Yoga

Planting Your Seeds of Intention

Posted on February 22, 2014 by april dechagas

When you are asked to set an intention in the beginning of a yoga class, it is more than just setting a goal. A goal comes with a sense of achievement, or a sense of failure…

When you set an intention, it is something bigger. Something larger than for your small self. Something for the greater good of the world. Like when we chant Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu – may all beings (human beings, animal beings, plant beings, even green beings…all beings) be happy and free. And may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute to that happiness and freedom for all. Or setting an intention of the attainment of yoga – enlightenment – for all beings. Every ounce of your being is dedicated to that intention. You take ownership of your thoughts, words and actions when you release them into the world.

Your intention is similar to a seed. If you hold onto that seed, nothing will happen to it. But if you plant that seed, it will turn into a flower, and then a tree, and then that tree will bear fruit, and that fruit will feed other beings, and more seeds will be born. And similar to how nature will just take over and flourish, once you set your intention, the universe will take over. There is no need to worry about it – let nature take its course and trust that if you truly believe, truly believe , in your intention, it will be. When you release your intention out into the world, it will spread. If you treat yourself and others as a holy being, others in turn will do the same. Happiness and freedom will eventually spread like wild flowers. And it starts with your intention.

I leave you with a quote from Osho that I thought fit quite nicely with this sentiment…

“The seed cannot know what is going to happen, the seed has never known the flower. And the seed cannot even believe that he has the potentiality to become a beautiful flower. Long is the journey, and it is always safer not to go on that journey because unknown is the path, nothing is guaranteed.
Nothing can be guaranteed. Thousand and one are the hazards of the journey, many are the pitfalls – and the seed is secure, hidden inside a hard core. But the seed tries, it makes an effort; it drops the hard shell which is its security, it starts moving. Immediately the fight starts: the struggle with the soil, with the stones, with the rocks. And the seed was very hard and the sprout will be very, very soft and dangers will be many.
There was no danger for the seed, the seed could have survived for millennia, but for the sprout many are the dangers. But the sprout starts towards the unknown, towards the sun, towards the source of light, not knowing where, not knowing why. Great is the cross to be carried, but a dream possesses the seed and the seed moves.”

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In the Land of Oz…

Posted on November 21, 2013 by april dechagas

It isn’t often that pop-culture recognizes the schism that has been created between human and non-human animals.  It is rare in fact.  But the book and Broadway show Wicked hits the point right on.  Most people know Wicked as the story of the Wicked Witch of West from the Wizard of Oz. If you haven’t read it, it is a fun and creative twist on a story we are all familiar with, but the book is also quite political, and directly addresses serious and currently relevant issues, like bullying, government lobbying, and animal rights…

In the Land of Oz, previous to Dorothy’s visit, Animals (with a capital A, meaning they were “with spirit”) held jobs, spoke the same language as humans, wore clothes (even with a bit of irony, like the tsebras who wore black and white satin stripes on the bias to their inborn design.) They were equals to their human neighbors. But there was a shift in political climate, humans somehow felt threatened, and the Emerald City passed a “Bann on Animal Mobility,” that they “should be seen and not heard.” Animals were no longer allowed to travel in the same train cars, those coming of age were no longer allowed to hold jobs, and eventually they lost their ability to speak. Similar maybe to how our dogs, by law, must be on a leash, or if they are barking in a building a neighbor might complain. They are cute to look at, but no one wants to hear them. ..

The human animals decided they were “better-than.”  One of the main characters, a professor who also happens to be a Goat, was conducting a research project hoping to isolate “some bit of the biological architecture to prove that there isn’t any difference, deep down in the invisible pockets of human and Animal flesh – there there’s no difference between us,” hoping that if he can prove that there isn’t any inherent difference between humans and Animals, the Banns could not be upheld.  Government officials got wind of his project, and he was unfortunately murdered…

This book is fantasy, but eerily similar to our own real lives. Human animals have decided that we are “better-than” or superior to the other beings we share this planet with. Rather than sharing and communicating with our non-human neighbors, we have chosen to exploit them; using horses to pull carriages around central park, clearing hundreds of acres of trees to make room for a factory farm, or killing 45 million plus turkeys to celebrate Thanksgiving. Even the way we refer to ourselves as our pets “owners” or “masters” rather than caretakers. But the majority of our population would rather not admit this is happening.  My father, for example, LOVES animals. But when I try to get him to watch a movie about animal rights, like Earthlings, he refuses, because he KNOWS that animals have feelings and emotions just like us. But if he sees it, then it makes it true, and then he will have to change. And nobody likes change. ..

