Yoga and the Wisdom of Beginning Again, … and again, … and again

Brisk, cold, wintry January sky in NYC. A clean slate, so pregnant with possibilities for the new year. The eternal movement from dark to light. The perfect slate upon which to begin again.

It’s time for new beginnings, both within ourselves and externally in the larger world. So much has changed in the past month. It’s as if the Earth and all its inhabitants are purging itself – volcanically – of the old, and moving forcefully toward a renewal. Boy do we need one – a major one.

But the cool thing about new beginnings is that endless possibilities abound. Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi encourages us to have a Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. He writes:

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.  In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

How can we empty our mind in order to cultivate a “beginners mind?” Well practice yoga, of course. Remember what the main goal of yoga practice is, as stated in these beginning verses of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: 

yogash chitta vritti nirodhah (verse 2)
tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam (verse 3)

Essentially, these verses mean that yoga practice’s aim is to help us to quiet down the movements of our own minds, so that we can realize who we really are – the Big Self, not the little self. In fact, a sign that you are progressing on the path of yoga is when you observe that you are less obsessed about your own little needs and more concerned about the needs and well-being of the people all around you, and indeed those of the very planet itself.

I have always found comfort in this meditation teaching from Sharon Salzberg:

[When we put our attention on the feeling of our breath] almost immediately we feel the healing power of being able to begin again. No matter where our attention has gone, or for how long, nothing’s ruined, nothing’s lost, we can always, always begin again. Everyone who meditates – both complete beginners and long-time meditators – gets high-jacked by thoughts and feelings. It’s just impossible not to. But it’s completely possible to start over. Wherever we’ve gone, we can begin again. It’s not a sign of failure. It’s not remedial practice. This is the practice. This ability to let go and begin again is the kind of fruit that we take into our ordinary life. We might stray from our chosen course, but realize we can begin again. We might lose sight of our aspiration, but realize we can begin again. We might make a mistake, but realize we can begin again.

I hope you too can take comfort in these words, especially each time you perceive you’ve failed. I fail to live up to my highest aspirations often. But each time I do, more and more now I find them to be moments to begin again to not berate myself yet again, and to begin again to cultivate a personal understanding of what it means to be a human who, like everyone else, has both flaws and unlimited possibilities.

And what about those aspirations? If you’re like me, you’ve probably set some New Year’s resolutions and SMART goals for 2021. Another favorite quote of mine – from Goethe – might be a helpful reminder of your innate power:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation.  There is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves to.  All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way.  Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.  Begin it now.  

Whatever are your highest aspirations for the new year, I invite you to join me in ‘beginning again’ and ‘beginning it now’ to achieve them!

Know that I salute your courage!

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May your mind be clear, …
May your mind be a beginner, again, …
May you begin again, … and again, … and again, …
May you begin again, NOW, …
For the benefit of ALL beings everywhere. 

Aloha, with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

May your yoga and meditation practice lead you to new heights!

Yoga and the Wisdom of Native Americans

Take Heart — the gray skies have much to teach us.. And yes, soon the light will burst through and illuminate the clear skies above.

I watch Nature and Discovery shows every chance I get. On a recent show, I learned that Native Americans have been on the American continent for over 12,000 years. That blew me away. That’s a long time to gain wisdom, and it saddens me that so much of it has been lost over the 400+ years that Europeans have been on this continent. It’sis especially sad to me as Native Americans have a lot to teach us contemporary Americans. As a part-indigenous person myself (I am part Native Hawaiian), I know first-hand the destruction of native people’s ways and the struggles that go with living in both old and new ways. Hence, I dedicated my yoga teaching in December to the wisdom of Native Americans in hopes that they could serve as reminders for how to live a more fully realized life in 2021, especially after the year we’ve all been through.

Pema Chödrön re-tells this story:

There was a story that was widely circulated a few days after the attacks of September 11, 2001, that illustrates our dilemma. A Native American grandfather was speaking to his grandson about violence and cruelty in the world and how it comes about. He said it was as if two wolves were fighting in his heart. One wolf was vengeful and angry, and the other wolf was understanding and kind. The young man asked his grandfather which wolf would win the fight in his heart. And the grandfather answered, “The one that wins will be the one I choose to feed.”

If anything, the pandemic has exposed the inequalities that exist on our planet. A few at the top have prospered, those in the middle are enduring, while far too many in the lower rungs of society have suffered. Truly the recovery has been “K-shaped.” As conscious yogis, we must ask ourselves – which wolf will we choose to feed? Hopefully, most of us will wait to get the vaccine until when it’s our turn, rather than jump the line and go before someone who has truly suffered and has more need than we do. Will you choose to feed the wolf of fairness and moral uprightness?

I also learned of this Native American belief:

A healer needs to have some gray in his/her hair.

If “Madison Avenue” and Hollywood could have their way, they would make you want to get rid of all your gray hairs when they appear. But as yogis, hopefully our practice can teach us the wisdom of letting the gray be. It symbolizes that the experience of life has taught us important lessons. Similarly, I know “the weather outside is frightful,” but the gray skies symbolize the vast amount of wisdom that we have all gained during this “year-of-the-pandemic,” and I do believe that hidden in the gray are seeds of promise that will flourish in the coming spring. Will you join me in watering those seeds – even if we can’t see them – with kindness and understanding?

Crazy Horse (1840-1877) was a Native American Warrior who fought against the encroachment of American settlers and for the Native American way of life. He famously said:

I salute the light within your eyes where the whole universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you, and I am at that place within me, we shall be one.

At the end of my yoga classes, I offer students the opportunity to share “Namaste,” which translates to “I bow down to the Light within You.” In his own way, Crazy Horse was practicing yoga when he uttered these words. He truly knew that we are all One. As yogis, it is our duty to use the practice to help us move closer to our centers. For it is at that place that we can truly be of use to the world. As you continue or renew your yoga practices in January, use Crazy Horse to inspire. Keep moving towards the peaceful center within you so you can do your part in recognizing the unity of all beings. It is at that place that we can truly help the world to heal from the pandemic. As you start your new year, will you join me in feeding the wolf that sees the Light within all beings?

As we close out 2020:

May you truly be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you use this “season of gray” to gain wisdom for the coming spring …
May you practice the Wisdom of Native Americans …
For the benefit of ALL beings everywhere.

Aloha, with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

I wonder what the the folks up on Jupiter and Saturn must be trying to tell us earthlings right now?! (Pinch out to find Saturn.)

Yoga and the Wisdom of Enough Is Enough

A new day is dawning in America.

As Americans, we are beyond fortunate to live in a land of plenty. We have a plethora of things to not only fulfill our basic food, clothing, and shelter needs, but also more than enough things to indulge our pleasurable wants and desires. (Can you say “binge-watching Schitt’s Creek on NetFlix”, which my husband and I did throughout Thanksgiving week?!) As yogis, though, it’s important to know when enough is enough.

There’s a Chinese saying that goes like this: “Have you eaten to contentment?”

We can apply this sentiment to many aspects of our lives. For example, the distinguished yoga teacher, Donna Farhi, says:

 "The world doesn't really need more people who can bend their bodies into amazing positions. What it needs are kinder, more compassionate, generous people."

As you’re practicing yoga asana, it’s important to know when enough is enough. Remember, yoga is a balance of effort and surrender. One mustn’t overindulge in the effort part. And in terms of building good yoga karma, it really doesn’t matter if you can stand on your head for 20 minutes or put your foot behind your head. Rather, what really matters is that you be kind and compassionate with yourself, so that you can then be even more kind and compassionate with others around you. If anything, be more generous with the ease in which you approach your practice.

Why is this important? Well, according to distinguished Buddhist meditation teacher, Jack Kornfield:

“Our body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care."

In a way, our mortal bodies are a gateway to knowing our immortal selves. When we are feeling good in our bodies, we have more of a capacity to know our true nature, our divine being. When we are not feeling at ease in our bodies, our awareness is stuck in the pain and suffering we’re experiencing.

It’s worth remembering these words from David Simon:

“The same creative force that generated the universe created your body. It is vibrating with intelligence and spirit. It is ultimately sacred and worthy of your love, respect and intention. Take good care of it and it will take good care of you.”  

For sure, the peace and joy we seek starts with us taking care of our bodies. The venerable Thich Nhat Hanh writes:

PEACE begins with each of us taking CARE
                  of our bodies and minds EVERYDAY.

I hope that as you enjoy the holiday season that you will keep in mind, as I am, when enough is enough. Indulge, but try not to overindulge. The benefits extend beyond just you.

AS the holiday season gets busier, I hope you will take short breaks to take care of your body and mind. Here a few of my current micro-habits which have been getting me through:

• Dancing for 5 minutes to a lively ‘get up and dance’ song

• Doing one-minute sprints down the block between my appointments 

• Doing 4 rounds of ‘4, 7, 8’ breathing in the morning before starting my day 

And speaking of “enough is enough”, it looks like the majority of American’s have had enough. For the sake of the entire planet, we can breathe sighs of relief collectively. Yes, a new day is dawning in America. As the old dies off in these coming winter months, I do believe it will give way to an amazing spring awakening for the planet.

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you fill just to contentment, …
May you be OK with enough being enough…
May you vibrate with the wisdom and intelligence of the Universe, …
For the benefit of ALL beings everywhere. 

Aloha, with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

One of my favorite images from this past month. The simplicity of the ornaments match the simple beauty of Central Park. Truly an example of enough is enough!

Yoga and the Art of Working with Uncertainty

Clouds of uncertainty are hanging over our beloved United States at this time.

We are living in uncertain times. This Tuesday, an event will take place that could affect the future of the planet. My friend and yoga teacher extraordinaire, Mary Aranas, suggested to me that we, as yogis, have been preparing for this moment. We’ve been practicing all these years to meet just this kind of moment. 

Yes, it’s stressful and anxiety provoking. And no, we don’t have to run from the feelings. In fact, Pema Chödrön suggests we can run towards them, which may end up being more beneficial to us. She says:

… rather than being disheartened by the ambiguity, the uncertainty of life, what if we accepted it and relaxed into it? What if we said, “Yes, this is the way it is; this is what it means to be human,” and decided to sit down and enjoy the ride? …

"Sticking with uncertainty is how we learn to relax in the midst of chaos, how we learn to be cool when the ground beneath us suddenly disappears."

For sure, these past four years have felt like the ground was constantly shifting underneath us. This NY Times editorial suggests 15 things we’ve lost over these years. As much as it is our civic duty to go out and vote, might it also be our civic and yogic duty to meet the feelings of uncertainty head on rather than running away from them? In so doing, perhaps we can transform them into something useful and add to the calm amidst the chaos, a calm that will be so needed on Election day and the days following. 

Irwin Kula, American Rabbi writes:

The more you unfold, the less you unravel.
The only way we can grow is to let go of our “not me.”
You can’t really get enough of what you don’t really need.
Embrace the messiness of life.
“Daieno”: being happy with enough
There’s a lot to be learned in the messiness.
Uncertainty is the key to learning something new.

I think he’s essentially saying here that we have to train in unfolding amidst the vicissitudes of life. Yoga can help us to create the spaciousness within that will meet life’s moments freer of the biases that come when we have expectations of how things should be and pre-determined ideas about how karma should be unfolding in our earthly experiences. Hopefully we can somehow emerge from this very messy period having learned many new things. Hopefully, they can lead us to a period of progress that will redefine for all of us what it truly means to be great again. Our potential for greatness can only be realized if we’re willing to embrace uncertainty and touch the messiness.

A SAG Foundation workshop for actors entitled Embracing Uncertainty, had these useful ideas:

Ironically, one of the few certain things in life is uncertainty. This is especially true for those who pursue a road less traveled, take creative risks, and seek to welcome vulnerability as a friend. … our relationship with uncertainty affects our well-being and decision-making, and [can lead us to] learn strategies for leaning into ambiguity. Though fear may temp us to resist it, embracing the unknown can lead to innovation, growth, quieter anxiety, and a deeper connection with others and ourselves. As author Dame Margaret Drabble mused, "When nothing is sure, everything is possible."

For sure, actors, like all artists, live with uncertainty all the time. In Nature, we see tremendous diversity of plant and animal species. Perhaps this is the result of all of these living things living with the biggest uncertainties they face daily – will I eat or be eaten today?! Perhaps Nature is telling us not to hold on so tight to a rigid experience of life, but rather to let it unfold so that each moment can be pregnant with many possibilities, rather than just the few our mind is fixated on.

Deepak Chopra says:

Uncertainty is my path to freedom...

