Monday Night Class took an unexpected break the last few weeks of October. And now, while my studio is undergoing renovation, we’re been rendered homeless. Fortunately, we have Claude and her pristine yoga studio. So we do have a temporary resting place. Needless to say, I’m most grateful for this sanctuary…

As a Taurean being, I’ve never much liked change. Ironically, my life as a yogini has forced me to uproot over and over again. I’ve often suspected this outer movement was required to change my sedentary nature. Left to my own devices I’d probably have never left home…

And now, with my home in the chaos of renovation, I’m thinking a lot about perception, about how we change the world by changing our mind. Baba Muktananda often spoke of this telling us, “the world is as you see it.” People would complain to him about this or that and he’d sit back laughing and say, “change the prescription of your glasses…” I understood what he was saying, but understanding was just the first step. Living this awareness is the ongoing work…

I was out in my yard on Saturday raking leaves. This is a task I’ve never much enjoyed. I tire easily. My lower back aches. The minutes seem like hours. So I began asking myself why and remembered how as a child, I loved playing in the leaves. Same person. Same autumn season. Same leaves. The only difference really is perception. So I thought okay, let this raking be play. And I found myself — or perhaps I should say — lost myself in the leaves. And everything shifted. Fatigue vanished. No back pain. And dare I say it, bliss bubbling up from within…

There’s an interesting piece in this weeks’ NY Times about this phenomenon. Researchers at the University of Kent in England are documenting what yogis have practiced for centuries… we can change the world by changing our mind…

Here’s the lead with a link to the article:

Tell yourself during exercise that you’re not as tired as you think you are and you could make that statement true, a new study shows, reminding us that the body intertwines with the mind in ways that we are only starting to understand.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/keep-repeating-this-workout-feels-good/?src=me

This week’s dharma talk uses the portal of Ganesha as a jumping off point to contemplate this notion:

Here’s a clip of class chanting Ganesha Sharanam:

Here’s the final dharana between chanting and silent meditation: