Yoga Practice | Pujakins

Heartwings says, “You won’t know what’s around the corner until you’re there.”

Life went on, my children grew and went to school, and I became a Yoga teacher. Like many important changes in my life, it happened serendipitously. With five children and a busy life, I was getting very stressed. Having trouble sleeping, I resorted to memorizing long poems, reciting them to try falling asleep. One day I mentioned this to a friend.

Several days later he gave me a book on Yoga by Richard Hittleman. Telling me it might help me relax, he said it had fallen into his hand the day after I had told him my plight. More serendipity! I studied the directions and followed the exercises. Soon I no longer needed to recite the long poems. I was falling asleep easily and sleeping soundly.

Sometime later a woman I knew announced she was teaching a Yoga class. Thrilled to have an instructor I eagerly signed up. Although it ended after twelve sessions, I continued my practice. Later on, as I was talking about Yoga with a friend; someone overheard me and invited me to go with her to a gathering of Yoga teachers and students in a nearby town. I jumped at the chance. The day we were to go, she had to cancel out.

Deciding to do it by myself, I drove to the address and found myself in a large room full of leotard clad women, none of whom I had ever met before. They all had Yoga mats! I didn’t. So I laid my coat on the floor and feeling glad to be there, followed the teacher’s instructions. At the end she led us in several chants. Something about them made me feel as though I had really come home.

As the session ended, I discovered she had a studio not far from where I lived. Immediately, I signed up for classes. At almost the same time, the wife of the minister asked me to teach a class at my church. The coincidence was very helpful because I learned at the studio and taught what I learned. Some years later, my teacher taught a teacher training class that enhanced my knowledge. Eventually she had me teach my own classes for her in various places.

Having been uncoordinated as a child, I found Yoga to be very useful for gaining physical skill and coordination. I also grew proud of my newfound abilities. Better still, in a year or two, my teacher opened a larger studio and had monthly gatherings of spiritual teachers. Asked to be on the welcoming committee, I was able to interact personally with many of them.

The long lasting practice of meditation that evolved from my study of yoga, as well as the wisdom I gained from the exposure to the many spiritual teachers she featured has been one of the most helpful experiences of my long life. While my journey had begun long before, it was given a gigantic boost by these two new additions.

To be continued

May you discover new helps to your journey.

Blessings and best regards, Tasha Halpert

Comments, questions, suggestions? I so enjoy hearing from readers. Do write, please?

A poet and writer, I publish this free weekly blog, Heartwings Love Notes for a Joyous Life. My Books: Up to my Neck in Lemons, and Heartwings, Love Notes for a Joyous Life are available on Amazon. My latest publication available there is my first chapbook, Poems and Prayers, and I have two more in preparation. You can sign up for my blog below

Heartwings says, “Here’s something to think about for those resolutions.”

When I was thinking about the new year coming, and New Year resolutions, I came to a realization: Much of what I might think to choose concerning the making of resolutions is actually something I think about doing all the time, anyway. In other words, at this point my would-be resolutions are part of an ongoing daily practice. Perhaps this might be true for others as well.

What I now experience probably began at the time when I first encountered Yoga. That was back when I was in my late twenties with five children. I was very stressed and having trouble sleeping. Knowing how stressed I was, a good friend gave me a book on Yoga. I remember the author, Richard Hittleman.

The book is long gone from my library; however, it was a relatively simple text that focused primarily on the exercises, with good illustrations. I found it to be helpful, and events unfolded from there, ending up with my becoming a yoga teacher for a number of years. I attended many classes and took teacher training as well as studied Yoga philosophy. I learned and grew from this, and eventually I developed my daily practice.

Practice is something one might think of as what a musician or an athlete does, or something to be repeated until one knows it by heart. A practice can also be something one incorporates into one’s everyday life or lifestyle. In my case the kind of meditation I learned from yoga, even after my career as a teacher ended, became something I began to do daily. From it I acquired the skills of mindfulness and as well as ways to reduce stress and discomfort. Together with my husband Stephen, I began teaching that. as well.

Ultimately, all this evolved into an ability to stay in the present moment, at least most of the time, as well as to find out when I wasn’t there. And this is what I mean by a practice. Which is why I don’t necessarily go for the idea of New Year’s resolutions. I am already working on what I might consider using.

There seems no reason to make a list and try to follow what I am already practicing on a daily basis. I wonder if when readers look at their potential resolutions, they might discover the same for themselves. How we choose what to resolve is going to most likely be things we need to be doing or want to be doing anyway. If we thing we need to make a special effort, we might make that the resolution. For instance we might say, “I resolve to keep on keeping on.” I believe that way we might have more success.

It is often said that the resolutions of most do not last past their first month. If instead of separating our resolutions from everyday life we see them as part of our ongoing experience, they might even last out the year.

May your New Year celebration be happy and your happiness endure.

Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert