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The Power of Forgiveness:On September 21st, we will come together as a world wide body of conscientious citizens to celebrate the International Day of Peace. And one week after, we as Jews will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This period of time leading up to these two celebrations is a universal time for completing unfinished business, healing the relationships we can and releasing the wounds of the past so we can enter the New Year with a fresh perspective. In this regard, lately I’ve been contemplating the great capacity of the heart for Forgiveness. Though forgiveness is a great gift we can give to another, I think it is primarily an act of compassion towards ourselves to release the ways our minds, hearts and even bodies have become contracted around fixed ideas and past pain. When we’ve suffered any kind of loss, naturally, there is a temporary and completely appropriate period of acknowledging and grieving the loss. When we’ve been wounded or offended in a profound way, of course there is a period of time that is needed to process what happened, how the events impacted us and to make new decisions. During this phase of our healing, it may be necessary to intellectually explore what happened in order to glean every ounce of learning that we can so we can then regroup and decide a fresh course and strategy for our lives. I know this has been essential for me in the past, and I feel, for true healing to take place, this step cannot be skipped. In some cases, anger must and should be appropriately expressed. This may or may not include expressing that anger to the people who we feel hurt by. But after we’ve taken time to feel the weight of the loss or intensity of the violation, after we’ve taken time to express our feelings, learn from past mistakes, make new decisions, what then? We are still left with decisions about how we will live our lives in the present moment. Every experience we have in our lives leaves a kind of vibrational imprint on the matrix of our consciousness. When we hold onto the pain of the past, that matrix starts to gather and collect energy like a snowball that one keeps packing more snow around. The pain and anger over the injustices of the past gather and become like a tight, stuck, contracted ball of energy. Over time, this snowball of contractive energy binds our life force in ways that shut us down to the daily miraculous experience of being alive.vThe energy that coalesces around the pain is nothing other than our own precious soul and life force energy that has become stuck, and contracted around the heavy, dense center of pain. Because our soul energy is congealed around the pain of the past, it is no longer free to circulate inside of us and through our lives allowing for healing, expansion, freedom and creativity in the present moment of our lives. We can even become so contracted around the pain that we don’t have the energy we need to enjoy our lives. Every beautiful experience that we have is eclipsed by the pain of the past. When I’ve found myself in this kind of situation, I’ve turned back to my yoga practice for help. In our method of Anusara Yoga ™, our first principle is called “Open to grace”. To Open to Grace means to open to a bigger picture, a bigger energy, a bigger landscape, a bigger love. When I’ve found myself in contracted states, I ask myself what would “Opening to grace” look like, and feel like here? Usually the first thing that happens when I ask this question is that I cry. And, crying releases some of that tight, stuck energy, and life begins to flow again. I have to keep asking the question, “What would Opening to Grace look like here” because my mind wants to keep returning to the story of the injustice. So I ask myself again and again, what it would feel like to open to grace even while swirling in the cyclone of pain. What I’ve discovered is that when I ask that question, my field of vision immediately widens. The pain is there but that’s not any longer all that’s there. When I keep asking the question, “What does opening to grace mean now” my heart softens and I start to breathe more deeply. I’m able to see more layers to the landscape of my life. I start to feel that in addition to the pain, however agonizing, there is also beauty, joy and goodness. I’m not any longer trying to push the pain away; I’m not trying to pull it in for self inquiry; I’m not trying to overcome my short comings and in a great gesture of nobility “forgive” the person who transgressed against me; I’m not rabidly trying to convince myself or anyone else that I am bigger than this pain; I’m not trying to convince myself or anyone else that I’m a survivor, no none of this. The only thing I’m doing is stepping back far enough to see that there is in fact a bigger picture in which this energy of pain has occurred. There is the bigger landscape of my life which includes so many people, circumstances and activities that feed my soul; there is the weather, current events, the situations in foreign countries. There is God, there is spirit, there is beauty in nature, there are animals, there is my breath, there are my life affirming practices, there is a miraculous landscape of vitality and goodness surrounding me and infusing me