Green - Unifier of Opposites

Just read this email from DailyOM. Another wonderful connotation of the color green. For more on why I chose the name YogaGreen for this blog, read my very first post, "Welcome!"

Unifier of Opposites 

The Color Green  

The color green balances our energy so that in looking at it we feel confident that growth is inevitable.

Green is a combination of the colors yellow and blue, each of which brings its own unique energy to the overall feeling of the color green. Blue exudes calm and peace, while yellow radiates liveliness and high levels of energy. As a marriage between these two very different colors, green is a unifier of opposites, offering both the excitement of yellow and the tranquility of blue. It energizes blue's passivity and soothes yellow's intensity, inspiring us to be both active and peaceful at the same time. It is a mainstay of the seasons of spring and summer, thus symbolizing birth and growth.

Green is one of the reasons that spring instigates so much excitement and activity. As a visual harbinger of the end of winter, green stems and leaves shoot up and out from the dark branches of trees and the muddy ground, letting us know that it's safe for us to come out, too. In this way, green invites us to shed our layers and open ourselves to the outside world, not in a frantic way but with an easygoing excitement that draws us outside just to sniff the spring air. Unlike almost any other color, green seems to have its own smell, an intoxicating combination of sun and sky--earthy, bright, and clean. In the best-case scenario, it stops us in our tracks and reminds us to appreciate the great experience of simply being alive.

Green balances our energy so that in looking at it we feel confident that growth is inevitable. It also gives us the energy to contribute to the process of growth, to nurture ourselves appropriately, without becoming overly attached to our part in the process. Green reminds us to let go and let nature do her work, while at the same time giving us the energy to do our own. 

For more information visit dailyom.com

Right Speech

This week, as part of a series called "50 Great Voices," National Public Radio (NPR) featured a story about Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo’ole and his rendition of "Over the Rainbow." What struck me about this piece (and how it connects to yoga) was the description that a friend of the late musician gave of what Hawaiians call Mana. Mana, as he described it, is the energy within us that we get from the earth, the air, the water, and our Source. I immediately connected this in my mind with what we call Prana in yoga—our life force. What came next though is what I really liked. He said we have this energy within us, and when we open our mouths, that energy is what comes out—in what we sing and what we say. How beautiful—this image of Source flowing directly from our mouths.

Unfortunately, our words as a reflection of Source are often distorted. We learn to filter our words (not necessarily in a good way) through our experiences, beliefs, and emotions. It’s as if, on its way out, our Source energy passes through a screen, which taints its purity, coloring it through the lens through which we view and experience the world.

When we achieve a pure and true reflection of Source in our words, perhaps this is what many religious and spiritual traditions might call "right speech."

Coincidentally, "right speech" was also a focus of my yoga classes last week, and a practice I’ve been re-visiting with renewed emphasis in my own life since starting to read Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements last month.

The first of Don Miguel Ruiz’s four agreements is "be impeccable with your word," which he describes as speaking with integrity, saying only what you mean, avoiding using the word against yourself or others, and using the power of your words toward truth and love. This agreement is the foundation for the other agreements, which include not taking anything personally, not making assumptions, and always doing your best.

The Bhagavad Gita—perhaps the most well-known Hindu text, which I am also reading—emphasizes controlling speech in addition to meditation and controlling body and mind as part of a simple, self-reliant life through which, “one who has attained perfection, also attains Brahman, the supreme consummation of wisdom.”

It is also easy to see how right speech relates to the guiding principles of yoga—the yamas (restraints) and the niyamas (observances)—especially Ahimsa (non-harming—not using words against yourself or others), Satya (truth), Brahmacharya (moderation—discerning when to speak and when it is perhaps better to refrain), and Saucha (purity—coming from a place of honesty and integrity with your words).

