Tag Archives: svadyaya

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Moving Forward and Integrating the Study of the Self (Svadyaya)

by: nuchylee

A few weeks ago, we looked at the niyamas or observances in yoga. One of these was called svadyaya – self-study. As we have been exploring play, I want to help us to integrate this practice a little further. My guess is that as you work with yoga, you are hoping to integrate the mind, body and spirit in new ways. However, in our culture, we tend to spend more time in the mind (with our thoughts) and can tend to have trouble integrating what is happening with the body and spirit as we practice yoga.  Today we can look a little more at how our minds work while we continue to take time to play each day. Get out and see the sun shine. You will be able to learn more about how your own mind is oriented and how to integrate your new findings  into experiencing more depth and benefit from your yoga practice both on and off the mat.

Today I want to encourage you to look at your own learning orientation. When we know more about our learning styles and our prominent intelligences, we can integrate the types of activities into our day in a way that will bring us more joy. Really that is the point of yoga, to have a peaceful mind that can flow easily with whatever arises.

Most people have a variety of factors affecting their learning orientation and it is common to find two styles that are more prominent than others in one person. I am providing some links to pages that offer free learning styles quizzes so you can look more objectively at what may be your own primary and secondary learning styles.

Learning Styles Inventory: Quick, based on three key styles.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm

Index of Learning Styles: Quick to take, takes more time to look at assessment and understand, but shows within ranges/scaling rather than just giving an answer.

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Multiple Intelligences: Gives a Quick Grid based on 8 Forms of Intelligence

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm

The learning styles are ways that you receive information best. Some of the quizzes provide information in the assessment about what types of situations may allow you to learn new skills and information in ways that you can more easily digest. But this is not the whole of who you are, and it is not the whole of how you engage in learning. We often think that in classes, when we are the students, that we could receive the information from someone (the teacher) and then we are done. You come to yoga class, participate, and go home feeling great. You enjoy a restful sleep and the benefits from having done the practice. What the mind sees should not limit what you think is possible. The mind is only one of the tools you bring with you to this life.

Remember that these quizzes should not cause you stress, but be another playful way to study the self and integrate what you find so you can experience ease. Look at the mind a little and then do some yoga. Go play a while. Get out of the head. My intention here is not to get you to think about play, but to try doing it. :)

You may wish to take the time to write to me in the comments about what you found. I would love to hear what you discover and how you integrate that into plans for vacation, a trip to the park, a new game you are creating, or any other way in which you pick up a sense of playfulness.

 

Yoga Pose of the Day: Camel Pose:

Yogic Concept of the Day: I can integrate what I learn into my play or enjoyment. What my mind finds out about me is not the whole of who I am, it is just one more piece.

 

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Play as a Form of Svadyaya

We can study ourselves (svadyaya = the study of the self) and find out more about who we are and our own nature if we can have more chances to play, especially as a group. Just look at how easy it is to see when watching some bears.

 

I think they were having a blast with the pool and the swing set and everything. The combination of calm, an absolute sense of belonging and playfulness never fails to come clear when watching bears.

 

But we don’t even really need props to play. I mean, yoga practice may be to us, what a simple swim is to these otters!

 

 

We are not so different. Really, just take yourself outside and see what you do. A part of your nature will show itself, if you will simply let yourself play, and then observe what it was like (svadyaya).

 

 

Yoga Pose of the Day: Upright Seated Pose – otherwise known as Bear pose

Yogic Concept of the Day: Get outside and play, even for 10 minutes.

 

Bear Pose

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Svadyaya: Study of the Self

by Suat Eman

The next niyama is to undertake study (svadyaya). What the traditional interpretation has been has to use some time to study the traditional religious and philosophical texts appropriate to the student. Even in Hindu culture itself, we can remember, the people’s religious and philosophical leanings can vary quite widely, and so the inclination of the student (and the teacher they chose) would lead them toward the appropriate study.

We can take this a bit further, too, for what is it that we study when we study the old texts besides our own histories, our own understanding of who we are and what we are doing in this life. It is in this way that the term svadyaya can also be understood to mean the study of the self. What we do in our practice on the mat can teach us just as much, and sometimes more than a piece of paper. So can prayer, meditation, or other traditions from our own faiths and cultural traditions.

Take a moment to think of what you would like to study in order to know yourself better. You can choose anything from psychology to the bible, to gardening. Study for the purpose of understanding who you are is the point. 

I would encourage you to find a book on the topic you have chosen, or sign up for a class.  Springtime is a great time for starting something new and being able to stick with something. You will have all of the plants and flowers growing alongside your deepening understanding. It is a beautiful thought, isn’t it? Oh – but if you are one of my dear friends on the other side of the earth, as the trees and animals begin to store up energy for the winter, the harvest comes in, you can collect morsels of wisdom to hold dear through the winter. It works both ways, doesn’t it?

 
All men should strive
to learn before they die
what they are running from, and to, and why.
~James Thurber

 

The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.  ~Muhammad Ali

 

I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life.  The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want.  ~Mark Twain

 

Yoga Pose of the Day: Baddha Konasana – Cobbler’s Pose

 

Yogic Concept of the Day: Who am I?

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Friday – Happy New Year!

You’ve got a theme for your new year by now, or you have decided not to do suck things. That is fine, but this post is about setting yourself up for an amazing exploration in 2012, of what you have chosen. You can still change it if you want. If you find you don’t stick with it the first few weeks, I say pick a new one! But after week three of January, your theme is locked in. :)

Your theme should sound like fun more than work. You should really want to experience the process as much as reaching the “goal,” in fact the goal should not even be much of your decision for a theme, if you want to know what I really think.

But today and this weekend is for preparing the welcome to the new year! What will you get to prepare? Are there special foods you eat on New Year’s Day? Are there special opportunities to tie up loose ends on 2011 goals and strategies? Do you really just want to rest a little more? This is the weekend to enjoy!

Do you remember the goal I set for myself in late November? I wanted to reach 108 Sun Salutations by New Year!

Then I found out I needed to have surgery and take off, not just from doing sun salutations, but all yoga! Wow! I was surprised this came up, but decided this was a really great chance to work in a real way with how we get thrown obstacles all the time, and yoga means not pushing, pulling, or allowing the mind to become stressed. I had no idea if I would even be allowed to return to yoga before the end of the year, but I have!

 

I am so grateful that today I can report, I completed 108 Sun Salutations (traditional – so doing the left side and then the right equals one (1). I have met my goals for myself this year. It is official, and I am so glad I finally got there. Boy – the process of getting to 108 was really different from what I expected. And it definitely helps to do them on an empty stomach!

As for my 2012, my theme for the new year –  I am still playing and incubating. I am still waiting to see if my mind is really settled on a theme or not. This is not procrastinating. Incubation is a critical stage of creative development for any project. I’ll tell you: doing tons of sun salutations has been really great stress relief and oddly calming to the mind. In fact, it seems like the more I do, the more my body settles into a rhythm and my mind can relax.

So I invite you to play and enjoy these last few hours of the year as you prepare for the next. With much appreciation for all of your support, comments, and ideas, I bid you adieu until next year!

 

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Thursday – Still Playing

By now, hopefully you have some kind of theme in mind and nearly settled. You can begin to plan out what materials you will need. You can tell a few select friends and begin to prepare a space for the first month.

Suggested ways to keep it playful.

1. Don’t plan too far ahead. I never plan for more than a month. Each week I can change my approach to the same month’s focus. For example, if this year I was working on cooking and January was for African food, I wouldn’t plan which cuisine was for February. Who knows what I would feel like then?

2. Get resources for the first month: So, if January is for African food, right now I could go to the library and order/pick up every book that looked interesting on African cooking. Egyptian, Lybian, Morrocan (that was a favorite), and South African. I could search in Amazon, too. Remember you don’t have to buy everything. Libraries will special order books, usually for free (as long as you pick them up, and return them on time). So, get the ISBN# on Amazon and ask a librarian to help you order it. They usually love doing this for people. They like to see where all the books come from!

3. If you start feeling it is hard or that you are pushing yourself, relax and schedule a date to come back to it. My hands started hurting when I started knitting for one month’s interpretation of the theme (which was arts and crafts). So, I had to plan to come back two days later. I needed to care for my body, so I didn’t push. Instead, I stuck to a schedule (which I wrote on the calendar). See what works for you. If in one month you “slip” – you know you didn’t like that one. Pick up a new part or approach the next month. (I also allow myself to change the month’s theme within the first week, if I can tell it isn’t going to work.)

See if you can think of your own ways to keep it playful. Too much planning, though, will make it dull – so stop if you get to feeling it is overkill. :)

See you tomorrow!

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Don’t Worry, I’ve got a Plan

parkour by ~cliq on deviantART

Have you ever noticed how those people on the tv shows get into some sort of bind or problem, and then one guy will turn to the other and say “Don’t worry, man, I’ve got a plan.” I think I was about 12 when I realized that I wouldn’t have thought of a plan. And besides, just when do these guys think of them anyway? I am so nerdy. I started watching to try to see when we missed time, time they could have spent thinking of the plan. I loved that movie Kick-Ass for a lot of reasons, but they actually show you the part where they come up with the plan. So rare. I think Super 8 sorta showed that part, too.

I am a planner. I love it because it feels like the juicy, creative part of the whole thing. No matter what I am planning, the act of thinking up new ways to solve a problem or create a new situation is always a good time. Maybe you don’t feel that way now, but if you have a few experiences with it when it is fun, rewarding, or when you get good results, you will be hooked. Planning is the part when you first bring ideas out of the realm of imagination and into the real world. Today, and this week, I am in heaven because it is the dreamiest part of the year. All the old year is gone, just about. We are just waiting for it to be over. This is the part where we get to play. We get to make up plans. Get creative, have fun playing with new and unusual ideas.

Your plan can be really detailed, involved, boring or dry. It can be playful, intuitive, inviting, and open. You can add elements of surprise and room for others to participate. You can think of the foils and obstacles that may occur, and how you could deal with them. This is the fun part. It is all in your head. None of what we plan is how anything will work out, but this part is the playing. It  is a way to prepare, to practice even, and to get our minds set up to be the one who in the midst of the big problem, the car breaking down in the rain, the job that takes you to a new city, the trip to the mountains you can be the one to say: “Hey man, don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”

It doesn’t mean you plan things out now, not really.

For me, it means I get to think of a theme. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. That is just more thing to get excited about that likely won’t happen. The momentum it takes to make huge changes in our lives actually needs to have less pressure, and take longer than most people can sustain a resolution. Watch for that week 2 – into week 3. That is where it gets tough. Nope – I can’t sustain interest in something so particular for that long, anyway. Nope, I pick a theme.

One year I chose to make it the year of relating. I decided I really wanted better friendships. Each month I thought up new approaches, got new books to read. I picked a few people to cultivate friendships with the first month, and gradually added in more as the year went. One year, I decided it was a creative year. I picked a new art form each month. I try to work each week, or each day, on the desired skill. I got to where 10 minutes a day was enough and when I really liked the form I could do more. At the end of each month I could choose to continue, or pick up something else. That was fun! And I learned to draw, crochet, sew, make, paper, create dances, started singing in public again, and a host of other things. I think one year I did languages. Another year I worked on cooking.

So today… play a little. Look at possible themes you could explore in a few different ways. I don’t recommend looking at what you will do each month. That takes a lot of fun out of it. Nope… but you can pick a theme and what you want to do the first month.

Here are some helpful hints for finding a theme:

1.Look at your magazines and pick 5-10 articles you wish you had written or been a source for. Not things you could already do, but things that look like they would be fun.

2. Go to the mall or other shopping area and notice what skills and objects you appreciate. Write down 5.

3. Look over past journals, your favorite books, and your favorite tv shows for inspiration. Write 5 more.

4.Now that you have 15 – 20 things… see what makes you feel it is the most daring, scary, or exciting. Play with it. You don’t have to tell anybody what you are doing. Just do it. Sooner or later you will get to a place where you can share if you want. You haven’t even started yet, so no worries about any skills you do or don’t have.

5. Write your theme down. Take the next day or two to settle with it. Daydream about it. No pressure, though. Don’t set a schedule, make official plans, or tell everyone you know. Just play. If you really want to get to it, you can get a journal to start writing your ideas and sketch playful “plans” that don’t really have to amount to anything.

How is all of this yogic? How we approach our world and our yoga mat becomes more and more integrated as we develop our practice. Play off the mat translates to new approaches on the mat. Besides, embarking on a year of fun for self-development certainly qualifies as svadyaya (self-study). You cannot even begin to imagine how much this new theme will cross over and inspire new ideas and attitudes at work, on the mat, and in your relationships. You are about to have a really wonderful year.

See you tomorrow.

