How Do You Find a Genuine Guru?

I had a student, Ina Grill, ask me this question:

"In K. Pattabhi Jois' book Yoga Mala, he says that you should not try to learn yoga on your own. It further says, 'It should only be learned under the guidance of a guru who knows yogic science and is experienced in its practice.' I was wondering if you have a guru and how one comes to find a guru. I know it's kind of an odd question but it has been in my head for months, even before I read his book, and I can't seem to find an answer on my own".

B.K.S. Iyengar

Interesting question, and a great question!  The guru relating to my teaching style of hatha yoga classes is B.K.S. Iyengar.  My personal (root) guru is Acharyajji Anatole Ruslanov. He is the spiritual leader of Modern Seers.  He is a Tantrika, not much interested in hatha yoga. He is a genuine guru, and a wonderful teacher and friend.  He knows, lives, and understands yogic science.  Having a spiritual master is essential to one's progress on the yogic path.

The way you find a genuine guru is to fervently wish for one, practice as much as you can every, and I mean every day, pray for one, and when you are ready one will show up in your life.  You will only have the great honor of being initiated by a genuine guru if you do the work, and/or your heart is in the right place (your vibration is pure enough).  

Sometimes you can even meet a genuine guru, be initiated, but not be ready for the responsibility of the student/master relationship.  If you're not ready, you won't be willing do the work he asks you to do.  I've seen this happen.  This is unfortunate.  It is such a great gift simply wasted.  In this circumstance, initiation doesn't help you much.  It might come to fruition in your next life (?). 

Guru & Student

If you just start looking for a guru, you might find a fake one that appears real, but you will go nowhere fast.  You'll probably spend or give away a lot of money as a result of your search.  My suggestion is keep practicing yoga with passion and commitment every day of your life, and keep the desire for a real spiritual master or guru alive and on fire.  You will know when the opportunity is in front of you.  Then grab it.  He will be there when you don't expect it, but when you are ready.  

 

I practiced about 18 years before I "found" my guru.  He was a friend of mine for several years before I asked for initiation.  One day I "woke up" and suddenly realized that I had to take advantage of the opportunity right now!  What was I waiting for?  In other words, he was right in front of me so to speak, and I didn't know it until I was ready.

 

My guru is Dr. Anatole of Modern Seers.  He's actually coming here to Salt Lake City this coming Thursday 8/3/12. I asked him and he is willing to meet with my students who are interested.  He's willing to answer any questions they may have.  Contact me immediately if you are interested.  I have a few students so far who are interested in meeting with him.  He is a Tantric Master, not a Hatha Yoga Master like K. Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar. His credentials are genuine and he carries an authentic lineage.  His website is at www.modernseers.org if you are interested in learning more, read his teachings, or learn more about being part of his organization.

Wherever You Are - Do Yoga

I think it is time to chat about where and when to do yoga.  When we are beginners, we usually start out in a class of some type.  If we like it and enjoy how we feel afterwards, we go back to the class.  We find out quickly that if we stick with it and don't get discouraged, we want to keep going to class. Then we really begin to make progress, and we become "hooked".  Because we started doing yoga in a class doesn't mean that's the only time we should do yoga!

Kumbhakasana (plank) variation (this location is only for the very brave)

Most teachers encourage students to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!  The most progress comes when we practice regularly outside of class!  No equipment is no excuse!  We can do yoga anywhere, any time. As a beginner, I started practicing right away, and little by little it became part of my everyday life. Now it IS my life!

Going on 5 years now, I do reclining yoga in bed before I get up.  I call it "bed yoga".  I teach it to my students.  Some of my seniors do it every day before they get up, because it is so good for their backs!  When I worked at the office I would do asana in the ladies room and out on the lawn during lunch hour.  When I traveling I do yoga at the rest stop picnic table, in the hotel room, at the pool.  I do yoga while waiting in the Doctor's office. (Keeps me from going stir crazy waiting!) So I'm weird, so what!  After a certain age most of us don't care a lot about what other people think.  We've figured out worrying destroys our quality of life.

Yoga in the park

I have done poses in a steel fab shop lunchroom, in stairwells, in basements, on a ship, on a yaught (you can't do balances while bobbing up and down, though).  I've done poses at my desk, in parks, I've meditated under my desk, and done poses the swimming pool (lovely).  Also in the hot tub, under water, on the edge of a cliff at Zion National Park (great photo op by the way), at outdoor concerts, at the ball park. I've used planters at office buildings as props for inversions. I've done yoga on a plane.  I chant mantra while I drive to lower my stress level and stay mellow around the crazy drivers!  