There is something incredibly freeing about not knowing how things are going to turn out. This way of meeting life’s unfolding can create space in our mind and heart to manifest realities we might not have imagined otherwise.

And finally, NY Times Editorialist David Brooks, sums it up for us:

Modesty means having the courage to rest in anxiety and not try to quickly escape it. Modesty means being tough enough to endure the pain of uncertainty and coming to appreciate that pain. Uncertainty and anxiety throw you off the smug island of certainty and force you into the free waters of creativity and learning. As Kierkegaard put it, “The more original a human being is, the deeper is his anxiety.”

Anxiety is not an easy thing to experience for certain. But perhaps on November 3rd and in the days following you will end up being more original!

At any rate, I certainly hope that your yoga and meditation practices to date have prepared you well for this week ahead. See you on the other side!

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you unfold more and unravel less, …
May you be an original!, …
May you touch uncertainty , …
For the benefit of ALL beings everywhere. 

Aloha, with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

Yoga and Self-Care in the Age of the Coronavirus

May this grand old lady continue to stand as a symbol of freedom and liberty for all Americans for many sunsets ahead, despite the looming dark clouds in our collective hearts and minds in the current political environment.

What does self-care look like in this time of the Coronavirus?  

During the pandemic, I’ve been indulging in one of my guilty pleasures – watching Nature shows. I love having this extra time to see beyond the concrete jungle of Manhattan to see the real jungles out there in the larger world. I love having this time to watch shows about the Universe – they remind me of how small humans are in the whole of cosmic creation. I enjoyed watching a show on the rise of mammals, and how they rose up after dinosaurs were wiped from the earth as a result of the asteroid collision. I was recently enthralled by a show on the rise of Christianity during the time of the Roman Empire, how Christians were at one time persecuted by the Romans and then eventually how Christianity became tolerated as a religion when the Emporor Constantine the Great came into power in the early 4th Century. All these shows have given me hope for humanity, and all life on earth in general. That which at one time seemed impossible ended up arising, against all odds.

We’re living in a dark time, in my view. So much of the progress we’ve made as a civil society, an imperfect union, has been lost in the last four years. And much more may be lost in coming years depending on the outcome of the elections.

I am heart-broken at Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s passing. Yet, I remind myself that her dissents, as it’s been suggested, may indeed become the blueprints for a more equitable world in the future. Ideas may take a long time to germinate, but progress always starts with someone having dreamed up an idea – no matter how crazy it may have seemed at that time in history. Thank God for all the seeds RBG planted in the fertile psyches of those of us who try to cultivate an imperfect yet ever more open mind through yoga and meditation practices.  RBG’s life mission will not be forgotten.

There are many things we can all do to make sure that we don’t lose all the good things we have the privilege of having. And one of these things we can and should do is practice self-care. Here are some of the ideas of Stanford Professor, Dr. Jacob Towery:

“One of the messages I took with me is that being compassionate to others is wonderful, but self-compassion is incredibly important, too.” He emphasizes that the more we prioritize compassion for ourselves, the more we can be available to be compassionate, patient and kind toward others. “It doesn’t have to be someone winning and someone losing. If you prioritize self-care, other people in your life can also benefit from you being happier, kinder and more patient. It is not a zero-sum game. Everyone can win.”

For more years than I can remember, I’ve done a morning metta meditation where I start my day quietly uttering phrases to myself like: “May I be happy … may I live with ease … may I have compassion for myself.” To me, this is self-care.

Self-care for me has also meant practicing saying “no” to things. As Steve Jobs said:

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”

So, self-care for me has involved focusing on a few things daily that are really important to me, and saying “no” to numerous other things. 

And self-care during the age of coronavirus has meant slowing down and doing less, not more. It has meant taking care of my physical and mental health through regular exercise and meditation. As the sentiment goes, if we don’t take care of ourselves first, we’ll have nothing left to give to others. 

So yes, get worked up about the upcoming election. But also, plant seeds for the future recovery by practicing self-care and self-compassion. The recovery may take one generation or hundreds, but the seeds will have been planted by you along with other luminaries like RBG. Remember, your happiness and well-being are not a zero-sum game.

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you extend compassion to yourself, …
May you know self-care intimately, …
For the benefit of ALL beings everywhere.

Aloha, with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

Yoga and Service, in the Age of Coronavirus

Another long-time fixture in Hellʻs Kitchen, NYC, shuttered. So sad! #nyccovidclosures

What does service look like in the time of Coronavirus? Perhaps the story of Hanuman has some answers.

I have always loved the story of Hanuman, and have been teaching a yoga sequence leading to the posture Hanumanasana (forward-splits) yearly around this time for more years now than I can remember. In addition to being a good stretch for the hamstrings, hip flexors, and chest, the themes of the story – acquiring knowledge for the benefit of the greater good, devotion to something bigger than little me, letting go of ego’s grip – have always inspired me to seek ways I can be of service to humanity. 

The character Hanuman appears in the Hindu myth, the Ramayana. Essentially, Hanuman, who was deeply devoted to his master, Lord Rama, seeks to serve him by rescuing Rama’s wife Sita, who had been captured and taken to the island Lanka in the middle of the ocean. Hanuman comes to the edge of the ocean, and in that moment is reminded of the enormous physical and mental powers that lie deep within him. He gathers up those powers and does a giant spit-leap over the ocean landing on Lanka. He eventually rescues Sita and returns her to Rama. As Professor Joshua Greene puts it, Yin and Yang are reunited. 

Hanuman represents things that can be particularly useful to us as we endure the pandemic. For example, Hanuman was so devoted to serving the greater good that he somehow found the strength to do so through his superhuman feat of leaping over the ocean. Similarly, as we protect our own health and well-being at this time, we must be aware that our own health is connected to the health of those around us. Yes, wearing a mask may seem like a chore and an imposition, but it can save lives, and not just our own. We all have this wonderful opportunity to serve by protecting the health and well-being of others in our community, and when we are aware of the larger picture, we have access to the deepest wells of resilience and perseverance that lie hidden within ourselves. Knowing we’re helping others through our own actions can inspire us to continue to keep being safe for the remainder of the pandemic.

Hanuman got his flying abilities from his father, Vayu, the wind god. I have always loved this quote from the spiritual teacher, Neem Karoli Baba:

I am like the Wind, No one can hold me,
I belong to everyone, No one can own me.

