You may not know that I got my bachelors degree in theater. One of the required classes we had as freshman was basically Creativity 101. Among other things, we studied the neuroscience of creativity.
Our teacher gave us examples of creative professionals who worked very hard - typically to the point of frustration - and then did something else entirely, trying to get any thought of the project out of mind. This mental break from the work triggered creative insight and inspiration.
Since then, taking periodic, strategic breaks has seemed like a very sensible thing to me. In the last couple years, I have had the opportunity to take two strategic creativity breaks to "fill my own well". Both times I took these total breaks from my work, I was inspired by the way the studio was cared for while I was away.
This year especially, it was so easy to see how many people care for the sanctity of our little, shared space when I returned. I was humbled by the care our teachers and students took. Returning to a community that cares for one another is about the most renewing thing I can imagine!
I also have new insight into areas of potential further growth and development. Whereas before I had felt bogged down in the details, now I have a wider perspective and the path seems clearer.
That is what a dedicated practice is. Stepping from meditation into the world and from the world back into meditation. Cycling between rest and activity.
I hope you are able to give yourself some extra time for your own self-renewal this month, whatever that means to you. Here's to a spring season filled with new growth!
January, perennial month of reflection and re-commitment. Also, perennial month of guilt and disappointment. Swami Satchidananda often told his students that if you want to avoid disappointment, "make no appointments." In other words, have no expectations.
But how are we supposed to have no expectations and yet pursue our goals?
As we dive deeper into the philosophy of the Yoga Sutras and especially, the Bhagavad Gita, we find many messages about selfless service. Selfless service does not mean pushing yourself to the point of burn-out or never making mistakes. Selfless service means "do your best and leave the rest" (another thing Swamiji liked to say.) Selfless service is perfection in action.
What is a perfect act? One that harms no one, benefits someone - by the way, you count as someone - and is done without expectations for the results. Surrendering to the natural flow of life. Sometimes losing, sometimes gaining, but always enjoying the process.
It is so easy to blame ourselves when our intentions (or New Year's resolutions) go awry, but an arrow released from the bow does not always go where expected. By practicing hitting the target again and again, we will eventually become more accurate. Why would we expect ourselves to hit a bullseye with our resolutions right away?
The other side of this: even if "fail" we need to continue to try to hit the bullseye every time, even if it we don't hit it right away (or ever). We can get closer over time and practice our resolutions until they become second nature. We can enjoy becoming, rather than being.
When we blame ourselves for failing once and deciding to never try again, we miss the opportunity to enjoy learning and refining ourselves. A resolution doesn't have to be a straightjacket, but can be a trellis for our personal development, inching little by little to the light. We have to learn to celebrate life with all its ups and downs.
Released by the archer, the arrow is surrendered to universe. We can choose to regard our actions with this kind of total surrender, or Ishvara Pranidhana. Ishvara Pranidhana is the fifth niyama (observance) in Raja Yoga. Swamiji says if a person can master this niyama, they will not need to practice any of the others.
Clearly, mastering "surrender to life" is a lofty pursuit. We should even regard that goal without expectations. Sometimes we will feel totally surrendered and at other times we will feel attached to people, things, or outcomes.
Perfection in action is to notice when our mind drifts into desires or aversions. Then, pull another arrow out of the quiver and steady our hand to the bow. Once we let go of the arrow, we can let go of the results. We've already done our part.
I wish you a year with many arrows loosed, wherever they may land.
It's hard to count all the moments I might feel grateful for. Even in the midst of deep turmoil and pain, there are things to appreciate. Of course, our human brains are evolved to avoid threats and guard opportunities. But every spiritual master I have heard or read has said that avoiding losses and preserving boons doesn't give a person true, lasting happiness. That inevitably, life is a dance of gaining and losing, pleasure and pain. True happiness, they say, is to feel content with profit and loss in equal measure. Enjoy when it comes, enjoy when it goes. Karma yoga then, is to act for the benefit of humanity without regard for the reward of your actions.
