The practice of meditation increases our awareness and equanimity. Awareness of what, exactly? CLINGING!

The Buddha’s Four Noble Truths can be understood in simple terms:
1) life present us with a problem called dukkha (a.k.a. suffering),
2) the cause of suffering is craving and clinging,
3) there is a way out, and
4) that way is the noble eightfold path.

With sustained practice, meditation calms and quiets the mind, so that we are better able to see our own patterns of craving and aversion, clinging and pushing away. This can be disturbing, especially at first. Ultimately, meditation enables us to answer the questions: “Where is the clinging?” and “How can I let go of it?”

As you go deeper and become aware of more subtleties, you start to see the depth of your own clinging. It can seem endless, but trust that with devotion and discipline, you can gradually unclench and release. As we progress along the spiritual path, it is not uncommon to cling to the practice itself. To grasp on, white-knuckled, to the dharma teachings, for dear life. Instead, try using this mantra:

“With destruction, fading away, cessation, giving up, and relinquishment of attraction and clinging, I recognize that my mind is free.”

Step by step, millimeter by millimeter, we relinquish the thoughts, opinions, beliefs and ideas we hold so dear regarding the five ways we experience this life, through our body, our feelings, our perceptions, our inner mental landscape and our consciousness itself.

Here are the eight, not-necessarily neat, easy, or consecutive steps in of the eightfold path. They all overlap and intertwine. We are all works in progress on this journey.

Right View. Seeing reality as it is.

Right Intention. The purest intention is BODHICHITTA, the wish to realize enlightenment for the sake of others. Here are some Bodhisattva Vows.

• For the ultimate benefit of all beings without exception, throughout this and all my lifetimes, I dedicate myself to the practice and realization of enlightenment.
• Sentient beings are numberless: I vow to liberate them.
• Delusions are inexhaustible: I vow to transcend them.
• Dharma teachings are boundless: I vow to master them.
• The Buddha’s enlightened way is unsurpassable: I vow to embody it.

Right Speech. “Deep listening is the foundation of right speech.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

• Abstain from false speech
• Do not slander others
• Abstain from rude, impolite or abusive language
• Do not indulge in idle talk or gossip

Right Action.

“According to Buddhism, compassion is an aspiration, a state of mind, wanting others to be free from suffering. It’s not passive — it’s not empathy alone — but rather an empathetic altruism that actively strives to free others from suffering. Genuine compassion must have both wisdom and lovingkindness. That is to say, one must understand the nature of the suffering from which we wish to free others (this is wisdom), and one must experience deep intimacy and empathy with other sentient beings (this is lovingkindness).”  ~His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The Essence of the Heart Sutra

Right Livelihood.

“To practice Right Livelihood, you have to find a way to earn your living without transgressing your ideals of love and compassion. The way you support yourself can be an expression of your deepest self, or it can be a source of suffering for you and others. ” … Our vocation can nourish our understanding and compassion, or erode them. We should be awake to the consequences, far and near, of the way we earn our living.” -Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching

“If the intention is to play a useful role in society in order to support oneself and to help others, then the work one does is right livelihood.” – Vipassana teacher S.N. Goenka, The Buddha and His Teachings

Right Effort. Prevent the arising of unwholesome states (ex: Craving, Aversion, Worry, Doubt). Abandon any unwholesome states that have already arisen. Cultivate wholesome states that have not yet arisen (Compassion, Love, Wisdom). Keep wholesome states already arisen. * The Buddha taught that practice should be like a well-tuned string instrument. If the strings are too loose, they won’t play a sound. If they are too tight, they will break. Practice should be nourishing, not draining.

Right Mindfulness. “Be grateful for whatever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.” ~Rumi

Right Concentration. Focus on wholesome thoughts and actions.

To learn more about practicing with the Four Noble Truths, listen to this dharma talk by Gil Fronsdal.

So, why mix yoga and creativity? The creative mind is embodied in our physical human form. By moving our bodies in particular ways, and thereby gaining heightened body awareness, we also gain self-knowledge. This is a continual, lifelong process as our bodies and minds are in constant flux. By moving into a specific, linked, flowing series of yoga poses (specially-designed Yoga As Muse sequences), we can stimulate our creative minds and bring intention and inspiration to the generation of new ideas—written, visual and musical.