As I re-visit the practice of right speech in my own life, three questions I try to ask myself before opening my mouth are, “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?” I first saw these questions quoted in an article by Sally Kempton on Yoga Journal.com. She attributes them to one of her teachers who referred to them as the “three gates of speech.” I keep these questions on a ‘post-it’ on the dashboard of my laptop.

Certainly one reason the NPR story resonated with me so deeply is because I was hearing it as yet another manifestation of this theme of right speech, which seemed to be coming up everywhere around me last week—in the messages that accompanied my Yogi Tea, and in a workshop I participated in last weekend on the essence of unconditional love, in addition to my own classes and reading. Perhaps this phenomenon of “right speech” seeming to appear everywhere was occurring because that was what I was paying attention to and looking for. Perhaps it also has some deeper meaning. That possibility is difficult for me to ignore.

For those of you who are interested, the messages that revealed themselves to me via Yogi Tea were:

“If your word does not reflect your spirit and honor, do not speak.” (Is that not absolutely perfect?)

“Noble language and behaviors are so powerful that hearts can be melted.”

And, in case you’re wondering—yes, I do always read the messages that accompany my Yogi Tea, and yes, I do drink a lot of tea, so perhaps it is not so significant that these messages appeared, but it felt significant at the time.

In closing, I’ll share just one more piece of the story from NPR—the perspective of a music producer who noted the criticism Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s cover of “Over the Rainbow” has received for its lyrics and melody, which sometimes stray from the original. He said, “you can talk about how he gets the lyrics wrong and changes the melody, or simply listen and smile.” Here’s a link to the song on YouTube. I hope you enjoy it.

Green Consumer Websites: Connecting with More Sustainable Products

For my work in sustainable business and clean technology, I subscribe to email updates from media companies such as GreenBiz, Environmental Leader, and TriplePundit. Today, it was an article on TriplePundit titled, “Whole Foods + Etsy = Abe’s Market,” that caught my eye.

Abe’s Market describes itself as “the online marketplace for great natural products.” After reading the article and taking a quick tour of the company website, I decided it would be a good addition to the green consumer resources here on YogaGreen. And, writing about it provides a great opportunity to also introduce some of the other green consumer websites already listed on the “Tips & Resources” page. The timing is serendipitous as well, as we find ourselves in the midst of the holiday season. While green consumer sites are a valuable resource for shopping year-round, it is perhaps particularly important to highlight them now, as we buy gifts, plan food menus, and prepare for houseguests.

First, a bit more about Abe’s Market. According to the article in TriplePundit, “(Abe’s Market’s) business model is designed to launch small retail social entrepreneurs (like Etsy did for crafters).” “We connect buyers seeking amazing natural products with the people who make them,” states the company's website. “At Abe’s Market you can discover fantastic natural products while having the unique opportunity to learn the story behind them – straight from the products’ creators. … You can even chat directly with sellers to ask specific questions so you know that you can trust and be comfortable with the products you bring into your home.”

Abe’s Market sells natural foods and natural products for bath and body, health, beauty, baby and kids, the home, and pets. There are special sections for gifts and sale items. Under health, there is a section devoted to yoga supplies, which includes mats, props, mat cleaners, yoga bags, and more.

Other green consumer websites listed on the “Tips & Resources” page, include BuyGreen.com, GoodGuide, and HealthyStuff.org. BuyGreen.com is similar to Abe’s Market in that it offers products for sale, with an emphasis on environmentally-friendly products, ranging from bamboo clothing to solar powered products. GoodGuide and HealthyStuff.org differ from Abe’s Market and BuyGreen.com in that they evaluate products rather than sell them.

For example, GreenGuide evaluates products based on their health, environmental, and social impacts. GreenGuide focuses on personal care, food, household chemicals, toys, and paper products. There’s also a community recommendations section. And, yes, there is an app for that. If you have an iPhone, you can get the GoodGuide app and have access to product ratings wherever you go.

ecofabulous is another website worth a mention here (also listed under “Tips & Resources”). According to its website, ecofabulous “inspires and educates readers about quality eco-friendly products vetted by expert editors and designers.” I heard the founder speak on a recent teleseminar and was very impressed.

Unlike Abe’s Market and ecofabulous, not all of the green consumer sites mentioned offer information on yoga products, but of course, yoga is also about much more than our practice on the mat—yoga is a way of life. To me, yoga as a way of life means honoring and living in harmony with other people and environment. Each decision we make every day has an impact and a ripple effect. And, as I think about it, taking small steps to reduce our impact on the environment is actually very much in line with the approach of yoga to bring peace to the world. It starts within each of us. As we learn to be kind and accepting with ourselves, we are better able to spread kindness and peace to others. We cultivate compassion and recognition of self one person at a time, one interaction at a time. Similarly, by taking personal responsibility for our impact on the environment, we can bring that commitment into our relationships and lead by example.

When I find myself questioning how much impact I can make, I remember these two quotes:

“If you think you're too small to be effective, then you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” (Unknown)

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.” (Mother Teresa)

When I started writing, I didn’t anticipate such a philosophical tangent. But, being able to share my random thoughts and “aha” moments is one of things I love about the blog format.

Bringing the conversation back to the more practical topic at hand… have any of you tried using any of these green consumer websites? I’d love to hear about your experiences with them.

Shanti Om. Namaste.

When that which is unresolved comes up for resolution

Pregnancy (no, I’m not referring to myself here) is a time in life when all that is unresolved comes up for resolution. Although I can’t confirm this from personal experience, it is one of the common experiences we touched on in my prenatal yoga teacher training earlier this month. It was the second time that resolution (and healing) had come up for me in just the first couple days of the month, and I took notice. I started to think about other times when that which is unresolved comes up for resolution. Certainly times of loss—of a job or a loved one—or confrontation with death are other examples. Perhaps marriage is also an example (I do have more recent experience with this). Running through each of these examples is the common thread of significant life change. And yet, there may be other times as well, when the time is just right—when there is an opening for resolution and healing without any clear, identifiable reason.

This is what the folks at The Power Path suggest—that this month, the month of November, is such a time when there is an opening for resolution and healing in our lives. You can read their full monthly forecast, based on the primary themes of resolution and healing, here.

Another theme for many of us this month is gratitude, with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up on Thursday. As I sat with these themes of resolution, healing, and gratitude, contemplating resolution and healing through the lens of gratitude, it occurred to me that one way we can find resolution and healing is actually through gratitude. What I mean by finding resolution and healing through gratitude is finding gratitude for what certain challenging experiences and people, which perhaps leave us feeling unresolved and hurt, teach us—how we grow and change because of them. I’m not suggesting this is easy. It may happen slowly over time, layer by layer, like peeling back the layers of an onion. In order to do this work, we need to be able to find our ground, open, and surrender.

Here are a couple ideas for how you can find your ground, open, and surrender, and move toward gratitude, resolution, and healing through yoga practice and meditation.

Practice

Earth Mudra with Strong Whole Body Breath: Find a comfortable cross-legged seat, sitting up on one or more blankets, a bolster, or block, so your knees can relax below your hips. Root down through the sitting bones, and lengthen and straighten up through the spine (You may choose to sit with your back against a wall). Allow the shoulder blades to descend down the back, broaden across the collarbones, and open the heart. Find a soft gaze or gently close your eyes. Rest your hands on your thighs, palms up, and bring the thumb and ring finger of each hand together to touch. This is Earth Mudra. Sense the downward, earth-bound energy invoked by this mudra. Bring awareness to the breath and begin strong whole body breathing, which is not a technique, but also not your habitual breathing. Rather, rediscover the natural breath, the breath you were born with. Breathing with the full body, get out of the way of the breath and allow the breath to breathe you. Inhale without pulling, exhale without pushing. Rediscover the full capacity and movement of the breath, which will likely be more than your habit. Strengthen the breath on the inhale—feel the nostrils open, the breath moves to the back of the nose, down the throat, and deep into the lungs. Exhale fully and evenly.

Warrior Poses (Virabhadrasana 1, 2, 3, and Peaceful Warrior)

Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

Gentle Backbends (perhaps leading into deeper backbends)

Standing and seated forward folds (Uttanasana, Prasarita Padottanasana, Paschimottanasana, and Upavistha Konasana)

Healing Light Meditation

Find a comfortable cross-legged seat as described above for Earth Mudra. Bring your attention to the top of your head. Imagine a sunroof implanted there. Visualize the sunroof opening, plates of the skull separate to receive healing, white light streaming down from above. See the pure, white light moving down from crown through third eye center, throat, heart center, solar plexus, and belly to the base of the spine. With every inhale, imagine the light moving up this central energy channel of the body. With every exhale, visualize the light moving down. To close, chant the sound of Om. At the end of the Om, bring the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, sending your vibration up and filling your head with pure, healing light.

For the remaining days of this month, I invite you to tune into what may be presenting itself for resolution. And, at the same time, be kind to yourself and, in the words of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, "Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart."

With light, love and gratitude,

Anneke

* Special thanks to Janice Clarfield for her instruction of Earth Mudra, Strong Whole Body Breath, and the healing light meditation during our prenatal yoga teacher training.

Running: Another Form of Meditation in Motion

I started running again this summer after injuring my back in September of last year.

My husband and I were just married and driving across the country to move from New Jersey to Colorado. At a stop in Wall Drug, South Dakota, after a few full days of driving, I bent over to replace a nail game I had been playing with in one of the souvenir shops to its place on the floor. I made it about halfway back up to standing before my back gave out on me and I collapsed on the floor. It was like nothing I had ever felt before.

I was able to heal my back over the course of 4-6 weeks through a gentle, and extremely aware, yoga practice. But I didn’t go back to running right away. Rather, I continued to immerse myself in yoga--slowly building my practice back up--and started to connect with the yoga community in Colorado, and to teach yoga classes.

My husband, and his subscription to Runner’s World, eventually inspired me to start running again. I read an article in the May 2010 issue called “Transcendental Steps (Or How I learned to Love Running Without an iPod)” about the author’s personal experience of learning to apply meditation techniques to running, while at The Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado, on a program called, “Running with the Mind of Meditation and Yoga.” (If only we weren’t already leaving Colorado to move back east to Vermont, I would surely have signed up for this program myself the next time it was offered).

The article reminded me of my morning runs at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, just across the Hudson from lower Manhattan. As the sun rose behind the skyscrapers and through the clouds, I would find peace and joy in the knowledge that the sun was always there, even when I couldn’t see it through the clouds.

In my yoga teacher training, we discussed a metaphor for meditation along these lines. If meditation is about tapping into universal consciousness, we can visualize that consciousness, that spaciousness, that expansiveness, as the vast blue sky that is ever present above the clouds. The weather represents our daily experience on the ground. Some days, there isn’t a cloud in the sky, and we find it easy to open to and connect with our source. Other days, dark clouds fill the sky, rain falls, wind blows. And, while we might not be able to change the weather, we can change how we react to it, and find deep peace and joy in knowing that the blue sky is always there, above the weather of our everyday lives.

I ventured out on my first run since injuring my back when we were in Maine in May for my husband’s graduation from medical school. I gave myself full permission to walk as needed, and to take in the sights and smells of the ocean, the lilacs, and the wild roses. I returned feeling energized and inspired.

Then my husband and I were off on a belated honeymoon to Argentina, which didn’t offer much time for running, aside from a couple days in Buenos Aires, running through the ecological reserve, past brightly colored exotic birds, and pausing to contemplate the vastness of the mouth of the Rio de la Plata.

