http://axisyoga.net Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:10:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Tapping into Ahimsa (the yama, or restraint, of non-violence) in a mantra-like fashion, this student found an almost surprising ability to be present. In this awareness was found the “hidden pockets and places” the ego likes to hide. This experience in an everyday setting revealed the path for further exploration ... http://axisyoga.net/ahimsa-ahimsa-ahimsa/ For a soft-spoken someone who rescues spiders (capturing them and putting them outside instead of squishing them), it was seemingly strange and somewhat confusing as to why I had chosen Ahimsa for my Yama-Niyama experiment. Once in our groups however, the intrinsic appropriateness of this choice became clear, like the ... http://axisyoga.net/ahimsa-ahimsa-ahimsa-finding-the-hidden-ego/ So many interesting discoveries were the result of this focus. The most significant and obvious would be the awareness that was cultivated around my unconscious patterns. Step one: catch the exact moment frustration or impatience made an appearance in the car with me. The very first day of the experiment ... http://axisyoga.net/ahimsa-ahimsa-ahimsa-discovering-awareness/ In addition to all of this, perhaps my favorite discovery of the entire experiment came a few weeks into it. It had been going exceptionally well. I would take notice of when it was more challenging, such as the long drive home after work or if I didn’t give myself ... http://axisyoga.net/ahimsa-ahimsa-ahimsa-discovering-being-present/ Experiment conclusion: successful. Even though it doesn’t end here. I will continue practicing this Ahimsa in other aspects of my life. Also, my curiosity for exploring the other Yama’s and Niyama’s has been heightened due to watching aspects of them weave in and out of this one. As it stands, ... http://axisyoga.net/ahimsa-ahimsa-ahimsa-conclusion/ This Axis Yoga Teacher Training student shares a personal journey into the yama (restraint) of aparigraha. By weaving together knowledge of various spiritual and daily life practices, the experience continues to ripen and offer the possibility of healing and personal enrichment. http://axisyoga.net/aparigraha-%e2%80%93-the-practice-of-letting-go/ A Rabbi was worried about having enough food to help the poor during an extremely desperate time, with many families needing help.  He made visits to many different people who lived in their village, asking people to donate money to help others. The Rabbi decided to visit the most ... http://axisyoga.net/aparigraha-a-story/ Just like the Rabbi acted towards this stingy man, Aparigraha takes patience, persistence, presence and lovingkindness to alter the habits of grasping, hoarding, and holding onto beliefs that no longer serve me.  This Yama is an ethical precept of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.  This restraint represents nongrasping, non-hoarding, reducing the amount ... http://axisyoga.net/aparigraha-and-so-it-is-similar/ Richard Freeman, The Mirror of Yoga, states that Aparigraha is a tendency of the mind to be under the sway of the ego, to simply snatch at things and claim them to be it’s own.  “This I identify with and that I do not.” So why do I ... http://axisyoga.net/aparigraha-questions/ My journal of drawings, quotes from various readings, meaningful conversations, and journal entries direct and capture my observations.  Immediately I find out how often I do react with fear.  This looms greater than I realized – a pattern so subtle and yet so loud at other times. “…obstacle to deep yoga ... http://axisyoga.net/aparigraha-presence-and-attention/