We have a challenge for you this month. Every day, stop for 5 minutes and contemplate the following quote ‘I am not a human having a spiritual experience, I am spirit having a human experience’. You can do it while you’re on a bus, or waiting for an appointment, or having a coffee break or any window of opportunity that presents itself. Let us know how it effects your outlook.
Contents:
Video Asana of the Month – Genius In Action: BKS Iyengar
Article of the Month – In Conversation With Mira Metha
Question of the Month – Can Positive thinking be Negative?
Bali Yoga Retreat – 15th to 27th June 2015
Yoga Students “off the mat” – Yuki
Patanjali Yoga Sutra of the month
Quote of the Month
Previous newsletters
Yoga asana video of the month – Genius In Action: BKS Iyengar
To inspire your home practice this video is an excerpt from a film tribute shown in Boston during Yogacharya Sri BKS Iyengar’s Light On Life tour of the United States in 2005. Narrator: Patricia Walden.
Click here to view this video.
Article of the Month – In Conversation with Mira Metha
by Marina Jung
Mira’s more than 40 years of teaching has its roots in a fine yoga lineage. She, and her brother Shyam, began yoga as children with the world-renowned guru BKS Iyengar. Her mother, Silva Mehta, was one of Mr Iyengar’s principal students. Silva started the first teacher training courses for yoga teachers in the UK- very much pioneering how yoga is taught in the West today, projecting it into mainstream activity. The Metha family are well known as a ‘yoga family’, and their best seller, Yoga ‘the Iyengar Way’ has been highly influential throughout the world, inspiring countless people to commence their own personal practice… to continue reading click here
Question of the Month – Can Positive Thinking be negative?
Daniela Casotti
It’s important to make a distinction between healthy positive thinking, and unhealthy positive thinking.
Healthy positive thinking works to purify the mind. It is a process of healing negative thoughts. The Dalai Lama described it beautifully when he said ‘see the positive side, the potential, and make an effort’. It’s not about just ignoring the negative thought. Effort is required to reconcile the negative thought, and rebuild it into a positive thought. That way it can become established as a positive thought. It is not about neglecting the negative thought. It is about encouraging the thought to become healthy. It’s about becoming accountable for your thoughts, and requires honesty, courage and time!
Unhealthy positive thinking is when you use positive thinking as a form of escapism. This is a form of suppression used to evade the issue. Research has indicated that this behaviour can be counterproductive, helping to assure the very state of mind one had hoped to avoid. Using thought suppression in this way, shields the negative thought with a bandage of positivity. This actually protects the negative thought, allowing it to eventually grow in strength. In addition, ignoring the negative thought leads to ignorance. Not dealing with it does not make it go away. Prema Chandron says “nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know”. This kind of ‘positive thinking’ is unwholesome and harmful.
Undoubtedly positive thinking is beneficial. It has the capacity to improve our ability to deal with stress, it can improve health and it can facilitate good relationships. However, if we don’t put an effort into actively changing the behaviour that creates the negative thought, positive thinking may stop us from seeing reality with necessary clarity.
2015 Bali Yoga Retreat
When: 15th – 27th June 2015
The Yoga Room annual Bali Yoga Retreat is about 5 weeks away.
Here’s a review written by a student after attending our 2010 Bali Retreat.
Click here to view our website for more details, or Email us. Daniela’s always up-to-date on cheap airfares, so call her on 0431 837 244 if you have any questions.
Our Yoga Students “off the mat” – Featuring Yuki
In this new section of the newsletter we introduce Yoga Room students showcasing some of the amazing things they do off-the-mat and encourage you, where possible, to support their endeavours. This month we are excited to offer and invitation from Yuki…
Yuki, who’s been one of our students for over 3 years, is a passionate surfer. If he’s not in the ocean or on his yoga mat, he’s sanding surfboards, shaping and creating amazing equipment to make surfing exhilarating!
He also designs and handmakes body surfing hand-boards. these are great for increasing speed and maneuverability in the waves. He’s put one in the Yoga Room, and has invited all our students who are into to surfing to try it out and give him feedback. Maurice raves about it, and Daniela bought one for her brother-in-laws birthday. Let us know if you want to try it out… And support Yuki in his new venture!
Patanjali Yoga Sutra of the month
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Chapter 2 Verse 28
yog??g?nu??h?n?da?uddhik?aye jñ?nad?ptir?vivekakhy?te?||28||
“By dedicated practice of the various aspects of yoga impurities are destroyed: the crown of wisdom radiates in glory.”
BKS Iyengar. Light on the yoga sutras of Patanjali Pg 132.
Quote of the month
“Allow your intelligence to penetrate evenly throughout the body extremities, like the rays of the sun”
BKS Iyengar
Daniela and Maurice
Yoga Room Burleigh Heads
www.yogaroom.com.au
info@yogaroom.com.au
+61 438 837 244