constantly and to which I have the power to open to and enjoy fully - in spite of the pain. In short, the energy of pain which previously took up the whole landscape of my vision is now only one small part of an otherwise stunningly vibrant landscape. My life force starts to flow, my mind is able to once again expand and I’m able to imagine how to enjoy and glorify life, even if this person or event did hurt me. When we’ve been hurt by someone, it may not be possible to be around that person for a period of time. You’re probably not ever going to have the same kind of relationship again, and that’s not the point of forgiveness. Softening and opening to grace is not about calling the person up who hurt you the most and declaring to them that you forgive them. It is about letting go of the pain that is strangling you. It’s about allowing life to thrive inside of you once again. When you do this, you’ll be able to see options again; you’ll be able to enjoy your food, friends and activities again because your mind won’t incessantly be drawn to the pain and weight of the injustice of it all. Once you open to the bigger picture, what’s happened to you, what you’ve suffered, how you’ve been hurt diminishes in size. From that vantage point, you may even be able to see the other person’s side. You may even be able to feel compassion for the suffering in the other person that led them to act in hurtful or insensitive ways. You may even be able to understand that what happened wasn’t personal, that both you and the other person were just doing their best. From the vantage point of the bigger picture, all kinds of understanding will come to you that you can’t imagine now. The forgiveness that flows when you see the bigger picture will allow you to open back up again and enjoy all the beauty, joy and goodness that’s already present in your life. That’s when the magic begins!
Here are My Top Strategies for Releasing Pain of the past and Opening to the Power of Forgiveness:
Good luck!! Write to me and tell me your story of forgiveness! 9/1/2011Dear Friends on the Path of Light: I hope this email finds you all well and healthy enjoying summers' beauty, abundance and grace. Lately I've become a fan of the law of continuous improvement. It states that each of us can dedicate ourselves to getting better at everything we do, every day, all the time. In fact, I truly believe that the key to long term success is to dedicate yourself to continuous improvement. Continuous improvement means that you are committed to refining your skills, improving your communications, increasing your knowledge, cultivating the great qualities of the heart, challenging yourself with healthy physical goals, basically deepening in every dimension of your life. I am always surprised when, in assessing certification candidates, they tell me that receiving feedback on their teaching has worn them down and they just want the process to be over. I try to convince them that this is the one golden opportunity they have for someone to literally hand them the missing piece that will allow them to blossom in their teaching and their ability to guide others. They insist that they just want the process to be over. But I"m a big fan of continuous improvement and am always impressed when other certification candidates invite me to "tell them everything because they want to be the best they can be". I know that they will be great teachers because they are dedicated to continuously improving themselves in the deepest ways. When I speak with these candidates, the conversation is often very lively and we take time together on the phone and brainstorm about ways to make teaching more effective. I usually walk away from these conversations inspired and excited myself, having learned at least as much as the person I was supposed to be training! I know it's not that easy for any of us to be open to feedback that pushes us to grow. But, what is our choice really? Life is going to hand us feedback anyway so why not be open to it and use it to become the best? Recently I watched classes I had videotaped for the on line production company Yoga Vibes. I was amazed at how much I learned about myself both positive and negative, from watching myself teach. I got so many ideas for ways I could improve in my teaching and improve at what I do. I remember many years ago John Friend telling us at a teachers' event that "It is your dharma as a student of yoga to get brighter every day!" I believe we should take this message to heart. And that is what the law of continuous improvement also tells us to do. Dedicating yourself to continuous improvement does not negate self acceptance. In fact, I believe that the more healthy our self-esteem the more able we will be to embrace this message of continuous improvement and dedicate ourselves to this vision. When you are able to see your unique talents and gifts, when you are able to recognize your unique skills and all the ways you are truly excellent, you will feel more inspired to dedicate yourself to getting even better, brighter, more articulate, more knowledgeable, more giving, more loving, you name it, just better in every conceivable way. Lately I've subscribed to a man named Brain Tracy's e-newsletter. In one of his latest newsletters, he took the time to measure how