Once Upon a Dollhouse

Two Best Friends

Yoga Teacher Journey: Week Two + Three

As the Yoga Teacher training journey continues, amazing things are starting to happen. These Dolls have been practicing yoga every day for almost a month.. Time flies when you’re in savasana! Caitlin and Dani feel lighter, happier and healthier. When you start investing in yourself, a light turns on in your soul that you didn’t even realize was switched off.

Yoga Pose Heart

Photo cred: Nat G MVP

Dani is wearing pants from Fabletics and Caitlin is wearing Teeki Tarot Magick Hot Pant Leggings.

The main duty of a yoga teacher is to serve your students and yourself by hastening your spiritual evolution. A definition of yoga is perfection in action. Whatever you do in thought, word and deed, let there be perfection. What is the perfect act? It is an act that brings some benefit to someone and harm to no one.

In The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, there is an eightfold path called Ashtanga, or  “eight limbs” (ashta=eight, anga=limb). We recently took a deep dive into the first two yoga sutras that demonstrate how to live a purposeful life as we relate to the outside world and two ourselves.

warrior 2

Photo cred: Nat G MVP

The first yoga sutra is Yamas, or how you relate with the world. The second is the Niyamas, or how you relate to yourself – Be mindful and apply these to your daily routines and experience a more meaningful life.

Star pose

Photo cred: Nat G MVP

Here are the Yamas:

  1. Ahimsa: Compassion for all living things/Non-Violence.  Really put yourself in another person’s situation to demonstrate kindness, friendliness and thoughtful consideration.
  2. Satya: Truthfulness. Consider what you say and how it may affect others. Understand and demonstrate honesty in a way that would not be harmful to others.
  3. Asteya: Non-stealing. Take nothing that doesn’t belong to you. Also, when someone is generous towards you, only take what is given.
  4. Brahmacharya: Sense Control. Non-lusting, all things in moderation. If you have a “non-healthy” addiction (sex, alcohol, drugs, etc…) towards something abstain from it all together.
  5. Aparigraha: Non-Possessiveness. Although you may spend a good amount of money on a material item, don’t become attached to it. Once you become attached to material items – your mind, body and soul don’t have the same freedom to operate at a higher level.

Here are the Niyamas:

  1. Sauca: Purity and cleanliness of your insides and outsides.
  2. Santosa: Contentment. Be happy with what you have, not with what you don’t have.
  3. Tapas: Disciplined use of our energy. To heat the body and by doing so staying in great physical shape and burn up desires to achieve life goals.
  4. Svadhyaya: Self Study. Intentionally find self-awareness in all activities, know where you can push the limits and know your boundaries. Act accordingly.
  5. Isvaraprandihana: Celebration of the Divine. Whatever your belief is, this is where you surrender to a higher power. Let go of some of the control you think you have.

We also learned the invocation chant in Sanskrit and found this amazing version by Madonna. Listen along and reference the text and translation below.

Ashtanga Yoga Mantram
Opening Invocation

Vande gurugam charanara vinde
Sandarsita svatma sukhave bodhe
Nihsreyase jangalikayamane
Samsara halahala mohasantyai

Abahu purusakaram
Sankachakrasi dharinam
Sahasra sirasam svetum
Pranamamu patanjalim

OM

I bow to the lotus feet of the supreme Guru,
who teaches the good knowledge, showing the way
to knowing the self-awakening great happiness,
who is the doctor of the jungle, able to remove
the poison of the ignorance of conditioned existence.

In his guise as the divine serpent, with 1000 white radiant heads,
human in form down to the shoulders,
holding the sword of discrimination,
the fire-wheel of time,
and the conch of divine sound,
to the sage of Patanjali I prostrate

Peace

Comments

  18. The doggie photobomber is so cute! I’ve honestly never tried yoga. I’m so uncoordinated, I’d probably hurt myself! Good luck on your journey to teaching. You look like a natural 🙂

    Reply

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