Niralambaya Tejase

November 24, 2007 

I woke up today still not feeling so great, but was more inspired to practice because I had this new blog that I am addicted to!  It really is so nice to have extra time and space to practice away from home.  I love this loft (I call it the yoga loft) in the mountain house, but practicing way up high, I am not used to.  It has a different feeling to it, especially the loftiness of the loft.

Today’s intention…niralambaya tejase.  The first time I ever sat in a room with hundreds of Anusara yoga students, I almost melted when I experienced the word tejase, the last line in the opening invocation.  I had no idea what it meant, but I loved how the word felt.  Niralambaya:   Without need for external circumstance…  Tejase:  Radiating brilliance.  (my own personal translation)

For the past few days, I have not had good nights’ sleep.  Chelsea, my deaf and blind 14 and a 1/2 year old cocker spaniel needed some extra attention constantly, being in an unfamiliar environment.  (I am saying this very nicely…she literally barked on the hour from 1:30am till dawn the first night).  I am a person who needs sleep, so my lack of it (added to the distress of having an aging dog) was taking a toll on me physically, mentally and emotionally. 

Getting to my mat, I just let my body and my instinct take me where I needed to go.  Had lots of freedom, and I realized that I was able to push myself a little farther than I normally do, and it feels really good!  So, lots of physical realizations today since I got to practice extra long, and didn’t have the weight of our Thanksgiving leftovers pulling me so down. 

• Gotta hug in extra hard on my pincha preps still!
• Keep doing the plank holds…hug to the midline with my left forearm A LOT…(this is the one that was broken and is now crooked.)
• Lots of organic extension through the left inside line of shoulder to hand.

_________________________

Asana practice:  Intention “Niralambaya tejase”

•  Lunge variation warm-ups (Inner/Outer spiral emphasis) 

•  Ardha Chandrasana (floating foot on wall)

•  Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downdog) watching L shoulder, elbow, hand (hug into midline)

•  Uttitha Hasta Padangusthasana (Extended hand to big toe:  Balancing on one leg/extending other leg/ holding outer foot)  In. Spiral/Out Spiral and Organic Energy

•  Pinchy Mayurasana Hands Extended to wall

•  Scorpion (at wall, of course…)

•  Thigh Stretches with Ajaneyasana and Pigeon     •  Hanumanasana (monkey splits) 

•  Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Pigeon) with front leg extended

•  Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward facing bow) Eka Pada (One leg) variations

•  Uttanasana (standing forward fold) Shins in/Thighs out/Muscle energy

•  Meditation (Sukhasana): watching the radiance of the breath

♥  Savasana!  Yippee after this one!

______________________

Finding the brilliance all of the time is so hard.  It’s a hard, hard practice.  I think of all of the people I know who are caring for very sick loved ones, or have limited resources to feed and clothe their families properly.  It is hard to find the brilliance in circumstances, but we can see the brilliance in the individual, radiance that shines through even when times get tough. 

Check out “Born Into Brothels”, a documentary about children growing up in the brothels of India.  The circumstances that the children were born into were unimaginable.  At the same time they had nothing, the children also had a sparkle in their eyes that looked so familiar.  It was the tejase that I have before witnessed in children in my own backyard, as they play carefree.  How could that be?  How could children who live in such dire surroundings have such bliss, such tejase?  I guess, simply, they choose it.  If they can choose such bliss, so can I.