I have thought about this a lot since opening our studio. There are busy days when it feels like every little thing has a hitch and needs my attention. There are slow days when I feel worried that opening a studio was naïve without an MBA. These thoughts, which Dr. Daniel G. Amen calls "ANTs" or automatic negative thoughts, obscure the reality of the situation I face. When I really sit down to think about it, I see there is a thread of gratitude that runs through all of these challenges. I can choose to direct my thoughts to that thread whenever I wish. That is pratipaksha bhavana, which means to cultivate the opposite (positive thought). It is easy for me to direct my thoughts towards positivity when I think about all the people I know through this studio.
At the risk of sounding like an Academy Award winner on Oscar night, I really feel that the studio would not be possible without everyone involved. It starts with the students. Without students, we are not teachers. I know that all of the teachers at 5KY are incredibly grateful to you for sharing your practice with us. Practicing yoga can be a time of deep intimacy and vulnerability (first of all, with one's own self). Your trust in us to navigate with you through it is something we do not take lightly.
No less important are the wonderful teachers and workshop leaders who choose to hold space here for that vulnerability. They have many gifts and it touches me to see the flow between them and their students. It inspires me to do my best work and create a space that nurtures personal transformation on every level. I feel a deep commitment to the symbiotic growth between this community, our teachers, and our students.
On a personal but also, practical level is the gratitude I feel for the people behind the scenes. Gratitude for the people who keep things running when I am away from the studio, the people working on our online presence in the wee hours of the night, the people offering support and guidance when I need it, as well as the people inspiring our mission.
And that is the definition of a sangha. It is a collective of like-minded individuals, who remind one another of the mutual goal (no less than self-realization) and support each other in this bold pursuit. Individuals who believe that by benefiting the sangha, we are benefited ourselves many times over. It is a collective of people who are optimistic that humanity can be a force for good. People who know that to create the intimacy and vulnerability we seem to lack today, we must focus on creating it within our own selves first.
There is so much that I have to feel grateful for this year. I thank you for being a part of our sangha. Happy Thanksgiving to you.
What Is a YSC Program Like?
Wondering what Yoga for the Special Child Basic 1 is like? Who can take the program? What will participants be prepared for after taking YSC? Check out this video, which runs down the basics.
Yoga for the Special Child Basic 1 starts Sunday! There's still time to register, but we're close to capacity. So better sign up, if you're planning to join us next week.
Also, join us July 19th at 7PM for a Satsang (community gathering) with Sonia Sumar, who created the Yoga for the Special Child method.
Hi, my name is Erin Haddock, I'm with Five Keys Yoga here in Chicago, Illinois. And this summer we're hosting an unbelievable training with Sonia Sumar, who created the yoga for the special child method and wrote the book "Yoga for the Special Child". She created this method for her daughter Roberta, who is born with down syndrome and now travels around the world, bringing this program to people who want to learn how to teach kids with special needs yoga.
So I thought I would make this video for our participants who are arriving in about a week as well as people who might still be on the fence about what to expect during the program. So this program runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, the 15th through the 20th. And at the completion of the program you'll be given a certificate of completion for I believe is the 48 hours that you attend. After you attend this program, if you wish, you can attend Basic 2. And if you are a yoga teacher or become one, you can use these two trainings to become registered with yoga alliance as a certified children's yoga instructor.
However, the training isn't open just for yoga teachers. In fact, we have many parents, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, special education teachers as well as yoga teachers and people who just want to learn how to teach kids yoga. In fact, that's how I started, I wasn't a therapist, I wasn't a parent or a teacher. I just had this desire to learn how to make yoga accessible for people with special needs.
When I took my first training with Sonia my entire perspective changed, not only about how I practice yoga but about what yoga really means, what it is. It completely changed the way that I look at the world. And I'm so excited for these people who are coming in next week for the first time meeting Sonia and learning about their own bodies and minds.
During the training you will be prepared to evaluate new students as well as specific techniques for working with children who might have limited mobility or limited attention span. And the absolute highlight of the program is the opportunity to see Sonia work with three students as demo students, it's a really special part of the program that all the participants love.
So we're hosting the training here at Five Keys Yoga. I would love to see you here, either this year or another year, when we host the Yoga for the Special Child program again.