 In this age of the pandemic, we really do belong to everyone, as we are all so interconnected. The virus can be carried by our own winds, so it’s best we keep that closed in at this time. But more importantly, remembering that we can belong to everyone and that thus no one can own us gives us a sense of freedom in realizing that we have opportunities to serve the many. Being like the wind, our own good deeds can carry far, and serve more people than we can imagine. Being like the wind, we are reminded that our small acts of goodness do indeed carry very far.

 May you not be held nor owned by anyone, yet …
May you belong to everyone, … 
May you find your deepest wellsprings of strength, devotion, and perseverance at this time, … 
For the benefit of all beings everywhere.

Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun

View from way down below in Hudson Yards. The clouds are a constant reminder of the wind’s effect at all times around us. We are all interconnected.

Yoga and the Art of Being Content in a Time of Discontent

Gray skies may indicate discontent in the outer world, but these flowers and leaves seem very content with the way things are just as they are right now. It's a lesson for all of us at this time.

New York City is slowly climbing back from the deepest throes of the shut-down back in April, May. The health and wellness, and entertainment industries in which I work in New York City have been closed down for just over 4 months now due to the pandemic. I haven’t been able to fly down to Florida to see my husband in over 5 months. I, for one, am starting to feel inner rumblings of wanting things to return a little more to the way things were 5 months ago. Surely, many reasons to feel discontent. And yet, I know, continued patience is called for. And I also know that this is the time to practice the yoga niyama (observance) called Samtosha or Contentment.

According to the Yoga Sutras (Chapter 2, Sutra 42),

"From an attitude of contentment (santosha), limitless happiness, mental comfort, joy and satisfaction occur." 

Here are some commentaries on this sutra from prominent yoga teachers:

First understand what contentment is. It is not happiness but a condition for happiness. It is not complacency or just saying "oh, whatever" - instead it is serenity and an acceptance of whatever is. 
– Mehtab 

Contentment is not a sissy concept.  In order to be content, one must have won and lost, gained and given up, been up and been down.  In order to be content, one must have lived fully. … Samtosha is the ability to remain present with, and in fact remain happy with, the circumstances of just this moment. 
– Judith Lasater

And then, of course, one of the greatest spiritual teachers of all time, the Buddha, taught:

“Contentment is the greatest wealth.”
– Dhammapada 204

So even in the midst of the rages of the pandemic, I’ve found it helpful to remember how lucky I am with the way things are in some respects. I still have food on the table and a roof over my head. I realize many others are struggling with that at the moment. The extra amounts of quiet time I’ve been bathing in has helped me to reflect on my life and the directions it was going in pre-pandemic and begin to set new priorities and S.O.P.s when this is behind us. Yes, I’ve had to give up certain freedoms (like enjoying a good restaurant meal), have had to restrict my movements around the city, and have had to keep my mask on everywhere I go outside my apt. But I’ve also been able to protect my own health and feel good about protecting the health of my loved ones. And I’ve learned to be more self-sufficient – cooking more, learning to cut my own hair, exercising on my own daily – all things I might not have done before this all started. 

What has helped build contentment within me has been micro-practices such as these:
1)   Dharma Teacher, Tempel Smith, suggests we “Incline the mind towards contentment over dissatisfaction.” Doing so, he says, will move us closer to the highest yogic experience – samadhi or realization. For me, it means daily and sometimes moment-by-moment practicing of moving my mind towards being OK with things just as they are in this moment, and gently accepting things as they are.
2)   BJ Fogg, social science research associate at Stanford University and author of books on persuasion techniques, suggests:
a)  “Lower your expectations!” This one is great for me to remember, as I often strive to achieve too much.
b)  “Celebrate your behavior – give yourself an ‘awesome’ affirmation every once in a while.” It’s been nice to pause and give myself little pats on the back every now and then.
c)  “Plant a tiny seed in the right spot and it will grow without coaxing.” During the pandemic, I’ve tried to develop little habits – e.g. a short set of sit-ups at the end of my daily yoga practice, a short routine of yin yoga before bedtime, an extra serving of fruits and vegetables every day – that have remained consistent and even grown over the past 4 months.
3)   Krishna Das suggests accepting and working with one’s own karmic stains from the past, and negotiating them as best one can in this lifetime. So, I try not to worry too much about trying to be the perfect yogi or meditator, but just being the best I can be given the limitations of my own karmic baggage.

I don’t know what your personal situation is and what karmic baggage is playing out in your life at the moment, but I do have empathy for what you’re experiencing. I hope you can remember, as I’ve had to, that though we’ve endured a lot, we still have much capacity to endure more. If it means saving a life – whether ours or someone else’s – that will surely bring contentment to your being.

May you endure for just one more day, … 
May you know you are wealthy already … 
May you be inclined towards contentment, … 
For the benefit of all beings everywhere.

Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun

Yoga and the Art of Working with Insecurity

A Sunday in the Park, nothing more delightful than animals and children laughing! Two of our most vulnerable -- children and Geese -- enjoying each other.

Feeling insecure lately? Read on!

New York City is finally coming out of its shutdown, but the pandemic is still raging on in parts of our beloved, yet troubled country – sadly due to much willful denial. Racial injustice is front and center in our collective awareness, as opposed to being buried in back pages of the news, where it all too often has been. Unemployment is in the double digits, and my two beloved work/life passions – teaching and acting – are still shut down. It’s all enough to make one feel very insecure!

Yet, I am hopeful.

I’ve often referred back to an interview I saw in the early 2000’s that Bill Moyers had with Pema Chodron. Among the many memorable quotes I remember hearing Pema say was this one (paraphrasing): 

When an old culture is dying, the new culture will be formed by men and women who are not afraid of insecurity.

I think her comment was so foretelling! Here we have a president who is hyper-insecure and who tries to hide it by bullying and bashing others. Contrast that with the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, who is seemingly not afraid to show his insecurities, vulnerabilities, and fallibilities. If Pema is correct, perhaps we are in a period where an old culture is dying and a new – and hopefully better – one is forming. Hopefully!

As practitioners of yoga and meditation, we get to sit back and observe our own insecurities play out. And rather than give into our habitual pattern of running away from our insecurities, we have the increased capacity to let them play out, not deny nor run away from them, and hopefully develop more compassion along the way. Pema offers us more guidance here:

In the process of discovering bodhichitta (our spiritual warrior nature), the journey goes down, not up. It’s as if the mountain pointed toward the center of the earth instead of reaching into the sky. Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward the turbulence and doubt. We jump into it. We slide into it. We tiptoe into it. We move toward it however we can. We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away. If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it is. At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down. With us move millions of others, our companions in awakening from fear. At the bottom we discover water, the healing water of bodhichitta. Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die.

