In today’s hectic lifestyle one of the most fundamental pursuits is
happiness as can be witnessed by our chase of success, most of us
believing that if we can just achieve this thing that will help us to
achieve the next thing and consequently we will be happy.  But
happiness is as fleeting as a cloud on a cloudless day.  One moment it
is there and the next moment it is gone.  It seems that we are seeking
something that is uncertain and trying to cling to it as if it were
certain.  In my own experience I have seen that happiness is a
consequence of right living rather than the goal in itself.  When we
are happy, we notice that we feel happy because we have done something
good for someone else, or we have done our personal spiritual work and
achieved balance and inner harmony.  I believe it is peace of mind
that we are really after in today’s uncertainty and difficulty.
Happiness is in the mind, yet the mind is supported by the body and we
have come to understand that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body.
Our happiness therefore depends on a healthy mind and that healthy
mind also depends on a healthy body.  Without physical health, it is
impossible to achieve happiness or peace of mind and without mental
health we cannot be completely healthy.
Health is a positive state, it is not just the absence of a negative
state, not just the absence of disease but a positive state of mind.
Traditional Western medicine has been treating illness only as disease
and not looking at it holistically, so when we feel ill, we attack the
illness with medicine and hope we become healed, however, often the
illness returns as we have not treated it from the perspective of the
mind.  Illness is nothing more than an imbalance in the natural
harmony of the body and mind.  True healing means restoring that
balance, and true health means keeping it.
Yoga means, “to join”.  It is a holistic approach to all aspects of
our lives: physical, mental and spiritual.  Yoga views the person as a
whole, a unique combination of body, mind and soul and its techniques
bring and maintain our body-mind-soul harmony.
Asana of the Month
First, standing in mountain posture.  Place the feet together, big
toes touching each other root yourself into the ground.  Imagine that
there are roots growing out of your feet into the ground.  Growing
from the roots extend your legs taller and tucking in your buttocks,
tucking in your belly, elongate your spine to extend it towards the
sky.  Hands are resting next to your body, fingers pointing downwards
towards the floor.  Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
Open your eyes and find a point to focus on.  Shift your weight to
your left leg and raise your right foot up to your inner thigh.  Once
you have your balance and you are comfortable in this position, place
your hands in namaste (prayer) – palms together at your heart and then
raising your arms up, relax your shoulders down and open your hands.
Hold the posture for at least one minute increasing to two minutes as
you improve on either side.
This posture tones your legs, increases stability in the entire body,
improves posture and brings a greater balance to the physical, mental
and emotional aspects of our self.
Swara Yoga
The word Swara in Sanskrit, means sound or musical note;  it also
means the continuous flow of air through one nostril.  Yoga means to
join or ‘union’, so Swara Yoga is the science which is about the
realisation of cosmic consciousness, through the awareness or
observation, then control or manipulation of the flow of breath in the
nostrils.
Swara yoga is an ancient Tantric science, which involves the
systematic study of the flow of breath through the nostrils in
relation to the phases of the moon, time of day, sun, planets and
seasons.  Depending on the physical and mental conditions of the
individual one takes the appropriate action according to these
conditions and relations with the cosmos.
All of us will breathe throughout the day and night through a dominant
nostril and in a normal balanced individual, the dominant nostril will
change about every hour and a half bringing the opposite side of our
body/mind into activity.  It is important to become aware of which
nostril is the most active at any given time and then balance the body
through breathing techniques to bring the correct nostril into
activity.  The fascinating thing about Swara Yoga is that just by
being aware of the Swara (dominant nostril) in relation to the
environment and activity you are about to perform, one can ensure that
we are breathing through the correct nostril for that activity.
Workshops
Tibetan Heart Yoga (not to be missed)
“You cannot enter the door of yoga without kindness and compassion for
others.” – Changya 1717 – 1786 – Yoga teacher to the Emperor of China
The workshop reunites the ‘outer’ methods (working with the physical
postures and breath) with the traditional ‘inner’ methods (cultivating
the ethical restraints and commitments, meditation, and wisdom) into a
powerful synthesis the ancients called ‘royal yoga’.
Bringing together these ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ methods, restoring to
yoga the complete set of ‘limbs’ of Patanjali’s eight-limbed
(ashta-anga) practice, combining the physical dimension of yoga with
the spiritual understanding of the interdependence of karma and
emptiness, the workshop is designed to achieve nothing less than the
end of suffering and full enlightenment for the practitioner and the
skills needed to teach others how to reach these goals too.
MARK JOSEPH РMeditation and philosophy teacher.  Mark has studied the
core of eastern philosophy and has mapped the similarities between
religious, spiritual and psychological practices for transforming the
heart.
ANNIE (ANN) WYATT РYoga teacher extraordinaire and gentle soul.  Ann
studied in India and in the UK.  She will be gently guiding you
through the Asanas that are designed to open your heart.
*step by step manual included.
Date:  13 June 2009
Venue:  Grace Yoga Studio, 11 4th Avenue, Highlands North
Time:  12p Р5pm
Investment:  R300
Contact:  Ann Рann@grace-yoga.co.za / Mark Рdharma@stillmind.co.za
The Art of Living Foundation invites you
“The secret to understanding the Mind is in the Breath.”
“The breath is the link between the body and the mind – every rhythm
of the mind has a corresponding rhythm in the breath.  When you cannot
directly handle the mind, it is easy to do so through the breath.”
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Join us for a transformational workshop.
Dates:  14-19 July 2009
Times:  Weekdays Р7:30pm to 10:30pm, Weekends Р9:00am to 3:00pm (All
sessions must be attended)
Venue:  Grace Yoga, 11 4th Avenue, Highlands North
Cost:  R650, Pensioners/Students РR350, Repeaters РFree
Contact:  dharmisha@artofliving.org.za / 072 957 0155
Weekly Group Meditations
Please do join us for these weekly group meditations, all are welcome.
Thoughts…..we all have them, we’re all familiar with them, but what
are they?  Where do they come from?  Are they a product of the mind,
and do they spring forth from your mind, or from elsewhere?
Considering that science has yet to pinpoint the location of the mind,
or what exactly the nature thereof is, these questions remain a bit of
a mystery.
However, have you ever found yourself observing your thoughts?
Suggesting that there is a you apart from the you that is entertaining
the thought?  Once we have discovered this, we then learn that with
discipline acquired through practice, that we can control which
thinking patterns we entertain thereby ensuring that we don’t allow th
mind to be our master, but rather that we master the mind.  We can
then take it a step further, and observe the manner in which our
thoughts are directly responsible for the way in which we experience
the world around us, and even the way that reality unfolds.
This practice is best achieved through meditation, which comes in
various forms.  Please join us every Thursday from 19h30, where in a
group dynamic, we explore these matters, and in so doing dendevour to
lead a more conscientious, rewarding and delightful existence.
Venue:  Grace Yoga, 11 4th Ave, Highlands North
Time:  19h30 (60 Р90 min) including a discussion
Cost:  By donation (not compulsory)
Contact:  Jade Рphunktdragon@gmail.com
Weekly Class Schedule at Grace Yoga
*Please book for your class as classes are limited to 10 for personal
attention.  Call me on 084 297 5736 or email me ann@grace-yoga.co.za
Tuesdays
9:00am to 10:30am
6:00pm to 7:30pm (Nic)
Wednesdays
9:00am to 10:30pm
5:30pm to 7:00pm
Thursdays
5:30pm to 7:00pm
7:30 Meditation (60 to 90 minutes) with Jade Holing facilitating
(donations accepted:  donations are used to bring international yoga
teachers into the country to keep abreast with the profound teachings
of yoga)
*All classes are suitable for beginner and intermediate students as
the classes are limited to 10/12 students per class and each student
will receive focused attention.
Hari Om
Ann Wyatt
Yoga Teacher
www.grace-yoga.co.za
ann@grace-yoga.co.za
084 297 5736
011 786 9041
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About Haroun Kola