YAM practice invites us to play with new movements and new ways of breathing and a new way of creative expresssion.

Last year,  I completed the intensely challenging and rewarding Yoga as Muse Facilitator training with Jeff, along with four fellow TRIBE-mates. If you’re a yoga teacher and an artist, writer, musician and/or generally creative type — think about joining our wild TRIBE. Get the details on the 2012 training. And apply soon – training begins in May and there are early bird savings if you register by February 1 or March 15!

While I was slowly (and quite reluctantly) wrapping up a three-month European journey, I was remembering how much I needed yoga in my life again. I had gotten swept up in every distraction possible: wonderful food & wine, amazing and interesting people from around the world. But an organic farm–where I worked in exchange for food and shelter– brought me back to my center. I left there feeling refreshed and ready to continue my practice when I reached my next stop– Madrid.

It was quite refreshing there, because it was the first time I was not staying in a hostel, and I could simply roll out of my bed and onto the floor, and do a morning practice right then and there in my pajamas. It was just like being at my place back in Florida, or in Georgia. No one around to wonder what that weird girl is doing upside down on the floor half-dressed. Just, me, myself and I… and some yoga. Ah, how glorious. But, again, I was craving some community in my practice.

So I narrowed my Madrid yoga studio search down to one seemingly popular place with a good reputation—simply called, “City Yoga.” I walked the 1.5 mile walk to a morning Iyengar class. Although I took an Iyengar class in Siena (Italy), it was completely different.

First of all, this time, no one spoke English. As soon as the woman teaching the class learned I was American, she seemed really nervous. She asked for my name at the beginning and said it about 50 times over the course of the 90 minute class. She would ask, “Carolina, Carolina, okay, okay?”

She was thoughtful to worry about me knowing what was going on, but I felt guilty in a way… I really just wanted to say, “Hey! It’s okay… it’s yoga, I can just look at you and figure it out… Plus, my Spanish is not too pathetic!” But she was really determined to make sure I was OKAY and I was doing everything right. She was probably the most compassionate yoga teacher I’ve ever had. One man taking the class had decent English as well and took it upon himself to translate anything to me that may seem the slightest bit confusing. Again, I felt a sense of guilt for taking away from his practice, but it really did not seem to phase him the least bit.

I went back another time… this time, my mom was in town. And they were the same way with her… went completely out of the way to make her feel comfortable and made sure she knew exactly what was going on. The class was more relaxing than anything. We worked a lot on holding poses for a longer time (which is typical of Iyengar) and it made me sore in places I had forgotten existed on my body, which, to me, is a great thing!

But the main thing that sticks out to me about this studio and my practice here can be summed up in one word: Compassion. After my waves of guilt passed and I allowed myself to simply be grateful for my fellow yogis’ concerns and genuine interest and want in helping me, I thought… “This is what Yoga is really all about.” It’s about making sure that we all know we are a part of something much bigger than our little selves… our little (or big) egos. We are all here together, and we all need each other’s help, whether we would like to admit it or not, it’s the raw truth. I have trouble admitting this to myself, and to others—a lot.

Once we stop feeling bad about needing and/or asking for help, we can begin to realize that there is nothing wrong with a little guidance… especially if it is given to us by those who truly want to give it…. No strings attached.

So, going into this new year, one of my New Year’s resolutions is going to be — stop being so hard on yourself — no one said you had to go through anything alone, especially if you know having someone else there to guide you a bit would help– Feeling guilt for being helped is a waste of energy. Make sure to be there for others, especially when they are stubborn just like you… They probably need it more than they know.

Yoga is not just about showing up for ourselves, going inward and working through our own crap to become stronger and grounded. But it is also about showing up for the people around us. They need you just as much as we need ourselves.

Practice compassion for yourself and for everyone else- including strangers. We are all here in this world together. We might as well act like it.

Become mentally strong,
accept your feelings,
examine your values,
take the opportunity,
look for your mission in life,
relearn the art of living.
~