“And the speck of my heart, in my shed of flesh and bone, began to sing out, the way the sun would sing if the sun could sing, if light had a mouth and a tongue, if the sky had a throat, if god wasn’t just an idea but shoulders and a spine, gathered up from everywhere, even the most distant planets, blazing up. “ —Mary Oliver
“Asanas, important though they are for the health and balance of the body, have a deeper purpose: to diffuse the consciousness uniformly throughout the body, so that duality between senses, nerves, cells, mind, intelligence are eradicated and the whole being is in harmony.” —BKS Iyengar, from the Introduction to Swatmarama’s Hatha Yoga Pradipika transl. by Rieker
“It is by the will of awareness to penetrate that intelligence is able to move into and occupy the darkest recesses of our being. This intelligence is clarity to lighten the darkness. This is the dawn of wisdom, the intuitive insight that sees because it sees, knows because it knows, and acts immediately and spontaneously because the three powers of body, energy, and awareness have merged and aligned themselves with the light emitted by the soul.” —Yogācārya B.K.S. Iyengar, “Light on Life,” p. 172-3.
Ardha Chandrāsana ~~half moon with support (trestler/horse)
Yoga during pregnancy
“Physical health is of course essential and it comes through Yoga, but mental calmness and health is (even) more important. Therefore, we have to attend to the mother in such a way that she develops a very serene mental attitude. Her yoga practices should be such that she inherits a feeling of happiness and quietness.” —Dr. Geeta S. Iyengar on the subject of teaching yoga during pregnancy, Yoga Rahasya, Vol. 4, no.1, “ Yoga for Women.” 💫
Prenatal Classes at the Iyengar Yoga Center of Grand Rapids continue on Thursdays, 7:15-8:30pm in March. Students must register in advance so we can hold class.
Union
A seed breaks open and dissolves
in the ground. Only then
does a new fig tree come into being.
This is the meaning
of die before you die.
Rumi VI 4052-4053.
Chakra Bandhāsana ~~chakra=nerve center/fly-wheels of the machine (part of the subtle body)bandha=fetter/bond
Cosmic intelligence
“Yoga sadhana is meant to knit the fibers to the skin and skin to the fibers so that they coil and interweave the outer kośa (musculoskeletal level of being) into the atma kośa (soul level). Only then can the Oneness of the power we create within ourselves be integrated with the universal power that surrounds us. The power of awareness is nothing less than cosmic intelligence seeping and soaking into the dark spaces of our being to illuminate them with consciousness. Consciousness has to settle down with clarity, brightness, and serenity..” Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 172.
The tiniest nail
Jānu Śīrsāsana ~ “Head-knee pose“
“May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful.” Mary Oliver
——————————————————————- “Every workshop
has its foundations set
on that emptiness.
The Master of all masters
works with nothing.
The more nothing comes into your work,
the more God is there.
We’ve talked so much! Remember
what we haven’t said.
And keep working. Exert yourself
toward the pull of God.
Laziness and disdain are not devotions.
our efforts will bring a result.
You’ll watch the wings of divine attraction
lift from the nest and come toward you!
As dawn lightens, blow out the candle.
Dawn is in your eyes now. “
—Rumi, “ Dervishes” transl Coleman Barks
———————————————————————- “Do your work
Then step back” —Bhagavad Gita ——————————————
The moment is open
“The experiment of what it is to be alive should be ongoing.”
—Manouso Manos
“The present could bend like hot glass, should the human heart at last listen.”
—Mary Oliver, “Blue Pastures”
. "Unscrew the locks from the doors!
Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!” ——Walt Whitman “Song of Myself”
Vāmadevāsana I ~~ pose of sage Vāmadeva /Śiva