If we are going to be able to be useful in any way to ourselves and to others, we must be willing to touch our insecurities. We must be willing to see our fears, vulnerabilities, and failings, and not run in the other direction. And fortunately, yoga and meditation provide the perfect conduit for these energies to flow and ultimately be transformed into something useful. 

As Sharon Salzberg, another prominent western Buddhist meditation teacher, says here:

There is a saying in the Chinese tradition: "If you want to understand the nature of water, look at the waves." If we look deeply into the waves of phenomena of the body and mind, we will see the 3 characteristics that are, according to the Buddha, the nature of life: change, insecurity, and egolessness.

Life is an ebbing and flowing from one part of our true nature to another. I don’t know, really, that as we grow older that we ever don’t experience insecurity. But I do think that as we grow older, we develop more of an ability to not let our insecurities overwhelm us. And hopefully, as we age we bear witness to more and more change to the point where it doesn’t bother us as much when things do change. Probably most importantly for us as yoga and meditation practitioners is that our practices over the long-term begins to quell our ego.

The yogi and author, Sadhguru, says:

‘I do not know’ is not a negative state of mind. Every discovery has come from this realization.

For sure, during this period of the pandemic, all of us have awoken each morning experiencing “not knowing.” For sure, it’s caused feelings of insecurity to arise within. For me, I had to reimagine how Keoni Movement Arts, the nonprofit I founded, was going to operate. It took a lot of enduring the daily grind of waking up each morning, acknowledging there was a lot I didn’t know, and as I asked more questions than I had answers for, being open to the answers somehow appearing. For sure, I have had many new realizations and made many new discoveries along the way during these past 3-1/2 months. As uncomfortable as the feelings have been, the experience also gave me a new sense of confidence in my ability to be able to figure things out. I acknowledge now that none of this would have happened if I wasn’t open to accepting “I do not know.”

I really do think that insecurity is going to be seen as the new machismo, and vulnerability will be seen as the new sign of strength. For the sake of our beloved experiments with democracy, I surely hope I am right. For now, I can only suggest that as yogis/nis and meditators that we seek strength through being vulnerable.

Lastly, during these turbulent times, let us not remember one of the Buddha’s important teachings:

With gentleness overcome anger.
With generosity overcome meanness.
With truth overcome deceit.

Let’s use our yoga and meditation practices to ride the waves of insecurity and transform them into something that is useful for all. Let’s start by being gentle and generous towards and truthful with ourselves.

May you ride the waves of your insecurities, …
May you embrace “I do not know”, … 
May you discover the love deep within yourself that will not die, …
For the benefit of all beings everywhere.

Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun

Talk about feeling insecure!

Yoga and the Art of Being Pono, Balanced

My teddy bear acting a balancing ball for this playground seal.

The end of May is here. At last. All around us signs of life are springing up.

As we reopen and resume normality, a fundamental question we can ask ourselves is: " is this pono?"

In Hawaii, where I was born, there is a practice of asking: “is it pono?” We learn this from a young age, as children. Essentially this means (according to this source): “… for Hawaiians. To be pono means to be in a state of harmony or balance with oneself, others, the land, work and life itself. … [At every step in our life we ask] ‘will what I am about to do help bring harmony and good into the world?’”

A goal of yoga is to achieve balance, or a feeling of equanimity in our minds, both on and off our yoga mats. Thus, as we practice the physical asana, a useful question we can ask ourselves each step of the way: “is what I am doing right now, how I am relating to myself in this yoga posture, going to bring harmony and good into my world, and by extension to the outer worlds as well?” If we can answer “yes” to this, then we will achieve more balance.

From the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sutra 2.62 reads:

Sthira sukham asanam

Essentially this means that in yoga postures (this sutra speaks specifically of meditation posture, the original yoga posture), there has to be a balance of steady effort with comfort and ease. Balance exists in the equality of this opposition. Another way of saying this is in everything we do, we have to balance equally our efforts – to provide steadiness and stability – with surrender – to provide lightness and comfort.

Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy, from Yoga Alliance, suggests:

Ask yourself, “How can I find balance between effort and ease? What steps am I taking every day – on and off the mat – that allow me to transform my world?”

This is particularly relevant right now at this time when the world is experiencing events of perhaps cataclysmic proportions. Yes, we need to balance our outrage and protests against the deaths of black men like George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery with the spaciousness of mind to allow for a bigger understanding to emerge so that compassion and grace can help to lay the foundation for solutions to arise that ultimately will create a better world. Yes, we have to balance seriously following the guidelines of the medical experts on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with the courage to begin to venture out safely, for both ourselves and the larger community. In this situation, yes, it is the pono thing to do to wear a mask out in public, for the good of all. Please do this so that we don’t risk another uptick in the infection and death rates, which will cause us to have to go into shelter-in-place again.

But as we balance venturing both outward and inward, it’s good to remember this passage from the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna says to Arjuna:

You have control over your actions alone, never over its fruits.
Live not for the fruits of action,
Nor attach yourself in inaction.
Established in yoga, O Arjuna, perform actions having abandoned attachment, 
And having become balanced in success and failure.
For balance of mind is called yoga.

The goal of yoga is not to be able to stand on your head. The goal of yoga is to help us to live in pono with the ourselves and the entire planet. Now, go forth and use your yoga practice to help the world out of these messes in a pono kind of way.

May you be steady and comfortable in all your actions, …
May you let go of success and failure, …
May you do what is pono, …  
For the benefit of all beings everywhere. 

Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun

Addendum, posted 6/1/20: It occurred to me yesterday after reading this NY Times editorial by the sister of Chris Cooper — the black man who was bird-watching in Central Park when a white woman attempted to call the police on him — that this was an example of pono in action. Chris acted with equanimity and calm as he confronted the woman. Acting gracefully while under the fire of explicit/implicit racism, his actions will certainly lead to transformative conversations about the racism that exists in all of us. Bravo Chris for practicing yoga off the mat with both sthira and sukha, and for remaining balanced through it all.

#meditationfun. Life is a real balancing act for both me and my teddy bear right now!