People in our society feel just as threatened as the characters in Wicked, because if they really saw what was happening to the billions of other beings on our planet, who are inherently the same as human-animals, they wouldn’t be eating meat and dairy. Our earthling counterparts are trapped in factory farms, literally on top of each other, never see the light of day, have their babies taken away from them almost immediately, and when they are sent to slaughter, very often they are still conscious when their throats are being slit, or they are dipped in boiling water.  And it is in our Government’s “interest” to hide this from us. Rather than admitting what really happens, our food is advertised as pretty pictures of a cow with its calf roaming a grassy field of flowers – something that hasn’t existed in our culture in 50 years.

There was a point in human history when we communicated with nature, but we have somehow lost our way… and rather than progressing towards kindness, we seem to be regressing towards Avidya, ignorance. Like in the case of my dad – ignorance is bliss, right?  (Yes, I just called my dad ignorant  – but he is CHOOSING to be so)

But I have hope that this could change. In Swami Satchidananda’s translation of the Yoga Sutra, he states that “when the vow of ahimsa (non-violence) is established in someone, all enmity ceases in his or her presence because that person emits harmonious vibrations. If two people who have enmity between them come to such a person, they will temporarily forget it.” Can you imagine what would happen if we all practiced ahimsa? How amazing would that be? It’s time to wake up and to no longer be ignorant.

 

 

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Radiate Love

Posted on October 18, 2013 by april dechagas

Govinda Hare Gopala Hare hey prabhu dinadayala Hare

 

Hey, you sweet Govinda, my closest friend, who loves me and allows me to love without inhibitions.

When you meet someone you have a strong connection to, there is always this initial excitement – butterflies in your stomach, a bit of tingling in the heart… just a hint of what love could be. And when you truly feel love, when you find someone who will be in your life forever in some way – a partner, a friend, a teacher – our perspective of the whole world changes. There is an overwhelming sense that everything is perfect, and everyone else around us can tell. Happiness exudes out of every pore of the body. But it’s fleeting…when this feeling is gone, we may find ourselves pining for it, waiting for the next moment we get to feel that way again…and there is also fear that comes along with that sense of love, often we put up walls, afraid to dive in and see what happens…

My Bhagavad Gita teacher, Joshua Greene, says that we thrill for love because that is what our soul truly is, LOVE. The butterflies and tingling – it’s like our body knows what our mind can’t quite grasp – giving us a tangible glimpse of what our true nature is. It doesn’t last because we are looking for it externally, when all we need to do is look internally. It is who we are – we don’t have to look very far. We practice yoga to connect with that true love, deep down inside. We work through past relationships and experiences, all those “issues” and “stuff”, often also putting up walls, and afraid to dive deeper. Hopefully, eventually, we realize we are love.

When you say to someone “I love you”, you are reflecting back to them who they truly are; love itself.  Radiate that love outwards. Give to someone what you truly want for yourself.

Radiate Love

 

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Your Own Personal Jesus

Posted on September 19, 2013 by april dechagas

sarva-bhūtastham ātmānaḿ

sarva-bhūtāni cātmani

īkṣate yoga-yuktātmā

sarvatra sama-darśanaḥ

Through the practice of yoga, the yogi sees the Divine Self in all beings and things.

Bhagavad Gita VI.29

I, like maybe some of you, have an aversion to the word God. But I really couldn’t figure out why.  I have been contemplating it for a while…and then I was riding the subway at 7:30 a.m., had not had coffee yet, and someone in the  subway car started preaching, VERY LOUDLY, about how only Jesus can save me, and I am going to hell if I don’t give my life over to God. This situation alone might cause an aversion to God. If God loved me, I wouldn’t be subjected to this at 7:30 in the morning!

But in all seriousness, one of the reasons it bothered me so much is that I was raised Jewish, and I don’t very much enjoy having someone else’s God being pushed on me.  But I’m not sure I feel comfortable with Judaism’s version of God either…where, like in many other religions, God could be wrathful, punishing you for something done wrong. While growing up, I can remember my mom saying many times “God’s going to punish you.” I also found that I was doing things, like going to temple or fasting on Yom Kippur, because “I am supposed to,” or “I should,” and not because I truly believed in what I was doing.

And then there is yoga.  I wasn’t very comfortable with yoga at first, with chanting the names of different deities, and having altars to those deities in front of me – the complete opposite of Judaism – where God doesn’t even have a name, and any imagery at all is considered idolatry. But the more I dove into my practice, the more I came to love it, because it is all about love.  While the yogic scriptures refer to a higher power, it is an unnamed higher power. Yogic philosophy allows you to view a higher power in whatever way you need to, your own personal God.  Jesus, Allah, Krishna, Mother Nature; whatever you need it to be. Yoga is all-inclusive, non-denominational, without any preferences.  Where it is ok to have feelings and emotions that may seem negative, like anger, jealousy, fear; and there are no “shoulds” – the key is how you react to those feelings.   In fact, throughout your asana practice, a lot of those feelings may come up. Maybe the teacher calls out a 5th wheel when we typically only do 3,  or asks you to think about someone who may have hurt you while you are in that last wheel. Or in my case, asks you to do an asana in a different way than you have been for the last 5 years. How do you react? The practice, as our Sanskrit teacher Manorama said recently, is having the courage to sit with it. Allow yourself to have those feelings, even if they seem negative. There is no judgment.  And if there is judgment, sit with that too. Eventually, through the practices of yoga, you will realize that you are the same as the annoying preacher on the subway, the person who hurt you, the trees, cows, grass, even the subway rats. We all come from the divine – however you choose to view it.

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We Are All Made of Stars

Posted on August 18, 2013 by april dechagas

Whether you love Moby or not (I’m on the love side of the equation), he got it right with his song “We are all Made of Stars” – according to quantum physics, 90% of our body is technically stardust, because all of the elements except for hydrogen and helium are created in stars…humans, animals, and almost all other matter on Earth contain the same elements – we are the universe!

This month’s focus at Jivamukti Yoga School is on Gopal – little baby Krishna. There are tons of stories about how little Gopal was always causing trouble; playing tricks on the cowherd gopis, or on his mother, Yashoda. All of the stories are entertaining – who doesn’t love a story about child mischief?!, but they all have some sort of lesson or insight within them as well.

There are various stories told of Gopal yawning while sitting on his mother’s lap, or of him getting yelled at for stealing butter or eating dirt, and opening his mouth up wide to cry – and when he opens his mouth, Yashoda is stunned by the sight, because inside Gopal’s mouth, she sees the entire universe. She sees the world being created, destroyed, being born again, and each and every human and animal and plant in existence. EVERYTHING was inside of Gopala’s mouth…

These stories are a reminder that we are all the same – animal, plant, mineral – THE SAME. If you truly saw yourself in each and every other being on this planet, would you still treat them the way you do now?

This month’s focus also allows us to become a bit more child-like. Maybe be a bit more curious, adventurous. Maybe turn things upside down, practice those handstands, see things from a more child-like point of view.  Have you ever done an inversion outside in the park? The trees looks amazing!

In keeping with the child-like theme, I felt like coloring the other day…so here is my child-like version of Yashoda seeing all of creation in Gopala’s mouth…

Gopala Universe

 

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Upcoming Yoga Classes

Posted on June 10, 2013 by april dechagas

If you haven’t already heard, I am now teaching at Jivamukti on Thursday nights, 8:00 p.m.  The class is an hour long, and taught in Hebrew (!), but it is a set sequence, the same each time you take it, and the poses are called out in Sanskrit. So there is no need to have any knowledge of Hebrew! You might even pick some up! In fact, that is how I learned to teach the class, just by going each week when my teacher and dear friend Tamar used to teach it…

In addition to this regular standing class, I will be subbing on the following dates:

Alphabet City Sanctuary, Friday, 6/14, 6:30 p.m. (Donation based, and my very first open level class!)

Jivamukti, Friday, 6/21, 7:00 a.m. & 8:10 a.m., Spiritual Warrior (In English!!)

Jivamukti, Sunday, 9/1, 4:10 p.m., Beginner Vinyasa

More dates to come! See you on the mat!