much better and more productive each of us could become if: "If you become one tenth of one percent more productive each day, that amounts to 1/1000th improvement per working day. Is that possible? Of course it is! I think these statistics are pretty staggering! That's why I've dedicated myself to becoming not only "more productive and efficient" but to getting better in every way. Please join me this fall in reflecting the highest quality of studentship and commitment to excellence in everything you do! Increase your knowledge base; deepen your studies with the highest quality teachers; implement their teachings in your life; share the teachings with your friends and families; apply yourself in your practices; dedicate yourself to overcoming tendencies that diminish your brightness, in short, dedicate yourself to continuous improvement. I'll be kicking off my fall season in New London, CT., where we'll be shooting two more video classes for Yoga Vibes on Saturday September 24th! Please come on out and join us. New London is a great little town, right on the water with the sound of the ferry boats singing in the air. And Blissworks is a beautiful studio in the heart of downtown. The theme for all the classes will be in alignment with the UN International Day of Peace so all the classes will focus on heart qualities associated with inner peace. To find out more about these classes and to register, please visit: www.blissworksyoga.org. From there, I'll be in Saratoga Springs, NY where I'll be offering the 100 hour immersion. This year we're calling it the "Magic Happens When You Align With Your Heart" Immersion, a term coined by my sponsors Suzanne Lynch. The Immersion will take place from September - June of 2012. To apply for the Immersion, please visit: www.saratogaspringsyoga.com. I'll also be offering some week day classes at a brand new studio, Shiva Shakti Yoga in Waltham, MA. And, I'll be ending the fall with Level 3 of the Immersion in Geneseo, NY, as well as a weekend workshop in Atlanta, GA. 2012 begins with weekend workshops, the continued Saratoga Springs Immersion, a 100 hour Teacher Training that I'll be co-teaching with Ellen Saltonstall in Geneseo, NY, and the month of April in Europe! To see my full schedule, please visit my website at www.anahatayogacenter.com. To take my classes online, please go to: www.yogavibes.com. To add into my facebook page: please friend me at the address below. I truly look forward to seeing each of you this fall in classes. 12/10/2010"Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the memorial service for Minister James Reeb Dear Friends on the Path of Light: I hope this e-newsletter finds you well. Lately I've been reflecting on how we as human beings communicate with one another. At the surface of life, we have words to convey thoughts and feelings with one another. We hope that our words accurately reflect our truest beliefs, convictions, feelings and intentions. This is hard enough to achieve isn't it? That we would be articulate and skillful enough to match the appropriate words to how we think and feel. But to complicate things further, words at the surface really only go so far as to convey what we are actually aware of inside ourselves. What if we have deeper currents running beneath the level of our conscious awareness that have not yet made themselves known through the form of silently expressed words inside our own awareness? How do these deeper currents express themselves and cause us to speak words that we didn't know we felt; or perform actions that we didn't mean to do? For inside the outer form of every word is an inner reality that pulsates with life and energy. What if the outer form of the words we speak do not match the inner energy that we feel? What if the light of our understanding cannot penetrate the outer form concealing our inner truth? What then? Lately I've really been reflecting on the process of gaining access to the galaxy of experience that lies hidden inside. Our self-reflective practices such as meditation, contemplation and to some extent, our Hatha Yoga practices, afford us a certain level of access to our inner reality. But, this is really only true if we pause often enough and for long enough to allow what's underneath the surface to reveal itself to us. Then, having seen into our hidden depths, we still are left with the tasks of getting underneath mountains of accumulated sentiment to understand who we really are, who we really wish to be and how we really wish to express ourselves; Even then, we are still left with the task of expressing that which we uncover inside. Even when we know what our deepest intentions are, sometimes words fail to adequately express our hearts deepest intentions. Perhaps when words fail to reach across the great divide that sometimes separates human beings, a deeper form of communication, non-verbal communications could take place; perhaps communication in the dream state, or the planting of a seed in the fertile soil of our heart and making a commitment to nourish that seed daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, for as long as it takes. As students of the path of Yoga, we learn that we communicate in 4 ways. Words can sometimes adequately express our truths and bridge the distance between human