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In the World to See Yourself in Action

Many of you have been looking at a variety of ways to the study the self this week, through trying the quizzes and exercises posted on this site. Hopefully you have been able to gain some new insights as to who you are and how you may be able to contribute to those around you. After all, we are not living here in isolation. You are more than a consumer. You are more than just someone who takes in what the world provides. You can be a catalyst or an inventor. You could be an inspiration or an innovator. You never know until you try. And how do you try? By getting out there.

As the weekend comes into full force, I want to encourage you to look back at what we have done this week and schedule some time for yourself (I suggest no less than an hour each day, but preferably more) this weekend to just explore some new ways of being. As Eleanor Roosevelt recommended, “do something that scares you, every day.” You can research a variety of activities for self-expression that we discussed earlier in the week. But there are other options as well.

Have you ever volunteered? In college I had no idea what to do with myself. I couldn’t settle on a major, and wasn’t really sure what kind of work would bring me joy. I was lucky to have been encouraged to get my feet wet by volunteering. It is so funny to think about now, how I would not have met so many important and influential people in my life without these experiences. I got to work at a convalescent center, a library, a refugee services center, and a library. I also got to learn the full ins and outs of a philanthropic organization (yes, and how to get a grant, while seeing who got chosen, and why), act as a Board member of a fledgling dance company and obtain resources for a theater group. I also got a chance to write for a new magazine at three points in my life.  All of this happened before I turned 21. Once you let people know you really want to do something to help, they practically knock down your door.

This brings me to another aspect of this study. You would do well to assess realistic ideas about how much time you really have, and make sure you are clear about your intentions (and stick to it). It is good to say no when you need to. This is how other people get their chance. If you make sure to put your resources where you really want to, feel led to, then you will be more effective and more likely to avoid burn-out. You want to be pleasing to others, not rushed, irritated, or distracted. When you give, give of your whole abundance, not your stress. So, it may be that instead of finding more things to do right now, your work this weekend could be to take time to look at your responsibilities and make the decision about which ones to let go, for now. This is also svadyaya, self-study. You have no idea how just freeing your mental space of one unappreciated responsibility can lead you to be more focused, clear, and ready to connect with the people in your life in more meaningful ways. When it comes down to it, none of our efforts are really for ourselves.

 

Here are some of the ramifications of being overworked: http://careerplanning.about.com/od/workrelated/a/overwork_4.htm

 

Take a quiz here to see if you are doing too much.

 

With this in mind, think of some cool new forms of expression you would like to explore. Write them (2 or 3 of them) down. Then google “social services organizations” along with your town’s name. I live in a town of fewer than 10,000 people and I found 10. So you can certainly find plenty. You can see if anything jumps out. You can also look up theaters, dance, and art groups. Calling people or stopping by to see if they need any help is something always appreciated. Just remember – before you go or call, have a clear idea of how much time you can offer. You don’t have to offer 50 hours, unless that is what you intend. I have called places and said “I have 2 hours a week for the next three months on Thursdays. Do you need any help?” You can’t imagine what delight that small amount of time has been met with.

If you happen to be looking into a new career, this is a great way to start getting experience, by the way. You can work for a few places for free and see how they differ. You can try something and find out it isn’t right, but there could be someone there who knows something better suited to your skills and interests. The possibilities are endless.

Remember: be clear about your time and interests when you call or go by. It is good for everybody if you say no to opportunities that do not suit you. You are working for free and could be giving a gift to them of someone happy in their workplace. You can uplift people when you stay focused about your own needs and inclinations.

 

Have a beautiful weekend full of meeting new and wonderful friends.

 

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Self Study (Svadyaya) and the Integration of Receptive and Expressive Skills

This week we have been looking at some options for how to engage in self-study. For some people this may be revisiting ideas they have looked into before, for others it may be completely new. Take your time, pace yourself. There is a lot to consider and there is no need to feel you have to explore everything under the sun. Just looking at where you seem to naturally be guided, as well as what you naturally tend to avoid, can provide you with endless hours of practice. Yes, this is part of the practice of yoga, albeit off the mat.

So how can we integrate what we are finding in our own expressive and receptive skills?

My recommendation for you is to consciously attempt to shake up your own habitual method of engaging the world.

If you tend to be stoic, and you have chosen to work with gestures or facial expression, you can use a variety of times during the day, and interactions with others to explore it. This can take the form of consciously employing new techniques or gestures to see what fits, and how others react.