If I have a few minutes before a class or appointment, I'll sit in my car and meditate. When I had a high deck, I even went up on top of my roof every morning, in almost any weather and sat facing East.  I waited for the sun to rise and meditated as it came up! Now that is awesome!  Where is the most unusual place YOU have done yoga?

Easy pose in nature (What's not to love?)

I practice almost daily in my back yard. I can't wait till warm weather in the spring to roll up my rug, grab my blanket, and take my mat, blocks, strap & shawl out on the patio next to my Zen Garden to practice!  Be adventurous!  Every day is a gift!  Add quality to your life and life to your years!  Jump out of that box RIGHT NOW and strike a pose or meditate wherever you are!

Check this octogenarian out.  I can't even do this pose!  This yogi is demonstrating that we're never too old to take back our lives!

Mayurasana (Peacock Pose) 80+ YEARS OLD!!

 

Our Ever-changing Body

If you're practicing yoga pretty regularly, you are probably starting to notice that your body is different one day in a pose than it was the day before.  It may be harder to do a certain pose on the left side than on the right side, where the day before it was harder on the right side.  What's up with that?

The reason we have trouble on one side and then it switches, is because we are in a different body each time we practice.  Every 30 days all of the cells in our body have regenerated, that is pretty amazing!  We literally are in a completely different body every 30 days!  You've probably noticed that in the morning the body is stiffer than in the evening.  The inactivity of sleep has allowed our muscles and tissues to shorten and solidify.  Day to day activities and experiences contribute tremendously to our mobility or lack of it.

We use our body in many different ways. One day I might ride my bike, the next day I might do yard work, the third day I'm sitting in front of my laptop for hours.  Because I'm using my body differently, it changes from day to day.  Another reason I have noticed is the effect of moon phases. I can stand on my right foot better at full moon and my left foot better at new moon.  If we keep doing yoga, our sensitivity increases and we may become aware of subtle shifts such as this.

It must be full moon!  Hasta Padangusthasana (hand to foot pose)

As we become older, we may notice our workouts affect us more deeply than when we were young.  I don't remember getting "stiff" when I was young, do you?  This is why it is so critical that we stay mobile.  I, for one, am not going to be one of those people who sit on the couch day after day and ossify and then wonder why I have to depend on a walker!

Yoga is an ideal exercise as we age, it is gentle enough to accommodate the changes we are going through and challenging enough to get amazing improvement!  A good teacher can show you how to perform within your limitations. I also recommend everyone do activities incorporating resistance training and cardiovascular exercise, such as biking or walking.  This has been scientifically proven to reduce the effects of aging and improve cognitive ability.  An activity that you can do with a friend is ideal, not only does it enhance the relationship, it also increases our motivation!  

Don't wait until you lose your motor and cognitive skills to take care of your body.  We only have one body.  Let's give ourselves the gift of health and a quality life as long as we're here.  We are responsible for our own well-being.  Keep it up like your life depends on it or start now!  Use it or lose it.  

Progress: More Poses vs. Quality Poses?

One of the Beginning Senior students, +Peter, asked me if we should do more repetitions of a pose to progress. Good question, Peter! Doing more repetitions of an exercise makes sense in many types of exercise routines, when we are doing resistance or strength training, aerobic workouts, or distance/time increases for cardio work (more is better).  However, for yoga, the number of repetitions of a yoga pose we do is not as important as the improvement in the quality of a pose.

Consider a distance runner. He overdevelops the muscles needed to run a lot in a straight line, while underusing the upper body and the proximal muscles (such as the sides of the legs & hips), thereby leaving his body in a state of imbalance.  Yoga is about achieving balance, strength, and flexibility.

The number of times one does a pose can be a factor in the depth we can go into a pose.  Most of the time I teach a pose:

• First to accustom the student's body to the pose.  
• The second time is to allow the student's awareness to become part of the pose, facilitating the depth and attention we give to the pose.  
• The third time we do a pose allows us to fully be aware of what we are doing in the entire body, to be able to work with where the body is by allowing it to surrender into the pose (pratyahara) a bit deeper.  

After three times, I usually move on to a different pose unless I'm teaching specific alignment techniques, or building confidence levels such as in salamba sirsasana (headstand). Initially in headstand, there is often a fear factor in the student. The fear can be overcome by repeatedly working on going up into the pose, increasing the confidence level through repetition.

Salamba Sirsasana (Headstand)

In practice I will often do a sequence of going into a certain pose over and over, tweaking this and changing that, making minor adjustments and exploring just what else my body will do as I work, move, and adjust into the pose.  A pose should not be a static arrangement of body parts.  The goal is not to get into a certain perfect shape.  The idea is to be fluid, open, and fully aware, adjusting with the waves of the breath.  We have an idea what the pose will look like, but the going into and coming out of it are as important as being in the pose itself. This is more about the inherent quality of the practice.