Recently, we've received a number of questions about where we are rooted and about the guy sitting on our altars, Swami Satchidananda. Although many of our teachers have their own traditions, Swamiji (what a swami is affectionately called) and Sivakami Sonia Sumar, founder of Yoga for the Special Child, are the guides and inspiration for our studio. So in honor of Father's Day next week, we're exploring our yogic lineage in more depth.
​Swami Satchidananda is the founder of Integral Yoga and credited with being one of the first yoga masters to bring yoga to the west. He was invited to New York in 1966 by artist Peter Max and had a great influence on young Americans of the day. Swamiji gave the official opening remarks at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, with "a message of peace, hope and encouragement."
Integral Yoga brings six branches of yoga together, Hatha, Raja, Jnana, Karma, Bhakti, and Japa Yoga. It is designed to integrate an individual's mind, body and soul. Swamiji often said "truth is one, paths are many," meaning that we may all take our own path toward the truth.
Who is Sivakami Sonia Sumar?
If you've been taking classes with us for a while, you've probably heard us mention her before… Sivakami is the founder of Yoga for the Special Child, the pioneering yoga method for kids with special needs. Sivakami created this method after her younger daughter, Roberta was born with Downs Syndrome.
Her work with Roberta was so impressive, that she was asked to teach other students with special needs at schools and in her yoga center in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Later, word about her students' progress spread and she was asked to speak about her work at conferences internationally, where she met Swami Satchidananda, who became her guru.
Now she brings her training programs all over the world (and aren't we lucky, we're hosting one this July!), preparing parents, special education teachers, yoga teachers, therapists and healthcare professionals to teach the YSC method. Sivakami is also the author of the book Yoga for the Special Child, which has been published in English, Portuguese and Chinese. Find out more about the upcoming YSC training.
The gentle but effective approaches that YSC utilizes "have been improving the lives of children and adults with special needs for over 40 years," including Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, ADD/ADHD, Scleroderma, Microcephaly, and other developmental and learning disabilities.
I hope this post gives you a sense of where we come from and a peak into where we're going. We believe that a yoga studio has an important job to do – serving its community by providing a friendly and peaceful place to gather with others and experience the essential truth within each of us. We consider our community an extension of our family, so we are honored that you bring your roots to grow here too.
With Mother's Day around the corner, we think it's time for all of us to be good mothers to ourselves. Yoga, meditation, eating right, getting good sleep; they're all a part of nurturing our physical body.
But what about when we need some nurturance for our emotions? Bhakti Yoga or the path of devotion is one of the ways we can nurture our emotional side. This devotion might take the form of formal religious devotion, chanting mantras, serving other members of humanity, or just appreciating beauty all around us.
One of the ways to build devotion is to create a personal altar. Altars can ground us in our connection to our guru (teacher), to our sangha (community), to our own higher nature, and further, to all things.
Having an altar to tend is like tending to our own emotional experience. It is a place to come to in times of great joy or sadness, in fear and in calmness, so we can get in touch with the greater purpose of life – which is love. When we connect to love, we more easily weather the changes/challenges that are inherent in living a life.
It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.
So use your heart to guide you toward what inspires you.
First, create a special space that will be used only for your altar.
Ensure the space is in an area that will not be disturbed and where you can practice yoga and meditation peacefully. When you approach your altar with reverence, your mind will get the message that this is a place of peace and associate your altar with calm feelings.
Keep the space clean. Think of your altar as an extension of your emotional self. If it's dusty, so are your emotions. Cleaning your altar can become a way of taking care of your emotions.
Put a nice cloth on the altar. This will elevate the items you place on it.
Place a few pictures of loved ones on your altar.
The guru is the center of the altar. Guru means dispeller of the darkness of ignorance. It does not have to be a yogic guru, but pick someone whose messages are uplifting and meaningful. When you practice yoga in front of an altar dedicated to a teacher who you feel connected to, you feel surrounded by the wisdom and inspiration of true presence.
Pictures of your family or close friends bring your sangha into your home at all times and at any time you need.
Candles, flowers, incense and statues of deities are classic additions to altars.
Candles remind us of the inner light within us and within all things, connecting us to humanity and the wider world.
Incense inspires our sense of smell, a sense so intimately connected to memory and emotion.