I really started to get into the routine of running again after we had settled in Burlington. And I made a conscious choice to take a meditative approach--to make it a meditation in motion.

I choose not to listen to music, and I use a variety of techniques to focus my awareness on the body and breath, and to observe my mind.

I bring my attention to my feet and how they connect with the earth.

I breathe evenly in and out through the nose (sometimes out through the mouth), adjusting the breath to support the needs of my activity in the moment.

I silently repeat the mantra, “My breath, my fuel; my legs, my tool.”

When my legs feel tired and heavy, I imagine breathing white light down into the muscle fiber, creating space and lightness in the legs.

When my mind wanders, I bring it back to the breath.

I focus on the inhale expanding my belly, and the exhale drawing my belly toward the spine.

On the inhale, I imagine my heart expanding and drawing me forward—a green lotus flower blossoming from my heart center. I tune into my abs contracting on the exhale, helping me maintain my posture and propelling me farther forward.

I observe my thoughts, as if I were outside myself looking in on my mind, watching the thoughts rise and fall without following them or attaching to them.

I find a soft gaze--which in Sanskrit is called drishti--a comfortable distance ahead of me.

I am reminded of something one of my high school teachers used to say, to the effect of, “Looking out at the horizon, I trip on the curb.” (I remember him attributing this quote to Che Guevara, but haven’t been able to verify it. Perhaps he was just saying he was similar to Che in this way). This quote reminds me to keep an open focus--aware of what is around me (expanded peripheral vision) and the next step (so I don’t trip over the curb or step in something undesirable), while gazing softly into the distance.

Coming Home to the Self

Autumn is a time when we start to draw inward. The birds and squirrels are preparing for winter--gathering and storing food. With the chill in the air, we too begin moving into hibernation mode, tending to become more introspective and internally-focused, and to spend more time at home. Home in the sense of the physical dwellings that shelter us, as well as the home that we find within ourselves--in our bodies and in our hearts--a home that we carry with us wherever we go. So no matter where we are, we are home.

In his writings and teachings, Thich Nhat Hahn shares a number of short verses, which are intended to be recited during daily activities to help us return to ourselves--to help us return to mindfulness. These short verses are intended to be used with the breath. So on the inhale, we recite one line. And on the exhale, we recite the second line. The first two lines of one such verse are:

(Breathing in) I have arrived
(Breathing out) I am home

The full verse that Thich Nhat Hahn shares in his writings and teachings is:

I have arrived
I am home
In the here
In the now
I am solid
I am free
In the ultimate
I dwell.
Arrived, arrived
At home, at home
Dwelling in the here
Dwelling in the now
Solid as a mountain
Free as the white clouds
The door to no-birth, no-death has opened
Free and unshakable I dwell.

Take a moment now to silently repeat just the first two lines, or the entire verse, to yourself as you breathe deeply and evenly in and out.

Then bring the palms of your hands together to touch at heart center, in a prayer position--Anjali Mudra--and gently bow your head toward your heart. We spend so much time in our heads, following our thoughts wide and far. Take this opportunity to surrender the wandering mind to the home of the heart. Welcome home. Namaste.

Celebrating the Autumnal Equinox

Over the past week, it’s started to feel a lot like fall – staying darker later into the morning and growing darker earlier in the evening. The chill in the air. And tonight is the autumnal equinox, marking the time when day and night are approximately equal in length. Two sides of a scale coming into balance for a brief moment in time. When I visualize this in my mind, I see in that brief moment of balance, stillness, a pause – no movement. 

As we transition from the outward expression and expansion of summer to the more inwardly focused, contemplative fall, it’s a good time to notice the moments in between – the spaces, the pauses. On our mats, we can experience this as the space we create in our bodies, between the vertebrae of our spines, in the way the inhale helps us to create space in a pose for our exhale to invite us deeper. And, we can experience the pause between breaths at the end of the exhale and the end of the inhale. We can begin to expand into these spaces, these pauses, these brief moments of stillness, to relax into them, and rest in the space we create in our bodies and the pauses in our breath. Off the mat, we can start to notice brief moments of stillness in our otherwise busy days, and take those moments to pause and reset.