beings; but we also communicate through the gestures of our eyes, where we see into each others' souls and share the light momentarily, for as long as we are willing to lock gazes. Our touch, the way we reach across the divide to place our hand on someone's shoulder, or reach out to give someone a hug, a kind gesture, holding a door open for another human being, these are all ways we express the immense generosity of our hearts. But we also communicate through the deep power of our intention. Haven't you had the experience of thinking about someone, and then, the phone rings and it's that person on the other end? Sometimes just holding someone in our hearts, intending healing, intending understanding, intending peace can be such a powerful act. I love to remember that right at this very moment, thousands if not millions of people worldwide are meditating and sending Metta, lovingkindness for our upliftment and liberation. Maybe each of us could be one of those people, intending light, beauty, understanding and peace for all beings. When I reflect on who the heroes of my life have been, I remember that the people I've felt closest to were people who never gave up on me. They held the intention of our connection in their hearts. I always felt their love for me even when something on the surface of reality separated us, I was moved beyond the surface to bridge the distance and bring down the walls between us. Even one of us acted poorly or in a disappointing fashion, because of the connection in our hearts, I remember them with love. Recently, I saw an ad for Jade Yoga mats displaying our friend and teacher, Sianna Sherman, adorable as she is, holding a yoga mat in one hand and an enormous smile on her face. In a one line statement, she powerfully expressed her vision for her life. Seeing that ad reminded me of Swami Muktananda's simple and yet immensely powerful mission statement: "To see the world full of saints!" In remembering Swami Muktananda's vision, I felt moved to consolidate my understanding of my deepest intention for my life. I invite each of you to do the same, to consolidate your understanding of your deepest intention for your life into such immense clarity that it could be expressed in a single guiding sentence that each of us can now return to every day and affirm consciously, intentionally and purposefully. Having gained clarity, I dedicate my efforts in the year 2011 to the sacred activation of the light inside myself and to serving the unveiling of this light in every person I meet. What does it mean to activate the light? Recently I sat with one of my teachers, Paul Muller Ortega, and he said something outrageous and something that I consider to be absolutely true. He said: "The darkness inside us resists the light and does so fiercely and comes up with all kinds of reasons to abandon the project of enlightenment." Even if our guiding vision does not include the immensity of "Enlightenment", who doesn't seek and aspire and yearn for the light - the light of understanding, the light of truth, the light of inspiration, the light of joy, the light of laughter, the light of beauty, the light of radiance, the light of life? I love this quotation that Sianna included in her newsletter and therefore I share it with you again if you already received it, and I pass it on to you now, if you are not on her email list: "You are that stream of light. The physical body is the projection of Light. You are a world unto yourself. The center of the light in the physical body is the heart. In every heartbeat is a release of another pulse of light from Presence... and when you call to the Presence, you are calling to the Presence of everyone in the world." I close with the words of the His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, "Everyday, think as you wake up, Today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts toward others. I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can." I look forward to dancing in the light with each of you in the year 2011! Namaste, August 30, 2010 I hope this email finds you well and thriving. These last few days of summer have been extraordinarily precious, so bright, crisp and clear, so very beautiful. Last week was one of the most glorious weeks of weather I can ever remember with bright sunny clear days filled with the sweet, kind, gentle summer breezes. With summer coming to a close and fall about to start, I've been reflecting a lot lately on boundaries, limitations, endings and new beginnings. With an aquarian for a daughter, I am constantly reminded that a whole segment of our population does not understand the value and necessity and contribution and benefit of boundaries and limitations. In so many conversations and interactions with my daughter, I've been encouraged to really explore the nature of boundaries, and when limitations are and can be experienced as auspicious and when they are simply sources of constriction, tightness and challenge. When is a boundary necessary? When is it simply an ego response to feeling out of control? When is it simply a habit to choose "no" rather than "yes". If you're a parent, you're probably right there with me. You've gone down this route of examination countless times. The beauty of this contemplation is that life keeps bringing fresh