Yoga Abhyasa - Shadow Yoga Düsseldorf

R.I.P.

Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully
at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam,
at 00:00 hrs on 22nd January, 2022,
at the age of 95. 🙏

"A real Guru's initiation is beyond the division of sects and creeds; it is the awakening to our own inner reality which, once glimpsed determines our further course of development and our actions in life without the enforcement of outer rules".
From Lama Angarika Govinda, in his book 'The Way of the White Clouds'
Artwork by Alexandra Gilbert

Master, how can I face isolation?

-Clean your house. Thoroughly. In every corner.
Even the ones you never felt like, the courage and the patience to play.
Make your house bright and well cared for. It removes dust, cobwebs, impurities. Even the most hidden.
Your house represents you: if you take care of it, you also take care of yourself.
-Master but the time is long.
After taking care of me through my house, how can I live the isolation?
-Fix what can be fixed and remove what you no longer need.
Dedicate yourself to the patchwork, embroider the starts of your pants, sew well the frayed edges of your dresses, restore a piece of furniture, repair everything worth repairing.
The rest, throw it away. With gratitude.
And with the awareness that its cycle has ended.
Fixing and removing outside of yourself allows you to fix or remove what's inside of you.
-Master and then what?
What can I do all the time alone?
-Sowing.
Even a seed in a vase.
Take care of a plant, water it every day, talk to it, give it a name, remove the dry leaves and weeds that can suffocate it and steal precious vital energy.
It is a way of caring for your inner seeds, your desires, your intentions, your ideals.
-Master and if the void comes to visit me? ... If fear of illness and death come?
-Talk to them.
Prepare the table for them too, reserve a place for each of your fears.
Invite them to dinner with you. And ask them why they came from so far to your house. What message do they want to bring you.
What do they want to communicate to you.
-Master, I don't think I can do this ...
-It is not isolation your problem, but the fear of facing your inner dragons Those that you always wanted to get away from you. Now you can't run away.
Look them in the eyes, listen to them and you will discover that they put you against the wall.
They've isolated you so they can talk to you.
Like the seeds that can only sprout if they are alone.

Prakasa Yoga

Photo: Sawaki Kódó
Via: Iggy Changoma

"The Ida Nadi carries the energy of the moon and the mind, while Pingala is the carrier of the sun’s energy and prana.

Susumna is the fire channel, where the two opposing energies of the sun and moon dissolved into each other in the same way that two great rivers merge and dissolve when they reach the ocean." ~ Shandor Remete

Invaluable yoga knowledge comes to light when you read between the lines of The Book: Nataraja, The Lord of Multiple Forms by Shandor Remete and Emma Balnaves.

Online purchase available.

Visit shadowyoga.com

illustration: Alexandra Gilbert

Prana and manas are inseparable entities - where prana goes, manas goes, where mind goes, so does the life force. The idea behind yogic sadhana (practice) is to centralise these two entities and bring them under control. Source: The Book: Nataraja, The Lord of Multiple Forms

'Although many present day styles describe themselves both fluid and flowing, the focusing on any one quality or attribute conceals a very lack of opennes and fluidity. Whether it be flowing style, soft style, power-based or alignment-oriented, the very focus demonstrates that the mind is infatuated with one aspect of the practice. This leads to excessive use of techniques or movements or points of adjustment that results in an unnecessary waste of time and energy.' - Shandor Remete

The little blue Shadow Yoga Book by Shandor Remete has 14 chapters to introduce knowledge from classical Hatha Yoga texts.

Visit shadowyoga.com to check the publications.