Flowers and statues are expressions of beauty. And beauty inspires feelings of love.
An altar is truly a personal expression of the curator of that altar. Like a prism, all love enters as a beam of pure light, but passed through the crystal, devotional practices spread across the spectrum. I truly hope you nurture your emotions through some devotion to love this month. That is what motherhood is all about.
Swami Satchidananda spoke about habit-setting like changing a car's oil. To get the dirty oil out, you simply pour clean oil in and the old oil is purged from the engine. Our habits are like this too: if we focus on adding good habits, we will slough the bad habits off eventually. If we focus on reducing or removing the bad ones, it seems to only exacerbate the issue. Apparently, this is called ironic process theory, as related this month by the brief New York Times article, "Resistance Is Futile. To Change Habits, try Replacement Instead." With the big spring clean upon us, many of us look to "clean" ourselves. Which often takes the form of habit-setting.
​Purity is a niyama (observance) in Raja Yoga. Although purity might be taken to mean maintaining personal hygiene rituals, wearing clean clothes and keeping a clean house, it also means creating purity within, physically and mentally. Some people have a negative reaction to the word "purity" because today, it may connote an impossible standard of goodness. What I think Patanjali was suggesting is to have a Replacement attitude instead of a Resistance attitude, as described by the NYT and Swami Satchidananda. We don't have to be completely pure to get benefits from making a choice that leads us to more purity. Even though there is always dirt, shouldn't we sweep our house from time to time?
Yoga and Ayurveda offer several practices that aim to purify us on many levels. Hatha yoga keeps our bodies strong and supple, meditation keeps our mind nimble and focused, and a healthy diet ensures we have good, clean energy to run on. There are other practices, called kriyas, that some yogis use to create a purer internal environment, such as using a neti pot or practicing eye exercises. Fasting is another cleansing practice espoused for centuries by yogis, that is gaining credibility in the scientific world. For a more scientific approach to fasting than I'm going to take here, you can look at this article from CMAJ or an opinion from a neuroscientist on the Johns Hopkins Health Review.
Whether or not you fast, it's still a good idea to take a break from foods that tax the digestive system. This is especially true as we transition from heavier foods that warm us in the winter, to more raw foods (which can also tax the system) in the spring and summer. To make the transition smoother, either from one season to another or as an intermediary before and after fasting, yogis eat kitchari. An Ayurvedic recipe traditionally made of mung beans and white rice, it is very easy to digest, filling, and nutritious. Ayurvedic practitioners use it to purify the blood and cleanse the body. It is also delicious. Very, very delicious. Oh yeah, and super easy and fast to make!
So if you'd like to replace an old eating habit with a new, tasty, purity-enhancing habit, try this recipe for kitchari. Five Keys Yoga tested and approved. Yum!
The hardest part of this recipe is getting the right ingredients. Luckily, we live in a vibrant city and can easily find the spices and mung dal at Indian grocers. Devon Ave. is a classic place to shop for Indian ingredients. Some neighborhood grocery stores carry the ingredients too. You can also find everything online.
I usually add a few dried, hot chilies (chopped) and any vegetables I have in the fridge, but that is optional.
​Thoroughly rinse and sort the dal and rice. The water running through should be clear (really get them clean).
Add the dal, rice and water (and veggies, if using) to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and cover.
Simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. You can add extra water if you like your kitchari wetter.
​Melt the ghee in a pan over medium heat.
Add the mustard and cumin seeds, stirring occassionally until they start to pop (a minute or two).
Add the rest of the spices, except the salt. Cook for a minute or two, stirring frequently to avoid burning the spices.
Once the spices are well mixed and smell amazing, transfer the temper to the dal and rice mixture.
I like to eat kitchari with a big heap of steamed kale. The crunchy texture of the kale goes so well with the creamy kitchari, and the extra fiber completes the meal. I often top with nutritional yeast or Bragg's liquid aminos for flavor and extra vitamins and nutrients. You can also adjust the seasoning to suit your dosha, or Ayurvedic type.
​Did you try the recipe? How did it taste?
With spring around the corner, we'll be updating and adding to our class schedule. Let us know when you'd like class!
Check as many as you would like.