Please click here for guidelines and application information.
Tip of the Quarter: Unclutter Your Mind
By Swami Atmarupa Saraswati, President, North American Gurukul, Inc. Board of Directors
Over the past year, my house has been undergoing renovations in preparation for selling it and downsizing. These renovations were done while living in the house and involved every single room and hallway. This necessitated moving everything from room to room and storing away some items that were not going to be used in staging the house for sale. Although I am not much of a collector, I was shocked at how much stuff had accumulated over the past fifteen years in various closets and drawers, in the basement and garage.
I was also shocked to discover how difficult it can be to throw out some of those items that “are still usable” but have not actually been used in years and years. “Why am I keeping this,” I would ask myself, “if I haven’t used it in this many years?” Soon my car was regularly overflowing with bags of clothes and household items being donated to local charities. And with each trip, I felt an unburdening of my mind.
More difficult were items that were of little value to anyone but me, items with “sentimental value” that had long been forgotten or stored away for safe keeping. My father’s bathrobe that had been hanging in the back of a closet after his death nearly two decades ago. Letters from old friends, some of whom I had not seen in decades, yet there was the evidence of our connection, found in a box on a top shelf. Letting go of these items did not erase my memories but gave me more space in my life and more mental peace.
In 2001, at Sat Chandi Yajna, Swami Niranjan said:
“During this yajna the external aspect is learning how to give. You have heard Sri Swamiji say many times that we are all selfish people. We like to accumulate things. For whom? We don’t know. We collect for our pleasure but does it really give us pleasure? Accumulation brings more headaches. You can live with one pair of shoes, but you accumulate twenty pairs because each new pair looks nicer than the last. You don’t even wear them once a month and your house becomes a museum due to accumulation. What mentality does that represent? A mentality that does not know how to give, but only how to accumulate, an accumulation that has no purpose.”
Start today. It doesn’t have to be a major project as mine has been. Resolve to throw out or donate one thing each day. Keep filling the waste can or keep a box for donations handy. Just take a minute to open a drawer or cupboard or closet and I will guarantee there is something that can go. Make it a part of your daily sadhana. Each time you let something go, you let go of selfishness. Unclutter your life and unburden your mind.
Swami Atmarupa Photograph courtesy of Swami Karma Karuna Saraswati
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily state or reflect the views of North American Gurukul, Inc. Publication in this newsletter or on this website should not be considered an endorsement.
The North American Gurukul, Inc. (NAG) is a nonprofit organization established to support the growth of SATYANANDA YOGA® throughout North America in order to enhance the health, well being, & human potential of individuals and society.
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