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Tat Twam Asi

Posted on June 2, 2013 by april dechagas

When you start practicing yoga, you’ll find that you start seeing little bits and pieces of yoga all around you. You’ll find beauty in your surroundings, like noticing for the first time the architecture of a building you’ve walked past a million times, or how the sun shines through the leaves of a tree in the late afternoon. You will find yourself feeling that everyone around you is an angel, and develop compassion for those who in the past may have made you angry…

I do not know if author John Irving actively practices yoga, but while reading his “A Prayer for Owen Meany,” I could not help but feel that he is in fact a yogi. Everything about that book felt yogic – but I am not sure I would have realized what the book was really about if it were not for my practice. This particular quote appealed to me: “Watahantowet believed that animals had souls, and that even the much-abused Squamscott River had a soul – Watahantowet knew that the land he sold to my ancestors was absolutely full of spirits. The rocks they had to move to plant a field – they were, forever after, restless and displaced spirits. And the trees they cut down to build their homes – they had a different spirit from the spirits that escaped those houses as the smoke from the firewood. Watahantowet may have been the last resident of Gravesend, New Hampshire, who really understood what everything cost. Here, take my land! There go my arms!” It is that last line that really got to me – “Watahantowet may have been the last resident who really understood what everything cost. Here, take my land! There go my arms!” Watahantowet (and possibly John Irving, since he wrote it…) is a realized being. He felt so strongly about his natural surroundings as being part of him, the same as him, that it was as if his own arms were being cut off.

…Through the practices of yoga, you will hopefully one day realize that you are the same as that person who made you angry, or the birds chirping in the morning, the cow in the field, the trees and rocks in the park, even the rats in the subway…one day… We all come from the divine; we are the divine. We are not the body and mind, yet we have a body and mind. Tat Twam Asi – That Thou Art; You Are That. Limitless, eternal, boundless joy.

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27 Days of Magic

Posted on May 24, 2013 by april dechagas

“Magic is a shift in perception.” – Sharon Gannon

As many of you know, I spent this past month at Jivamukti Yoga’s teacher training at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. The experience was almost indescribable; other than to say it was absolutely beautiful, perfect in every way, and definitely magical (in every sense of the word.)

I kept a journal of some thoughts/experiences I had while at Omega – some to do with the training, some about the enchanting surroundings of Omega, but really just one or two lines of something that happened on that day.  Some entries more exciting than others, but all meaningful in some way.

♥Love and blessings to Sharon-ji, David-ji, Lady Ruth, Emma-ji, Gayatri, Tina, Tomo and Petros for sharing your knowledge and love, and for making what I already thought was going to be an incredible month even more incredible than I could have ever imagined. Also a special thank you to Tamar-ji – although you weren’t physically there, you were with me every step of the way ♥

Day 1

So much nervous energy! During intros tonight, Sharon gave my cookies a shout-out! I wasn’t even going to mention them! I was touched by everyone’s intro, and sometimes surprised. So very excited to start this journey 🙂

Day 2

My assist from Lady Ruth today was a pat on the head 🙂

Emma asked me to lead om-ing in our mentor group meeting today ॐ

Ruth demo-ed a shavasana assist on Sharon. It was beautiful to watch. Sharon looked like an angel ♥

Day 3

Everyone keeps telling me how great I look in bright colors – Jiva should rethink the black uniforms…Sharon gave me an amazing assist in crow pose; I really need to get this “ribs in” thing down – so difficult when you are upside down! I was dreading the kriya lecture, but neti-ing really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I kind of liked it…

Day 4

During our lecture today, Sharon said that if I were a dog, I would be a Pekingese

Day 5

Partnered with Lady Ruth during our afternoon practical for the Warrior II assist 🙂 Sharon-ji showed me an assist afterwards, and I got to practice it on Petros. Woah.

Day 6

IT’S SANSKRIT DAY!

Day 7

Manorama asked me to chant for her, and told me she was touched by my practice ♥

Day 8

Ruth’s eyes are magical.

Day 9

So happy I read the Hatha Yoga Pradipika before coming here…

Day 10

Feeling like I can really do this. Each day I am here I want it more and more.

Day 11

Actually enjoyed taking the midterm (I know, I am a super-nerd).

I was invited to Sharon-ji and David-ji’s table at lunch, and David turns to me and says, “So, I’ve heard you memorized Samadhi Pada. Why not the rest of it?” Oy…

Radanath Swami appeared on stage as we came out of shavasana in the chakra tuning class. What an amazingly perfect ending to a beautifully powerful class.

May 4th – Day off (kind of)

Ecstatic chant weekend – no words.

Sharon-ji pulls me aside to introduce me to Gaura Vani (!), introduces me as a Sanskrita (!!!), and tells him I paid my tuition in cookies 🙂

May 5th – Day off (kind of)

I helped build the altar for the next day ♥

Day 14

IT’S SUTRA DAY!

Day 15

I was using a block during standing spinal twist and Petros came over to give me an assist. He asked if something hurt me if I didn’t use the block. When I answered no, he took the block and literally threw it away. Literally. Threw it. Guess I don’t need a block in standing spinal twist…

Day 16

The field is covered in fog and the sunlight shining through the trees and fog is breathtaking.

