By Aanandi (Annie) Ross

This month’s teachings article, Physical, Prana, Mind & More…, set me pondering my experience of the maayaa-koshas, the five coverings that keep you from knowing you are Shiva. They are levels of contracted Consciousness, “…your ‘five bodies’, the levels that Consciousness takes on to become you.”

For much of my life, I have had an involved experience of anna-maayaa-kosha, the physical body, shaped, nurtured and sustained by food (“anna” in Sanskrit).  I have always been interested and involved in creating healthy, delicious food. In the 80’s I studied macrobiotics, then at the Institute for Food and Healing in NYC.  I taught cooking classes and catered my students’ weddings and parties.  Then I studied Ayurveda.

Recently I’ve been wrestling with a food situation for months. My partner gives a weekly talk at a small local church. After his talk, there is a dinner, lovingly prepared by caring members of the congregation. It is not the kind of food I usually choose to eat. So often I’ve said to myself, “I will not eat this food tonight. I’ll go home early, or just visit and not eat.”  Yet, over years, that actually happened only once or twice. Most of the time I eat the meal, while enjoying the company of the small group. I wrestle with this situation weekly. So I asked myself, “Why am I faced with this, week after week?  What can I learn here?”

After reading Physical, Prana, Mind & More…, I’ve come to see that something’s happening in the processes of a deeper level than my “food body.” Loosening my hold on anna-maayaa-kosha let me pay attention to subtler levels and look deeper. The experience of gratitude is playing in my mind, mano-maayaa-kosha. I realize I am so fortunate to have choice in what I eat. If I were in a third-world country or in prison, I would have little or no choice of food. So now I simply bless the congregation’s food and eat it, with great gratitude.

Wow, mano-maayaa-kosha, the mind, is a big one!  From childhood through adulthood I have experienced hefty confusion, including a lot of disorganization and chaos in my life. I’ve wondered, “Where does this come from?” It has been reflected in my inability to keep order in my house, paperwork, my mind, my life. But lately, I have turned a corner, so to speak, gotten over the hump. I have found what I’ve been looking for in the midst of this chaos: the experience of just being in my Self.  I notice that now, bit by bit, I create small pockets of order. I do more “deep cleaning.”  Along with that, my body is experiencing a major phase of clearing: Kundalini is presenting me with much inner chiropractor work.

http://www.srivyuha.org

My experience of vij~nana-maayaa-kosha, the “Truth” body, has also been extraordinary.  Ten years ago,  I used the Internet and googled the name I knew as that of my biological father. Since the age of 12, I had known about him, but we had never met. The Internet search brought up an article he had authored. When I read his words, I knew in Truth this was my father. Even before I had any tangible evidence that this man was my father, I was confident in telling the world I had found him. A while later, it was amazing to actually meet him in Israel.

When I come to aananda-maayaa-kosha, the bliss body, I have a wonderful childhood memory. I was 7 or 8 years old, up on a hilltop at night, looking out at the dazzling city lights. The moment was ecstatic, blissful beyond words. I know now I was experiencing the pure delight of Shakti, all the sparkle and creation, in my bliss body.

And now, through my Svaroopa® yoga practices, I know there is even more! Tat Tvam Asi: Thou art THAT — the Self that’s I’ve always been seeking. The wonder of Svaroopa® yoga is that it focuses on the Self, while working on all your bodies simultaneously.  In “Celebrating Light (December 2016), Swamiji said, “Accepting your small-s self is part of finding your capital-S Self.”

Our current month’s article, along with Guru’s Grace, has helped me experience the layers of my small-s self. This process has enabled me also to heed her warning: “The problem is you get enamored with your bodies.” Instead of getting stuck in a “covering” over my Self, the teachings of this article have lovingly moved me into and through my small-s self, level by level.

This has opened me to her final guidance, “Deepen into the core of your being and allow your radiance to shine from inside out.” Thus, I am becoming more and more established in That.  Along the way, more and more japa is a great support!

By Maureen Shortt

Ayurveda describes how we live within, as well as embody, the energies of nature: space, air, fire, water, and earth. Each has qualities that we can perceive relative to the other energies. For instance, we know that air is light relative to the heaviness of earth. We know that water is cool relative to the heat of fire.

The seasons also have energies relative to one another. We can perceive the humidity and heat of the summer months relative to the dryness and cold of winter. Moving toward the summer months, pitta season, you will find it helpful to apply Ayurvedic principles. They enable you to maintain your best health and to stay open to your knowing of your own Divinity.

One Ayurvedic principle is that “like increases like” which means that the heat and moisture of summer outside increase the heat and moisture inside your body and mind. This excess of pitta energy can show up as skin conditions, fevers, allergies, inflammation, reflux, loose stools, frustration, anger or pressure.

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To avoid these problems as you move into and through summer, make simple lifestyle choices to support healthy Pitta. Pitta-friendly veggies include asparagus, green beans, cucumbers, summer squashes, avocadoes and fennel. Continue eating lots of cooked greens.  For raw greens, and add oil; think salad dressing.  For fruits in summer, indulge in cooling melons as well as seasonal sweet fruits such as peaches, apricots, berries, apples, coconuts, dates and figs.

Balanced summer grains include amaranth, oats, quinoa and wheat. Combine them with mung beans and split mung as well as the small beans like lentils. For dairy, stick with soft cheeses like cottage cheese or goat cheese. Keep your yogurt to a minimum as the sour taste aggravates pitta. Cilantro, coriander, cumin, turmeric and cardamom will keep your digestive fire going without over-stimulating it.

http://www.pelinozay.com

Within the rest of your summer lifestyle, think cool and relaxed. The lifestyle word for pitta is “moderation.” Enjoy the coolness of shade. Walking by water, especially under a full moon, balances pitta beautifully. Wear cool colors like whites, blues and purples. Be easy on yourself. Don’t over commit. Do give yourself plenty of time for long Shavasanas. This way you will welcome the lightness and Consciousness-expansiveness of pitta season.

By Janet Neff

My Foundations experience was powerful and positive. Yet I never expected to work so hard during those few days. Everything I was learning seemed completely overwhelming! But I got used to the pace. And during the week that followed it all sank in. Then I realized how very much I had absorbed.

Much of what I heard slowly seeped into my head, my mind, my body and my heart. I learned new words, poses, adjustments and facility in using the handouts. I gained ease in moving my body (and arranging blankets!). I learned about the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism along with meditation and chanting. All was so deep and enriching.

Now when I do the poses in my own practice, I hear the voices of my Foundations Teachers and Yogeshwari Fountain, my local teacher, too! I know more about what is behind it all. My experience in my local class as well as my personal practice is enriched because this thorough learning is taught by knowledgeable and experienced yogis. I also experienced deep physical, mental and emotional openings. I felt that our meditation and chanting sessions helped to solidify our learning and focus our mind and energy.

During the course, I learned the poses and how to teach them with different partners. I observed how that process breaks down barriers. Afterward, I felt closer to every person I worked with. Those I did not get to work with still felt a little bit like strangers to me. Next time, I’ll make sure to partner with every person in our group, if possible.

To me, this experience showed that barriers break down if we get close enough to touch people in healing ways. We see other persons with a more loving and open heart. I am so grateful for the experience. I am so grateful to Yogeshwari for opening the way to my Svaroopa^® yoga exploration. I’m not sure yet whether or not I will teach, or whether Foundations will be for my personal experience alone. In time, it will all be revealed. Of that I’m sure.