Yoga the science of transformation

This is an old guest post that i have made one year ago before i leave Greece, to Andronikis professional page in FB.
Androniki asked me to write a note on yoga and transformation . The post was in Greek language and thought to translate it into English. Hope it worth it ! 
I have to note that since i wrote this post , of course me i m not the same...! My understanding expand even more by touching and practicing in the ground of Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhist Tantra.     

At some point in our lives, we all fervently calling for a major change inside and outside of us.

From the famous "I have a dream" by Martin Luther King and  "Be the change you want to see in the world" by M. Gandhi, ultimately how many changes do we really attained ?

These visionaries of the past, that still are mentioned to our days, had taken the decision that nothing will be left untouched from the old self. That every little piece inside us wants to be changed and this is the sense of metamorphosis, that nothing remains the same. But how many of us have the power to do this? And how we can actually do it?

Fortunately in the dense and dark forest of our lives, there is a clear light and this is the path of Yoga, the science of transformation.

In this process we must bear in mind that nothing comes without practice. Even the greatest Yogis and Yoginis that finally attain the state of Samadhi and from that point could take a glimpse of the unborn nature of mind, they were ascetics who practice with great discipline, enthusiasm and high level of concentration.
Nowdays what people mostly look,  is 'the thorns of the rose  of existence' rather than caring how can "watering" it. Wasting a whole life to remove the "thorns".  This is what i call "pre-occupation" of our mind with unnecessary tasks and so, the mind and our body cannot be organized and stay focused to whatever we do, resulting to  the most familiar phrase : "I DON'T HAVE TIME".

If we can observe ourselves, for 24 hours we will see that there are moments full of un-necessary things that we do and say and occupy our lives day after day.

Is essential to try to find time for yoga, even if that means that in the beginning we have to get up at 5am. Slowly - slowly we will see, that things that used to take 8 hours , to be done in our daily routines will be reduced in the half of the time. Because our mind will be more focused and we will have much more clarity in our options. That's why, this time for our practice is so precious.

What looks like transcendent in the science of Yoga is nothing other than the acquisition of taming the body, the emotions and ultimately the mind. Nobody wants to live by luck, it brings stress in everyday life, so much anguish. But to learn how to use the full dynamic of ourselves is another thing and there lies the prosperity in one's life .

And we start with the body, because it is the most perceivable object and when we finally attain the enlightenment, again it will happen through this  body. 

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is given :

 "TADA SVARUPE VASTHANAM DRASTUH" which means "Then (when you're able to control the fluctuations of the mind you) the self obey the true nature".

Through this body, life can be so ecstatic and every moment a living bliss.  The tools that are given to us from the science of yoga are:

• Asanas (positions we take in our body),
• Pranayama (breath control),
• Kriyas (techniques of purifying the  energy channels of the body),
• Meditation,
• Mantras (words, prayers or sounds with transcendent meaning)
• Ayurveda ( Vedic Natural Treatment Science).

So many tools we can use to develop our daily Shadana ( practice ) .

Building our own spiritual practice.

All we need is to apply a question to ourselves :  "I'm ready for a complete metamorphosis?" – the way and wisdom has been given, all we need is just a courageous heart! The rest are coming....

Sadhguru always has been a favorite of me

Shaping the mind

Milarepa the Great Yogi of Tibet

I would like to share some thoughts from my today Asana practice.

Today i experienced a very comfort sensation within the body and the mind as well.

I remember when i first started practicing yoga in terms of Asana, i was moved originally by my physical and mental discomfort.

Asana practice is a process of " unappealing the onion " of this body and mind we are living in ..

and this process slowly slowly bears some fruits of small realizations that our body and mind are filled up with many things, some are useful to know about, some are unnecessary and some are completely useless.

During this process sometime we lose our track. Which was originally to be happy. There are  two types of happiness. The physical or sensual happiness and the mental happiness. Now i ask you to make the question which one you think is more important to have as an experience. My thinking is that mental happiness is far more important. You all have felt the difference when you wake up in a very "joyful mood" or the morning you wake up in "bad mood" .

When you have " good mood " you really can endure many things. You are more genuine in every way , and you are not easily get angry, disappoint, and you may even endure some physical pain ...but when you have the other morning , everything is just going wrong, your compassion is not there, your dissatisfaction is there and of course no mention in what level is your patience.

So , what i try to say is that you have to take care of the mind.

This is the one to be shaped and merely the body. And your work is to check always..when you finish a difficult posture, when you complete 1rst, 2nd, 3rd, 4rth , 5 , 6, 7 series in the end of the day ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY???

Shaping the mind comes ONLY through meditation and investigation of the nature of the mind. You don't need to be religious, you don't need to be perfect in Asana in order to taming the mind. You just need to sit couple of minutes and quite the mind just for 5 sec..in that stillness of the 5 seconds you start to experience the true nature of mind and from there you can grow up towards happiness.

By reasoning , by examination here and now. Time is running out, in fact from the moment the sperm find the egg your life span start to running out. Death is so close , is after single breath we take. 

Even sleeping tonight in good mind and heart but tomorrow is not sure is coming..But we are habitual minds and habitually postpone to get our piece of happiness in this very life. 

OM MANI PADME HUM

    

Lost in Greek translation and other thoughts

 

This image was taken from here

Some days ago i was asked from Androniki Nisira-Louka - a friend and a healer - to write a note as a guest post in her page. 

The post was about how Yoga helps the mind and the body and how it is connected this practice with the energy itself. I don't know if there was an outcome eventually of what i post, but i do know how long it took me to write such a small note in my native language, which is the Greek. 

I was thinking - and maybe viewers of non-English countries can contribute their experience in this post - why is it so difficult to express in my own language thoughts about spirituality, mindfulness, yoga , and do not mention how even harder is to translate a Yoga Sutra in Greek.! 

My personal library about Yoga is mainly in English titles. Because whenever i tried to read something in Greek automatically a gap between me and what i' m reading is created and it is logical as yoga titles translated into Greek, by people who mainly have no personal experiences to the subject. 

Greek Yoga Community is very small, yet the need of " Yoke " is so big. And you can see it specially now, at the time of Greek financial crisis, people start turn inwardly because it is mainly what is left, and thus lost of actions are taking place were yoga is more and more accessible, more free and more giving.

And it is because of a bunch of people out there who really saw that the art of serving others how liberate can be..they have vision and do things that matters small or big and transcend the essence of living your life ! These people either Teachers  or simple practitioners are the one who asked - for themselves primary - to deepen their own practice, not only in physical study but also in psychological and mysticism way and work in an horizontal line the 8 limbs of yoga  instead of a vertical obsession towards the branches of the Tree of Yoga. Because working like this they know it can give you a tool to use toward duhkha [ unsatisfaction ], where the mind knows so well to function, in the "areas" of anxiety and trouble.

I deeply thank all these people out there for their inspiring work to make things happen and bring yoga in social action where it should be. Hopefully i can also contribute a bit to their vision by letting my heart open and become the action itself. 

Join the Yoga World Day   

at 24 February 2013

Do your practice and Fight hunger with human rights!

http://www.world-yoga-day.org/cms/content/project-2013

For Athens all info for participate in the fundraising 2h yoga practice 

you can find it here 

Dedicate this post to such a sweet and inspiring soul 

Tina Zymarakis