Beach Yoga - Corey Beach, Blue Point - 7 AM Saturday mornings weather permitting. No fee. Begins again June 2018
Sunday mornings at Smith Point on the west side by the nature center... 8 AM.
"At first you might find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred space and use it, eventually something will happen. Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again" --- Joseph Campbell
This site is evolving, like all of us. Visit again!
This site is evolving, like all of us. Visit again!
May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers,
half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and live deep within your heart.
from the four-fold Benedictine blessing. - Sr Ruth Marlene Fox, OSB, 1985
half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and live deep within your heart.
from the four-fold Benedictine blessing. - Sr Ruth Marlene Fox, OSB, 1985
AWAKENING CIRCLES: On hold for the time being.... will be revisited.
The Circle is based on the Awakin Circle (awakin.org) which began decades ago to promote a supportive social community. The group will meet for a period of meditation, then discuss a previously distributed article, followed by a very simple community meal. No fee is involved unless the venue requires it. Pre-registration is required. Please email or call me to reserve.
The Circle is based on the Awakin Circle (awakin.org) which began decades ago to promote a supportive social community. The group will meet for a period of meditation, then discuss a previously distributed article, followed by a very simple community meal. No fee is involved unless the venue requires it. Pre-registration is required. Please email or call me to reserve.
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Lakota Prayer
Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery, teach me to trust my heart, my mind, my intuition, my inner knowing, the senses of my body, the blessings of my spirit. Teach me to trust these things so that I may enter my Sacred Space and love beyond my fear, and thus Walk in Balance with the passing of each glorious Sun. |
According to the Native People, the Sacred Space is the space between exhalation and inhalation. To "Walk in Balance" is to have Heaven (spirituality) and Earth (physicality) in Harmony.
Yoga wisdom was passed down verbally for thousands of years until it was put into written form in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In this text, eight limbs of yoga are defined as a guide for living most fully your authentic life. It teaches us to identify the things that separate us (i.e. the kleshas - the human afflictions) from our natural state of wholeness, balance, and equanimity. One of the first passages in this text states that Yoga is the quieting of the fluctuations of the mind. Meditation is the technique for bringing the mind under control. By quieting the mind, one can attain the state of SAMADHI, nirvana, or unitive bliss. The physical part of yoga, or ASANA was originally developed to properly prepare the body for long periods of sitting meditation.
There is a primary focus on the ASANA in a modern day yoga class. Because of that, it's easy to get the impression that yoga is simply another form of exercise. But in reality , the physical practice is just a small piece of the world of yoga. Yoga is all encompassing and always has been. Yoga is a living practice and so it has adapted to the times and continues to. It is forever vital.
The benefits of yoga and meditation for health are well documented. There are other aspects of a person that also develop through the practice of yoga. The first two of the limbs are YAMA and NIYAMA, they are moral and ethical observances. Without these first two limbs, there would be no yoga.
The Five Pillars of Yoga
1. Correct Exercise: Using heartfelt intention to exercise your body and mind in a manner that is appropriate for your body and time in life.
2. Correct Nutrition: Eating nutritious, pure food for body, mind and spirit. The books you read, music, films, etc. are also food for your body. Chose those that will nourish you!
3. Correct Breathing: Conscious breathing. Breath lengthening.
4. Correct Thinking: Using wisdom and insight, applying the yamas and niyamas to your viewpoint.
5. Correct Restfulness: For body, mind, and spirit. (Disconnect from the social media, unplug the phone for a while!)
The Four Aims of Life : Purusharthas (For the Soul)
1. Dharma: Your duty, purpose, unique talents gifts. There is a Universal Dharma which we all share. The universal speaks to each of us and to the fulfillment of our highest potentials. The personal dharma is our own unique purpose, our own unique set of responsibilities.
2. Artha: How we fulfill our needs for food, shelter, clothing, and maintain our life.
3. Kama: Activities simply for pleasure and joy.
4: Moksha: Pursuit of liberation.
As in all things, there must be a balance within the four aims.
Questions for contemplation:
Are you working so much that you don't have any time to enjoy life?
Are you pursuing pleasure so much that you have trouble meeting expenses?
Are you too focused on making material gains that you have lost sight of your personal dharma?
Is there any room for improvement in your life?
1. Dharma: Your duty, purpose, unique talents gifts. There is a Universal Dharma which we all share. The universal speaks to each of us and to the fulfillment of our highest potentials. The personal dharma is our own unique purpose, our own unique set of responsibilities.
2. Artha: How we fulfill our needs for food, shelter, clothing, and maintain our life.
3. Kama: Activities simply for pleasure and joy.
4: Moksha: Pursuit of liberation.
As in all things, there must be a balance within the four aims.
Questions for contemplation:
Are you working so much that you don't have any time to enjoy life?
Are you pursuing pleasure so much that you have trouble meeting expenses?
Are you too focused on making material gains that you have lost sight of your personal dharma?
Is there any room for improvement in your life?
Laurel Frey
email: yogaroots@optonline.net
Patchogue, NY
email: yogaroots@optonline.net
Patchogue, NY