circumstances for you to continuously refresh this contemplation. One afternoon last week, my daughter and I laid on a blanket in the grass playing with a caterpillar all afternoon. I had taken the week off from work and designated the entire week to time together. The week literally had no boundaries, except that of the 7 day cycle. On this afternoon, she and I delighted in the tickling motion of the caterpillar as it inched up and down our arms and legs, necks and shoulders. It was only because of the boundary of our skin that we were given such pleasure though, because that very boundary allowed us to sense and feel the caterpillar's movement. Because we had been so busy all summer, last week was exquisitely precious to enjoy time out of time together, just talking, sharing, laughing, and enjoying nature's exquisite beauty. With the boundary around summer closing in, every moment that remains is so very precious. It seems to me that the boundary actually allows me/us to be more mindful of the exquisiteness of the moment. At other times, though, the constancy of the schedule with so many moments having boundaries starts to add up to increase such a feeling of stress and tension. So there must be an optimal usage of boundaries. What is the most auspicious way to experience and receive the boundary as a gift? Recently, one of my former students died of cancer. Even though I knew she had been ill for a very long time and had fought a very brave, gracious fight, her death came as a shock to me. She was my age, maybe a year or two younger. Besides being a lovely, intelligent, fun, humorous, creative, vivacious human being in life, she continues to teach all who knew her in death. Her death has been such a gracious reminder of the absolute preciousness of this life. The boundary around our lives instills in us the remembrance that every moment truly is a gift and inspires in me the conviction to live every moment in the highest way possible, to stretch where I think I can't, to try where I want to give up, to offer when I think I have nothing to give. Sometimes a boundary feels like a constriction, like someone telling you no when you really want to hear yes. But I've come to think that boundaries are auspicious when they help us to remember, when they help us to reawaken to the magic and mystery and abundance in life; a boundary is auspicious when it helps us to remember that our lives, the individual boundary around our life takes place within a much bigger context, that we swim within a bigger ocean. In truth, the boundary of our individuality has never separated us from the ocean of grace that we swim within, but rather serves to allow us to open to our full empowerment as alive, awake human beings. LIke muscular energy that helps to define the boundary of our individual form, the purpose of that containment is to allow the Prana Shakti within the vessel to swell to its full empowerment. Today I think that what makes a boundary auspicious is when it allows our essence inside the boundary to expand. The boundary is not life affirming when we feel inside, our own essence gets more and more constricted, tight, shut down and depleted. It is my prayer to allow the boundaries in my life to help me remember the preciousness of each moment. When I know the time of our being together will end, it reminds me to open my heart to all that the moment has to offer me. It is my prayer that each of us, together and individually, will be able to receive the boundary of the end of summer and the boundary of the beginning of fall as an opportunity to awaken to the highest. May the boundaries of time, space, abundance, and the movement of your life assist you in the expansion and evolution of your soul. I wish for each of you these things. With the boundary of Fall opening, I invite each of you to consider joining me in some of the programs that I am very much looking forward to offering. My season begins by enjoying 5 days in Cambridge with our beloved teacher John Friend. From there I have the great honor of co-hosting Professor Paul Muller-Ortega, PHD in Worcester, MA. After having the great honor of being a student in the classrooms of both of these exquisite teachers, my family and I will travel together to Dublin and Amsterdam for a two week adventure of yoga and fun with our European friends. Please join us! I'll end my fall season by offering two "Foundations of Anusara Yoga (tm)" courses in both Saratoga Springs, NY & Lebanon, NH, and a weekend workshop in Avon, CT. 2011 is gearing up to be very full with an Immersion in Montpelier, VT, Level 2 of the Immersion in Dublin, Ireland, and a three weekend Therapeutics Module in Saratoga Springs, NY, as well as weekend workshops in Wellesely, MA, New London, CT, Cambridge, MA, Laconia, NH, Morgantown, WV, Middlefield, RI and Atlanta, GA. In the fall of 2011, I'll offer a full 100 hour Immersion followed by a full 100 hour teacher training in Saratoga Springs, NY. For more information about ALL these events, please visit my website at: www.anahatayogacenter.com. I look forward to sharing the light of the teachings of our glorious path with you all. Deb Neubauer
Dear Friends in Yoga, I hope this email finds you well and thriving!! Last Saturday, March 20th at 1:29 in the afternoon, marked the Spring Equinox, the time when the sun crosses the equator making the time of day and and the time of night everywhere of nearly equal lengths everywhere in the world. The Equinox marks the threshold that the entire Northern Hemisphere passes through as it makes its way into the season of light and expansion and the whole world comes alive with the exhilaration and excitement of springtime. In the weeks leading up to the Spring Equinox, I noticed that my body was very naturally beginning a process of easeful detoxification. Everyday I could feel my body asking me for simple things to fulfill its desire to melt and release the holding and contraction that accumulated over the cold months of winter, and open to the season of expansion with the onset of spring. I noticed the desire to drink more water, to increase sour foods, to eat lighter foods that are easier to digest. I also noticed a daily increase of enthusiasm and desire to exercise vigorously and get my heart rate up. Maybe you've noticed these cravings too, and perhaps you've had the time to heed the deeper calls of your body and soul to meet the turning of the earth's rotation toward the light of the sun. All these subtle signals represent our body's natural, easeful process of detoxification, a process that the body, when healthy is able to do quite well. Along with this natural detoxification process happening in the body, you may have also noticed an increase in reactivity in the mind, as if the mind were similarly going through a process of detoxification, throwing out the contractions built up over winter. Just as the body needs a bit of assistance in throwing out winter's accumulated toxins, so also does the mind because the mind has such a tendency to harden, congeal, contract and form ice crystals of old limited belief and frozen ground of misunderstanding. Spring is the time of freshness, exhilaration. Spring is the time to breathe new life into the old structures. So, today, I offer here my spring detox process as a way of assisting all of us in opening to the true expansion that our path holds out to us: the capacity to embrace our intrinsic goodness and open to the greatness that lies within! Whether you choose to sit quietly for meditation or pranayama, chant the names of the Divine, take vigorous walks, or practice Hatha Yoga postures, the practice remains the same. It’s time, today, to pick one belief that has crystallized inside of you, that has frozen you into a limited way of viewing and experiencing your world. This belief should be one that you are truly ready to release, truly ready to meld, truly ready to be free of. For the practice to work, it must be something that your heart immediately says yes to - yes, today, you are willing to be free of this thought, this belief about yourself or another. When we practice Hatha Yoga, we always extend on the inhalation and soften or twist on the exhalation. Every movement we make is accompanied by the breath. Every inhalation you breathe in the sacred atmosphere of consecrated awareness is an opportunity to open to the springtime of new understanding; to blossom the flowers of true fulfillment and to welcome the dawn of satisfied expectation. To do so, every exhalation is consecrated as a sacred offering, offer the flower of your unworthiness to the benevolent power of grace that heartily receives all offerings. Offer the frozen ground of anger, the ice crystals of self doubt, and the harsh winds of judgement and self criticism. Offer these to the benevolent power of Grace that receives all and transforms all. Don't be in a hurry to understand what will replace this frozen ground, or who you will be when you release this negativity. Simply offer. Practice opening the various sections of your body like you're throwing open the doors and windows in the house open on that first warm spring day. Let the house of your understanding breathe again. Release the stale air of winter’s accumulation and open to freshness and freedom. This spring, each of us has the opportunity to open with freshness and freedom to a vibrant new life. Today, you have the power to make a new choice. This spring, you have the opportunity to release the old ways of thinking and being that limit your life before you even wake up in the morning. Every morning resolve to step boldly into a new chapter, a new destiny a new vision a new dream. For this kind of transformation, you'll need a point of stability inside. That point of stability inside is your conviction that it is possible to open to something greater, that something truly great does live inside of you and it is possible to expand that essence. Keep melting into that. How far your essence can expand is unknown. Who you’ll be when you release the old, there’s no way to know, and that’s the point. Practice as a way of invoking that essence inside, that is naturally free, naturally fresh, naturally filled with light and beauty. Practice as a call to release the contractions surrounding that vibrant inner essence. Practice as an expression of your deep desire that your dreams might actually be in alignment with the dreams that the universe has for you. I look forward to hearing from you on how your practice is transforming your heart and life!! With heartfelt blessings of love, Happy Spring. Deb Neubauer |