sankalpa: intention, resolve

well, this sankalpa is about to make full circle (and a half). the seeds of yoga were planted in me by swami vivekananda (of ramakrishna order, via his printed lectures)  in nepal around 1998. in austin i took classes and began making steps to become a yoga practitioner and teacher. during this last trip to nepal i became an accredited teacher in Satyananda Yoga. and now, if i can gather enough students, i’ll be teaching in about a week! it only took 10 years

i smile recalling a saying from Swami Satyananda – “all may fail but the sankalpa will not fail” (i’ll have to look up the exact wording…)

oh yeah, if you know anyone in austin interested in learning fundamental yoga practices, point them here: http://yoga.kaanchan.net/austin

aum

peace

There is a yogic cleansing technique, or shatkarma, called laghoo shankhaprakshalana. It involves drinking salt water, doing specific exercises, and after three rounds, sitting on the toilet. All the water will come out. Not in the form of urine but straight from the anus! It’s pretty amazing.

The second stage involves drinking salt water then regurgitating it immediately,  either by abdominal muscle control or with the aid of a finger.

Finally, the nasal passages are irrigated with the help of a neti pot.

By the end of the process, which takes about an hour or less, your cleaned end to end.

We performed the cleanse this morning as the weather is warm and suitable for the practice. The body feels very light and clean. I ate breakfast at 7am and passed it out at 6:30pm, fully digested!

– Please don’t take the description above as steps to do it yourself. The cleanse should be done under the guidance of a qualified and experienced teacher! Aum

Try this experiment:

1. Sit in a comfortable position. Feel that the base of the body is supported, spine drawn upwards, shoulders relaxed, head balanced on neck.
2. Take a moment to feel into the entire body; moving through it part by part if that helps.
3. Then become aware of your breath. Feel it moving in and out of the nasal passages. Watch it with the attitude of an observer, as if noticing it for the first time. Don’t try and change it in any way (and don’t not try to change it either). Just let it be and watch.
4. The experiment begins from this point…
5. See your self in your mind. Which details show up? Can you see your body? Are you wearing clothes? Can you see your face? What color are your eyes? Does the you within the mind have density?
6. Say something. Does it have a voice? Is it the same you hear when you really speak?
7. Does it feel emotion?

I think we can recreate ourselves within the mind to the degree that we know really know ourselves. Like an expert potter molding clay with eyes closed; the final product product will reflect his oneness with that he is working with.

Om.