Day off

First truly rainy day we have had since being here. I am enjoying it 🙂

Day 17

During walking meditation in the woods, there were these tiny orange lizards scurrying around. They were beautiful and blended in with the leaves covering the earth. I thought lizards only lived in warm climates, and certainly never thought of them being in NY. So happy I’ve discovered them!

Sandhi came into full fire-fly on my hips while I was in half-wheel, and then Emma decided to lie over me while I was in full-wheel. There must be something about my hips today…

This afternoon I watched a rabbit eating dinner. It would methodically bite dandelions from the bottom of the stalk and slowly pull the rest in it’s mouth. Then I felt like I was being rude by staring, and went back inside.

Day 18

Any knowledge I had in my brain has oozed out of my ears, and I know nothing.

Bhumikas. Enough said.

Day 20

I’ve taught two full classes, and took the final. It’s really weird to not have to study tonight, but I get to enjoy the open class tomorrow stress free! I can’t believe this is almost over!

Day 21

Graduation day! When called up to receive my official certificate, I am introduced by Emma-ji as being “from” the Jivamuktea Cafe 🙂 While I’ve always been a part of the Jiva family, and often even confused for already being a teacher, I can now officially say I am a Jivamukti Yoga Teacher. YAY!

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See You in a Month!

Posted on April 20, 2013 by april dechagas

It’s finally here! Tomorrow I will be leaving for the month-long Jivamukti Yoga teacher training!

If you haven’t already heard the news (and sent me multiple “sad-face” messages), Cookie Devi will be on hiatus while I am away. But I will be back at the end of May, and have some new cookie ideas in mind!

I am also taking a technology vacation, so there will be no new blog posts or FB messages while I am away, but I’ll be keeping a journal and will definitely provide an update upon my return.

Thank you to everyone for all of your support, whether it was helping with my fundraising efforts, or supporting my businesses. I look forward to sharing my new adventure with you when I get back.

Love and Om,

April

Categories: Cookies, Cooking, Fundraising, Gluten Free, Yoga | Leave a comment

I am the SAME as a man carrying a gun on the subway. Are you?

Posted on March 12, 2013 by april dechagas

One of the New Yorker’s biggest annoyances is being on a train that is “stopped because of train traffic ahead of us,”  ” a sick passenger on the train,” or “due to a police investigation.” Earlier today I was on such a train. Not only was I on the train, but I was in the actual car that the “police investigation” was taking place.  This is a rarity, as most New Yorkers probably think a stopped train is just a game MTA employees like to play. A man who was supposedly carrying a gun (this could be true or not, as I did not see said gun) was all of a sudden taken over by two undercover policemen. There was a short scuffle, but overall the man did not resist too much. The policemen held the man uncomfortably pinned against the train, until about 10 minutes or so later, 6 uniformed policemen came to take the perpetrator away.

We were in a station, and I was only 1 stop away from where I was getting out anyway, but it was raining, and I already had to do my daily trek from 2nd and Houston to Union Square to deliver cookies, so I stayed put. Surprisingly everyone on the train remained calm, and minded their own business for the most part; no one complained about being late for where ever it was they were going – almost as if they see this on a regular basis. But it is not something you see on a regular basis, or at least I don’t. Maybe I am living in my own personal yoga bubble, but even though you hear about these things, and even know that they are happening every day, it is easy to forget or ignore.

I happened to have run into a fellow yogi and friend while on the train, and we were sitting together when this happened. I think we both had a similar reaction, where we personally felt hurt and a bit saddened by the situation. At one point I almost teared up, but it was not because I felt bad for the guy, or felt that I was in danger in any way. It was because the guy who was arrested and I are the same. The policemen and I are the same. Everyone who was on that train with me, we are all the same. I don’t necessarily think it was a good idea for that guy to be carrying around a gun, or even to own a gun (and this post is not meant to bring up conversation about gun control, that is a whole other conversation I’d rather not get into.) And I don’t know how I feel about undercover policemen hanging out on my train. But the only reason to carry a gun is to in some way protect yourself and I am sure we have all at some point felt like we needed to protect ourselves. And the policemen were just trying to protect those of us on the train. I am sure all of us at some point in our lives felt like we had to protect someone else. But until everyone on this earth realizes that we are all the same – humans, animals, trees, we are all the same – then we will all be living in a state of dis-ease. “Some guy” did not get arrested on the train today. Part of me was arrested too.

 

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