Note: Gauging how others react to your new expression will also require that you use your receptive skills. But, keep in mind that you may need to use skills you do not normally work with in that arena. If you are normally very visually oriented, try paying careful attention to sounds you hear, the feelings you get from others, or proximity to others. This is a kind of openness that many people feel nervous about.

I suggest that you just pick one avenue to explore, and choose when you will pay attention. For example, you could choose to use the expressive skill of telling jokes while on an excursion to a new store. Also,  plan to pay attention to the non-verbal cues that people give you, rather than the words they say, to get a feel for how it is going. It may feel like you are practicing being someone else, but you are not. You are widening your own involvement in the world. Trust that you can never be anything other than yourself anyway.

If you need to refresh your own memory about receptive and expressive skills, be sure to scrool down to see the posts from yesterday and the day before. Remember that you can always call or write for support by contacting me as listed on the services page (click on the “Services” link at the top of this page).

A final consideration about the integration of these skills. The reason we are doing this is not to really change who we are, but to become more fully aware of ourselves in all the ways we can interact. To experience the whole of what we are, and what we can be, it is sometimes necessary to push the envelope and try to live at our edge. In yoga classes, on the mat, teachers often describe finding the edge of your pose, the edge of the movement. It is that place where we feel we are active and moving into the pose, are “feeling” the pull or the effort, but are not harming ourselves. This is how the body relaxes into what it can naturally do. You gain more flexibility more quickly when you do not force, but allow this “walk to the edge” of  your poses. But the mind and the spirit also benefit from walking to the edge. Self-study is not just reading. It is coming to experience the whole of who we are and what we can be in this life. In this way, we can increase the calm and flexibility of our own expression and intensify the clarity of the messages and communication we receive from the world around us.

My hope is that you will feel you can play with who you are and how you express yourself in a way that enriches your experience of this life.

Namaste

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Continuing Self-Study with Expression

Yesterday’s blog was about Svadyaya (self-study) and looked at receptive skills (how we each learn). If you didn’t get a chance to go through the quizzes and find out how your own brain learns you can find the post here.

Today, I want to encourage you to look at how you express your understanding, your ideas, and your meaning. If you are an artist, you may already be familiar with some ways in which you do this. However, it is a beneficial exercise to put all you think you know about yourself away for a little while and try to think about this in much the way a kindergartener does. They don’t know how to do anything, so all things are equal and difficult. So, it isn’t a big deal to try one thing over another. You can just see what each thing feels like and which you would enjoy more. I recommend taking the next week (or weekend) and setting aside some time to explore your own expressive skills. Think of it as your own private artistic spa. Rather than getting a massage and facial, you will be getting artistic treatments.

Below is a list of a variety of expressive skills. Some may surprise you. Some may sound daunting. Some may be so foreign that you can’t even imagine trying them on for size. I want you to pick three. 1. one that you are immediately attracted to, 2. one that scares you or sounds daunting, and 3. one that you really never thought about and have no idea one way or the other.

  • Public Speaking
  • Comedy/ telling jokes
  • Debate
  • Writing fiction/non-fiction
  • Poetry
  • Facial Expressions
  • Gestures
  • Painting
  • Drawing
  • Dancing
  • Sculpting
  • Paper-cutting
  • Origami
  • Singing
  • Film-making
  • Car building
  • Recording others
  • Story-telling

You can add some things to the list if you like. Suggestions are welcome.

Now make a schedule for how much time you can allot to the exploration of the three skills that you have picked.  Continuing to explore skills over the course of time will teach you things about yourself you may never have known, otherwise. Enjoy and don’t push too hard. Just play with it.

 

 

 

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Svadyaya and Caring for the Self through Self-Study

Svadyaya is the next niyama, or practice for the observation of yoga through how we interact with others. I feel this is a topic worth some extra time, and I must confess that at this time, I am with my family as we are caring for each other in the wake of my husband’s father’s passing. And so, as a means to care for myself and also to honor you in your own journey, I felt I could share a very in-depth article from Yoga Chicago’s web site. It is a wonderful study in the depth of what svadyaya means. Note that at the end of the article there are practical steps you can take to begin your practice of svadyaya.

 

You can find this wonderful article by Swami Shraddhananda  here.

 

Om Shanti