For Haiti

MAY ALL BEINGS BENEFIT

As reports continue to come in from the devastating earthquake tragedy and humanitarian crisis resulting from the earthquake in Haiti, it’s clear that everyone affected by this severe situation is in need of whatever help we can provide. As our interest lies in spiritual practice, there is also another way we can help and the need for this is just as immediate.

We can offer prayers for the immense suffering these people are experiencing and may be enduring for years to come. As a student, a very long time ago, I remember being taught some mythology about the nagas, water serpents who reside in the lower regions of the earth and who jealously guard the wealth of the world, located at the bottom of the oceans. They could be propitiated in times of poverty and drought. The nagas could also be requested to lessen the impact of floods and other water-caused devastations.

From the Yogic perspective, sudden, catastrophic deaths such as these can often involve tremendous fear, uncertainty and discomfort for the minds of the beings who have died, as they are in the midst of the most intense experience of groundlessness. As fellow human beings, just seeing people who are suffering (even on the news and on the internet) makes for a karmic connection between us and them. It is through this karmic connection and the feeling in our hearts, that we can send our aspirations to all who are affected by this tragedy. Our aspirations will definitely help, and help is very much needed.

You might like to participate in the practice of tonglen. As you focus on your breath, which can be visualised as coming into and from your heart area, generate good feelings toward those who have lost their lives and also towards those who have survived the earthquake but are suffering because of trauma, hunger, thirst, a lack of shelter and a loss of their loved ones. Also generate these healing feelings towards yourself - or just enable your heart to beat more coherently, appreciating your life and affirm…’May I continue to be of service’.

With the awareness of our precious human birth,

May all beings benefit. May all beings be free.

Open a newspaper today or switch on your TV and you will hear one report after another of terrorist threats, global warming, growing economic disparity and corruption, the depletion of natural resources at a rate completely out of proportion to anything in our past. Each of these disparate and complex situations seems to demand a unique solution. In most cases, still out of our grasp. But they can also be seen collectively as a mindset that is now dying: one that simply cannot continue because it is unsustainable. Every single indicator of the health of this planet continues to decline. Perhaps the death of environmentalism is the tragically narrow view most environmentalists have of their work. By defining the environment as something out there to be protected, we set up a dualism that separates human beings from nature. In focusing on narrow, technological, regulatory and legislative fixes we fail to address the depth and breath of the problems at hand. Our environmental movements need to provide a positive
vision that appeals to our aspirational nature as human beings........... ......................................read more

The extra-sensory, super-mental, radiant intelligence which is harmonious and all-powerful,
exerts pressure on the Earth so heavily that catastrophes seem inevitable. This is what is causing our world to spin so widely and what, at the same time, ensures that apparent chaos may lead towards the right outcome................................................................................................................................read more

Sacred space is your spiritual work area. It is important that it is clear of clutter. Turn off the outside world and the beauty and splendour from the spiritual dimensions of your soul are revealed. Choose solitude, silence, prayer and single-minded dedication as the new way to be living...................read more

The Lotus posture
is geared toward training practitioners’ bodies
to sit in a meditation posture
for extensive periods
through a long life of practice.
This was yoga’s intent.

Beyond the lotus posture,
Yoga is credited with joining breath with exercise.
(When the concept of breath with exercise
was imported into China, it was translated as qigong).
Seeing that human beings
need to work on their bodies
in order to grow into old practitioners
who could still sit,
was a very successful endeavor
and the greater health benefits
derived from yoga practice
have been documented since then in India, China and Japan
for thousands of years.

Yoga is the process
of cultivating one’s vital energy, prana, qi or chi,
and circulating it in order to restore health, strength and flexibility
throughout body, mind and spirit.

It works!
It provides the inspiration to blossom
and turn the flower inwards.

In the inspiration of 'turning the flower outward'
Shanti Yoga offers yoga, pranayama, meditation,
Bollywood and classical Indian dance classes,
Ayurveda, massage, retreats and other health and social services
to bring the benefits of yoga practice to a general population.
In particular, we work with you to help make this potent practice
a viable form of self-care
for health, less stress, happiness and peace of mind.