 

Remedies for the Aches & Pains

Yes, I am aging!  I hate to admit it, but  I'm working on embracing aging by writing this blog.   Do you ever go to bed, and ache somewhere, (maybe all over), even though you didn't do anything out of the ordinary (like bench pressing 200 lbs or 5 hours of yard work on your knees?  It can be discouraging.  Sometimes we wake up in the morning and it's like we're plastered to the bed. The gravity rating on the mattress is up to maximum.  We don't want to move, such an effort!

I have a few tips I've learned by trial and error over the (too many) years I've been on the planet and the over 30 years that I've been teaching and practicing yoga.  I offer them here for you.  We're all aging, even though you may be much younger than I am (65), the aging process is inevitable.  These tips have been my go-by to maintaining a quality life, and have grace accepting the process.

Here is my list:

• Have and keep a positive attitude.  Our attitude is a conscious choice. Each day we're alive on the planet is a gift, another opportunity to give back to others and to the world, a doorway to a new adventure.  Live to the fullest now.  How many days do we have left in this precious body?  There is no guarantee. CARPE DIEM!

• Stay active!  I start each morning with 10 minutes of "bed yoga".  Poses to limber up my back and protect it from injury, to wake up my whole body and prepare it for a new and exciting day full of experiences.

I have a set routine, but you could do any poses lying down.  I recommend a couple of spine lengthening poses, twists, and lying down pelvic rotations.  Last, I open and close my hands and flex and extend my feet 15 times to get the circulation to the furthest extremities of the body.  I've included a few pictures of what I do before getting out of bed here. 

Reclining Dancing Shiva Pose

Revolved Belly Pose

Wind Releasing Pose

• Practice yoga every day.  In addition, do other activities (bike ride, walk, swim) that you enjoy or can do with someone, which helps motivate you to stick with it.  If I'm sore or stiff, yoga is the answer.  Even one pose can do the trick.  Don't stay immobile for long.  When you start to "seize up", do a few poses, find an activity to get you off your butt. Go water your flowers, do the dishes, hop in the car and do those errands on your list.  Visit the aviary, Leonardo, or go to Silver Lake. Stay busy!  Do something on your bucket list (what you've always wanted to do before you die).  If not here, where? If not now, when?

Get the most nutrition for your $

• Be vigilant about what you eat.  Try to eat fresh, whole, natural foods.  Foods that spoil (no processed food).  Eat a moderately.  Don't overeat. Avoid foods with white flour, white sugar, processed salt.  These "whites" are poison and give us no nutritional value. Go for the highest nutritional value in whatever you eat.  Eat whole grains. Avoid the fast food and sugary drinks.  They suck our $$$$$ money and give no nutritional value. Be "vigilant" because we must be aware of what we put in our mouth every day. We can sometimes stray and eat something we know isn't good for us.  But be aware that it's the little bad choices that add up. Soon we're not paying attention again and we fall into our "easy, lazy" routines. This adds poundage and lethargy - both counter-productive to a healthy, quality life. Besides, the good habits keep us out of the Dr. office!  $$$$$$

• Do spiritual practice (pray or meditate) every day.  Maintain a relationship with The Creator, God, The Divine, The Buddha.  Spiritually deprived people are selfish and unhappy and don't understand why.  They often think that more possessions will give them happiness. Getting more things is a futile pursuit. 

• Give back or pay it forward in some way to others and to future generations.  Share your knowledge.  Volunteer.  Donate.  Help others without thought of reward. Respect the earth. Recycle. Conserve.  Help reduce the carbon footprint.  Consume less! Support your local businesses and farmers.

• Make time to spend with family and friends regularly.  Good relationships keep us balanced and mentally alert.  Work at it, it's worth the effort! If the one you want doesn't respond, enjoy the one you're with!

• Keep learning new things.  Read.  Watch the news.  Go to classes. Be aware of what's going on around us and in the world.  This keeps us mentally alert and informed. We thrive when we are part of our world.

• Get enough rest.  Fatigue causes stress, bad performance, confusion, poor attitude, and eventually disease.

I can pretty much guarantee, as an older woman, that if you skip any of these things, you're going to have a difficult time aging.  It's my sincere hope that some of these ideas hit home for you, and you will age gracefully, with serenity.  If you go through a rough patch, do yoga.  It brings your body back to balance and adds peace to your mind and spirit. It will adjust your priorities back to balance.