If you're in the Burlington area, join me tonight for a de-stress yoga class and celebration of the autumnal equinox at evolution yoga from 5:45 to 7:15.

I believe...

I was recently inspired to compile a list of my beliefs. And, while the list I generated was far too long for the purposes of that initial motivating factor, I thought I would share them here as a way of sharing more about myself. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, and I may read this again later and wish to disavow some of these statements. But at least for now, which is the only moment there ever is, I believe...

• in letting your life speak, walking the talk, practicing what you preach.
• there are multiple paths to the same endpoint.
• in being change you wish to see in the world. (Gandhi)
• our health as human beings and the health of the Earth and its other inhabitants are inextricably linked.
• one-way communication is an oxymoron.
• in following your heart.
• "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• we are each unique waves rising out of and descending back into the same ocean.
• that change is the only constant.
• in meals made with love and local ingredients, shared with friends and family, and meaningful conversation.
• if we each listened just a little more closely, with a little more compassion and openness in our hearts, the world would be a far better place.
• communication is about far more than what you say.
• in the power of the breath and the power of silence.
• employees are a company's most valuable resource.
• it is our duty to create more environmentally friendly businesses, communities, and infrastructure that will sustain our children and future generations.

Welcome!

I've been thinking about creating a website for some time now -- what content I might include, and what I would name it. I chose the name YogaGreen for a number of its connotations that resonate deeply with me and my intention for this blog.

First, and perhaps most obviously (depending on who you ask), is the association of 'green' with environmental sustainability. I believe that global climate change and the depletion of natural resources are defining issues of our time. Aside from teaching and studying yoga, much of my work has focused on sustainable business and clean technologies. I have been somewhat surprised to find that the environment is not a more overt topic in many yoga communities. One of my hopes for this website is to bring together yoga and environmental sustainability in a more explicit way, and to highlight the work that others are doing to raise awareness.

In his essay, "The Practice of Eco-Yoga," preeminent yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein writes: "Yoga is intrinsically ecological... As the Bhagavad Gita (II.48) puts it, yoga is balance... when we are inwardly balanced, we are also balanced in our relationship to the environment."

The second relevant meaning of 'green' for me, is in the sense of "a space to gather," as in the campus green or village green. When I was in college, students often came together "on the green" -- the main campus lawn surrounded by the University Center and academic buildings. "The Green" was a gathering place for friends, impromptu games, celebrations, vigils, and protests -- a space to build community. Similarly, my intention for this website is to create a space to gather, a place for building community, a forum for sharing, connecting, and growth.

Third is the association of the color green with the Heart (Anahata) Chakra. Anahata Chakra is the fourth of seven chakras from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. As such, it is the central point of the chakra system, uniting spirit from the chakras above it, with matter from the chakras below. The chakras provide a map for our personal evolution. They have also been said to map to our collective evolution, according to which, we, as a society, have evolved to the third chakra--the seat of power, action, and will. Anahata Chakra inspires us to live life from the heart with love, compassion, self-acceptance, and healthy relationships.

Finally, having recently moved from Colorado to Vermont, the concept of 'green' seemed especially appropriate. Vermont is the Green Mountain State -- a state green in color with grass and trees, and green in awareness with a particularly environmentally minded populace.

Over time, I hope to develop a site that offers regular entries on yoga and environmental news, articles, and trends, green tips and resources, photos, videos, themes and sequences, inspiring quotes, orginal poetry, useful links, information on yoga and running (another passion of mine), and insights into the connections between health, wellness, and the environment.

You will also find information about me, the classes I am teaching, and other opportunities and special events as they arise.

Thank you for joining me here. Om Shanti. Namaste.