Yoga and the Art of Working with the Unknown, part 2

The sky above may be cloudy and grey, but spring keeps springing as leaves are awakening into an unknown future.

Here it is, April 30th and most of us are becoming loopy by being in lockdown. I read a quote from the Chopra Center, which said: Instead of rigidly clinging to the familiar, embrace the unknown.  This will spark your creativity. In a way, we’ve all been forced to work with the unknown by not clinging to the familiar and by embracing not knowing. And for sure, it has sparked a lot of creativity in all of us. 

For me, it’s shown up in being creative in things like cutting my own hair! Fortunately, I have 2 mirrors which I can place in front and in back of me – who knew one could do a relatively decent job of cutting one’s own hair!

It’s also been a time for me to re-up my cooking skills and make use of things that had been in my cupboards too long. I used some old almond butter to substitute for peanut butter in my Thai Massaman Curry dish, which turned out great!

Working with the unknown has also meant letting go of trying to get things right but rather just doing what we have to do, daily. The Hindu Teacher Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj said:

“You just do what needs to be done, leaving success and failure to the unknown. For everything is caused by innumerable factors, of which your personal endeavour is but one. Yet such is the magic of man's mind and heart that the most improbable happens when human will and love pull together.”

For sure, this whole pandemic situation will result in a lot of suffering. But also, for sure, it will also bring out qualities of faith, resilience, and action in the face of not knowing. And in a way – especially as yoga practitioners – we are called upon to act, doing what needs to be done, even if we don’t know what will result from our actions. 

Nisargadatta Maharaj’s statement also reminds us that we are all interconnected, which is what yoga teaches us. And somehow through each of our individual acts of kindness, generosity, and ingenuity at this time, we will somehow build upon each other’s actions and create in some ways a better future world. Will we learn that we need far less than we thought we did? For the sake of the planet, I do think and hope so.

In considering how to work with the unknown, we have the examples of numerous artists all around us. The prominent 20th Century choreographer, Agnes de Mille, said:

"Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what's next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little. The artist never entirely knows. We guess.
We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.”

During this pandemic, the arts community has been one of the most greatly affected. With theaters and movie studios shuttered, jobs have been lost or put on hold. Yet artists constantly live and work with the unknown, and are constantly taking leaps into the dark. Artists tend to be very resilient types be as they’re used to be being battered around and still in the end finding a way through the challenges. But there is some comfort in knowing that it’s OK to guess at life, and maybe even that it’s OK to not know how. The human experience, I think, is best and most exhilaratingly lived when we step away from our controlling mind and step into the flow of life, allowing the path to reveal itself one step at a time. In this way, working with the unknown is not something to be feared, but rather to be welcomed. If this approach worked well for such a creative genius as Agnes de Mille, and resulted in amazing works of movement arts, the it’s good enough and welcome for me!

As the Japanese Zen Priest, Kosho Uchiyama, said: “When we let go of all our notions about things, everything becomes really true.” For sure, during this time of immense unknown we’ve been forced to let go of a lot of our notions about things. But hopefully, if there is any silver lining to all of this, it’s that we can see life in its rawest truth more clearly. 

May you do what needs to be done, …
May you leave your successes and failures to the unknown, …
May the improbable happen, …
May you let go of your notions about things, … 
May you take an artistic leap into the darkness, … 
For the benefit of all beings everywhere.

Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun

Yoga and the Art of Working with the Unknown (part 1)

View from midtown Manhattan, March 30th. We know the Light is there, we just don't know when it will shine brightly again.

Here it is, March 31st – the last day of an extraordinary month in human history. So much calamity, fear, and suffering, and also so many opportunities for ingenuity, generosity and discipline to arise.

We are bathed in a lot of quiet right now, something that most people like me who live in New York City are not used to. Yet, in some ways, as yoga practitioners, we’ve been preparing ourselves for this moment. It’s almost like we’ve been forced to go on that silent meditation retreat that we’ve long wished we had the time  in our busy lives to carve out for and do. Now, many of us have that time.

For this month’s theme in my yoga classes, I went back to one of my favorites that I’ve shared in the past. Little did I know back at the beginning of this month when I chose my theme that it would end up being so apropos to this particular moment.

Many years ago I listened to Bill Moyers interviewing Pema Chödrön. I never forgot what she said:

The best spiritual instruction is when you wake up in the morning and say “I wonder what’s going to happen today,” … and carry that kind of curiosity through your life.

The goal of practicing yoga and meditation is to try to keep the mind open and spacious, and keep it from becoming clouded over. One of the best ways to do that is remain curious. It will help free the mind to consider possibilities, rather than get bogged down in limited thinking.

And I don’t know where or when this thought came to me, but someone once said:

Revel in not knowing.
Unknown

Yes, not knowing can be scary. And, it can be liberating as well. 

Most of us are facing a lot of questions that cannot be answered at this time. And since we don’t have a playbook for this moment, most of us are flying by the seat of our pants. 

But what if we gave ourselves the space and the OK to not know. Might we be able to even dare ourselves in reveling in not knowing? In this way, life can become thrilling, not threatening, as Pema Chödrön likes saying. 

Don’t think you’re alone in your fears. To that, Pema says:

There is a common misunderstanding among the human beings who have ever been born on earth that the best way to live is to try to avoid pain and just try to get comfortable. You see this even in insects and animals and birds. All of us are the same. A much more interesting, kind and joyful approach to life is to begin to develop our curiosity, not caring whether the object of our curiosity is bitter or sweet. …

So, working with the unknown right now involves cultivating the capacity to remain curious for longer periods of time. It involves being more fully in the present moment by returning to the feeling of the breath over and over again. It involves becoming your own best yoga teacher by cultivating a regular daily personal routine. It doesn’t have to be long. Just do a few sun salutations, maybe a shoulder stand or head stand, and savasana. 

I hope that your yoga and meditation practices heretofore have prepared you for this moment.

May your mind be curious, …
May your mind be open and freer, …
May you somehow seize this moment, …
For the benefit of all beings everywhere. 

Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun

Yoga and the Art of Practicing Love

Nature exhibiting the Art of Practicing Love

I have a fantasy about what happens when you die. In my wildest imagination, I think that at that moment we pass into an awareness of an overwhelming sense of being held in love.

Valentine’s Day is an occasion to deepen one’s relationship with one’s beloved, one’s significant other. It can also be an opportunity to deepen our love for our own selves, to honor our own beings, and to listen to the callings of our own hearts. It is an opportunity for some of our own self-loathing patterns to die, and for us to be re-born into a deepening awareness of love for self.

According to Buddhist Teachers, Narayan Liebenson Grady, the Buddha taught:

We can search this entire world over and will not find anyone more deserving of our love and compassion than our self.

And yet for many of us, this is a tricky thing as we disentangle ourselves of our occasional acts of self-hatred and self-denigration. Most if not all humans experience this from time to time. And I would say that it is our calling as yoga practitioners to try to meet those moments with self-love and compassion, best we can.

The Buddha also taught:

If you truly loved yourself, you would never harm another.

I think the Buddha is trying to get us to see the “us” in each other, that if we were to harm another it is like we are harming our own selves too. 

Also, I think the Buddha could have said too that if we truly loved ourselves, we would never think of harming our own selves. Of course, the trap is that we can commit another act of self-denigration in those moments when we make mistakes and react by calling ourselves stupid. Or even when our failure to not harm ourselves at times of stress is another opportunity for getting down on ourselves for not having responded or reacted better. Our work is to try to cultivate more compassion for ourselves in such moments. We are not alone, everyone makes mistakes and thinks less of themselves from time to time. Our work is to try to remember that.

Because the Buddha also famously taught:

Hatred is never ended by hatred, but by love alone is hatred healed. This is an eternal rule.

We see so much violence out in the larger world and we see the pileup of hatred being responded to with more hatred. And where has that gotten us? More suffering, both internally and collectively. So, our work is to start by healing the hatred within first, and trying to meet it with love.

Why is this important? Because according to the Dalai Lama:

If a person has never encountered love toward himself or herself from any quarter, it is a very sad thing.  But if that person can meet even one person who will show unconditional love – simple acceptance and compassion – if he knows that he is an object of someone else's affection and love, it is bound to have an impact, and this will be appreciated.  Because there is a seed in himself, this act of love will start to catalyze or ripen that seed. 

So, our work becomes about trying to perfect the art of practicing love toward our own sef first, so that we have more love to share with others, especially those who have experienced very little. Every little act of love toward our own self will eventually ripple out to the rest of the world and have some positive impact sometime, somewhere.

In New York City where I live, we are constantly confronted by homeless people, and I sometimes wonder what kind of childhoods they had. I was fortunate in that I grew up in a family with parents who loved me unconditionally and showed me love in so many ways, whether it was by being touched tenderly or with kind words. As a child, I experienced caring and concern from those immediately around me. I know I was lucky. And it is obvious to me that many homeless people in our city likely didn’t receive the same kind of love and support. So, whether you live in a city like NYC or elsewhere, our job is to try to extend acts of love towards those who are so obviously less fortunate than ourselves. Who knows really what that could bloom into. Surely it can have a small, but not insignificant positive effect that could ripple out into the larger world.

The director, writer and composer, Jerry Brunskill said:

At the critical juncture in all human relationships, there is only one question: what would love do now?

I hope this question can be a guiding force for you as you go through your day and are faced with a myriad of decisions. What would love do in each moment for you as you “write your yoga blog” or think about your career choices, or interact with your beloveds? 

May you feel the natural rhythm of the Universe’s heart-beat pulsing through you, …
May you return to love of self over and over again, …
May you ask “What would love do now?” often, …
May your perfect that Art of Practicing Love, … 
For the benefit of all beings everywhere.

Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun

Yoga and the Art of Practicing ... Yoga!

Try, try, and try again … and one day your yoga practice might help you to take flight!

If you’re like me, you wake up each day and make a to-do list. In some ways it’s one of the hardest things I do each day. I usually start by listing the things I know I have to do. But it starts to get hard when I list all the things I wish I could do today, then I have to pare back and be realistic and pick the 2 or 3 major things that I know I have to do. Aaah, my ego likes getting in the way and think I can accomplish everything it wants because I am Superman! Not!!!

This is where yoga can be helpful.

I don’t know where I read this yoga maxim, but someone wisely said:

What you can do is what you should do.

In my many years of teaching yoga, I have found that this is a difficult thing to practice for many, and particularly for newer, less experienced students, It’s easy for the ego to take hold and for students to push themselves through extreme discomfort, bordering on pain.

The stage of the ego belongs to the young and new, and the mature yoga practitioner knows when to hold back, do less. It’s similar in acting, by the way, as the most accomplished actors know how to affect their audience more by doing less.

So, the art of practicing yoga, in some ways, mirrors the art of practicing life. What’s been particularly helpful to me as I have grown older (60 this year!) is that more and more now I dislike pushing myself to the limit. Recently, for example, I have found I like shutting down my computer earlier than I used to, and putting my work day behind me. I am liking physical and mental comfort more and more, and I don’t think that’s always a bad thing. So what if I don’t reach enlightenment in this lifetime, despite my daily meditation practices? That’s not so important.

The art of practicing yoga also involves remembering what the goals, intentions of the practice are. From the yoga sutras of Patanjali, the first few verses are: Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah. Tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam. Vritti sarupyam itaratra. These words essentially mean that the outcome we are striving for in yoga is to quiet down the mind’s movements so that our true nature can be revealed to us, so that we can see a clearer reflection of who we really are. Our minds are like lenses that need to be polished and cleaned, otherwise we will falsely identify with the distortions and come to believe those labels we place on ourselves (Superman, billionaire, yoga guru, ??? – you pick!) are who we really are. Only when the mind is quiet, can we rest in our True Nature. When the mind is not quiet one identifies with the thoughts one is having and believes — wrongly — these thoughts are who one really is. In other words, the art of practicing yoga involves trying to slow down your mindʻs movements, so you donʻt believe every thought going through your head.

The accomplished and widely respected yoga master, B.K.S. Iyengar, said:

The primary aim of yoga is to restore the mind to simplicity and peace, and free it from confusion and distress.

I love this, as it serves as a good reminder for me that I should never make an important decision when I am feeling confused and distressed. The art of practicing yoga means that we should walk away the situation at hand at such moments, and take some good exhales.

Yoga is all about meeting yourself where you are at in this moment, not where you wish to be. That’s probably the simplest and yet the hardest lesson any of us will have to learn.

May you be happy,
May your mind slow down,
May you only do what you can do, …
May you be successful at practicing the art of yoga well, …
For the benefit of all beings everywhere.

Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun

Aaah, the warmth of the sun on the back. Always a great feeling! This is truly the art of practicing yoga -- slouching toward comfort!

Yoga and the Art of Practicing Generosity

Davnel, Keoni Movemwnt Arts student, enjoying dancing!

At this time of the year, these words by the Venerable Ariya Nani always come back to my mind:

If you knew what I know about generosity and the results of giving, you would not let one single day go by without giving something to someone else.
– The Buddha, as interpreted by the Venerable Ariya Nani

What might the Buddha have meant by this teaching?  Well, according to the Buddhist Meditation Teacher, Gina Sharpe: 

Generosity is the very first parami, or quality of an awakened mind. The path begins there because of the joy and openness that arise from the generous heart.

Think about it. Whenever we give to someone else, it makes us feel happy. It brings our mind to the awareness that we have abundance, more than enough to sustain us. When our mind is aware of this abundance, we benefit by feeling lighter and less fearful and worried. And of course, whatever it is that we give away can make someone else’s life feel more abundant. So in order for one’s mind to be awakened, having the experience of spaciousness and abundance first leads to lightness and freedom. 

According to another teacher, Kamala Masters:

Generosity is a medicine for our tendency to hold on to things, to cling to life as it is, because it is developing the opposite, developing our ability to let go… letting go of the material… of our need to be right…  

I would add that practicing generosity frees our mind and hearts from the delusion that it is somehow lacking. It can bring the mind to a starting point of existing in a place of wealth, not poverty. 

To me, the art of practicing generosity entails: 

1. Taking time daily to lessen our burdens by letting go of that which we no longer need and want.

2. Remembering that we have much more than we need and always have something we can give away – whether it be something material like money or something immaterial but no less important like a kind smile to or patience with another.

3. Remembering that we are more than just our current possessions – both material and psychic – but we are also our potential for manifesting more of the material and psychic things that we truly want and need.

4. Practicing Generosity with ourselves. We all experience the negativity of life, and it is our human nature to “go to the negative” before seeing the positive. At these times, we must be generous in our kindness towards and patience with our own selves.

5. Remembering that there is a flow to life that we are always free step into. Practicing generosity with ourselves means not resisting that flow. Practicing generosity towards others means not resisting their flow. 

So, as you close out your old year, see if you can come into the new year with a greater sense of freedom. Let go of the old, lighten your load of both the material and the psychic. Remember all that you have and share it with the world. 

May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be generous,
May you enter the new year with a greater sense of freedom, …
For your benefit and for the benefit of all beings everywhere.

Aloha, with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

May you fly into your new year with courage, humility, and grace!

Yoga and the Art of Practicing Gratitude

My favorite tree in my building - it makes me feel so happy when I walk by, and I am grateful for that! It reminds me that there is still much beauty in things that are aging.

It’s that time of the year again. A time when we quiet down a bit during the hustle and bustle of the holidays to reflect on how lucky we are to be alive, to have what we have, and to experience – hopefully – gratitude.

For me personally, as I reflect on where I am right now in my life, I am so grateful for all that I have – which is indeed plentiful at the moment. As I write this, I am on my way to Hawai’I for a wedding celebration with my family and our close friends of one year of marriage to my husband Ed. I am grateful to have meaningful and impactful work, to feel like I am fulfilling my life passions, and to have an abiding sense of ease and well-being In my life right now. Notice I didn’t say I am grateful to have a million dollars in my bank account. Indeed, as I was doing my daily morning routine of writing in my “gratitude journal / morning page” (which I have been doing since 1996!), I wrote “once in the beginning, I feel like I know what Nirvana is.” To me, at this moment, Nirvana is a feeling of having few worries and life-stresses, and a feeling of confidence that things will flow as they need to and an abiding feeling that the Universe always provides elegant solutions to each of our challenges.

How can we experience more gratitude in our lives regularly? Here are three possible ways from three master teachers:

1) Whether you are a fan of Deepak Chopra or not, I think you would agree with what he says here: Breathing in gratitude, we breathe out joy. This simplicity is the key to our vitality. We spend years searching for the key, looking high and low. The journey home begins when we realize that the key is hiding in our own pocket. Whether we are practicing yoga on the mat, or sitting in meditation, or just moving through life, we can do a simple mantra with each breath – inhaling quietly say “gratitude,” exhaling quietly say “joy.” The journey back home to experiencing an ease of well-being starts with each breath.

2) One of my favorite Buddhist Meditation Teachers, Gina Sharpe, reminds us that every breath we take in is a gift we receive from all the plants on Earth. The plants process what they receive from us – our carbon dioxide – and transform it into something that allows us to sustain our metabolic processes – oxygen. So, all life on earth is constantly giving to and receiving from each other. Gina writes: I find it so helpful to just remember that which I call “me” is an expression of an ever changing, timeless and unstoppable process of giving and receiving, and in remembering, relaxing again and again in gratitude, allowing it all to unfold. When we reflect like this, gratitude arises naturally and openly, saturating every breath, every moment with the joy of simply being alive. Gina reminds us, like Deepak, that our breath can be the entry point to helping us experience the arising of gratitude from within.

3) One of my favorite of the Buddha’s teachings is based on his assertion that receiving a human birth is extremely rare and exceedingly precious. One of the analogies he used to illustrate this is that the chances of us receiving a human birth is more rare than the chance that a blind turtle floating in the ocean would stick its head through a small hoop. Quite extraordinary odds indeed! He would often instruct his monks to go out into the forest, sit at the base of a tree, and do a practice called “gladdening the heart.” Essentially the heart of this practice was for the monks to reflect on the many fortunate circumstances that had brought them to be there in that time and space, and to have tools at their disposal to be able to seek freedom and liberation. As practitioners of yoga, like-wise we can reflect on just how lucky we are not only to have this chance at a human experience – such as it is with all its joys and challenges – but also that yoga has traveled from the faraway East to being literally at our fingertips and that it is a tool that can help us to realize more gratitude and joy.

Gina concludes by saying: May your Thanksgiving celebration be alive with gratitude and love. Indeed, may you be experiencing that right now.

May you be happy,
May you live with ease,
May you inhale gratitude, and exhale joy,
May you, with each breath, remember how lucky you are to be alive.
May you remember all the tools for liberation that are in your pockets and at your fingertips,
May you feel alive with deep feelings of gratitude and love, …
For the benefit of All Beings.

Aloha with Metta,
Paul Keoni