The Universal Principles of Building a Barbeque Grill

Or Just One Of The Weird Ways Anusara Yoga Has Helped Me In Real Life.



Last summer I purchased a cool charcoal grill. I was delighted with all the extra features I found on the shiny new floor model. A fold down table attached to the left hand side to hold the food and utensils, too cool. A cool adjustable rack for the coals so that the heat could be adjusted. A cool big black knob on the cool silvery backsplash thingy. Oh and the warming rack and the utensil holder were cool too.


Did I mention I thought it was cool?


This grill reached the ultimate zenith of coolness in the moments of anticipation I enjoyed before I tore open the box.


The coolness factor dropped to zero when I saw that ninety five percent of the grill was in pieces wrapped in paper and plastic. As in ‘some assembly required.’ My heart sank when I saw a myriad of screws, nuts, bolts, washers and wing nuts lying on a large cardboard rectangle, encased in shrink wrap and labeled with some strange and mysterious alphabetical code. Maybe it was Sanskrit? No such luck.


And the directions? The directions were simply line drawings with tiny arrows pointing to tiny letters indicating which fasteners were needed to assemble which section. They were labeled thusly: LJPMH or BMPJ or KEC. WTF?


There was a time when I would have taken one look at that mess and become overwhelmed with disappointment and frustration. I would have shoved all the bits and pieces back in the box. I would have closed the lid willie nillie and shoved the whole thing to the back of the closet and said “later” (translation - screw it)


I was surprised that the new me stayed opened up to the possibility that I could do this. After a deep breath, a quick prayer and a glass of wine, I spread the parts out all over the kitchen table and began at the beginning.


First, I stood back and looked at the big picture. What was the grill supposed to look like when it was finished? What is its outer form? Where am I going? What is the meaning of life? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? OMG is this all there is???


I meant to stop before I became overwhelmed but I missed the “Stop Projecting” sign post and had to go back to the beginning.

Outer Form of Grill?

Check.


Stop Projecting?
Check.

Keep beginners mind?
Check.


I unfolded the instruction sheet and examined the directions. They were laid out like a blueprint. I simply needed to start at the first set of drawings, match the grill part to the lettered fasteners and make the pieces on my end look like the picture. Only then could I move on to the next section.


It was hard. Very hard. I wanted to jump ahead. I thought I was smarter than the blueprint and wanted to do it my way, the better way. The discipline it took to keep all those little labeled parts where they belonged was painful.


Sometimes I was clumsy. I dropped washers and doo hickeys and watched bolts and watchamacallits roll across the floor. I had to get down on my hands and knees to scour the floor looking for nuts and screws under the table. I think I swore a few times. I know I swore when I hit my head on the kitchen table when I stood up too soon.


But every time I had a setback I went back to the beginning. I remembered that I was a beginner and was open to all possibilities. I kept the goal in mind and the instructions in front of me and, TA-DA, ended with a cool new grill and a cool new appreciation for my cool new abilities.


The best part was that when I was I was finished there was only one plastic doo-hickey and 3 washers left over.


Building a grill turned out to be my yoga that day. I just had to remember to step into the flow of grace, apply the principles in order, go back to the beginning if there was a screw up and remember to appreciate the results, even if it didn’t turn out perfect.

I had many doubts about becoming a yoga teacher. 

The messages would play over and over again in my head:
I’m not a dancer or a gymnast or an athlete.  
I am not especially graceful or enlightened.  
I am over 50 and over weight, that is what I am.  

There are days that I approach my mat and my body says “Yuck.  Let’s order a pizza instead.”   But I keep going and someone (me?) keeps  whispering in my ear. “You are worthy”

I asked myself, “What could I possibly offer my students?  Who did I think I was to think I could teach anyone anything” 

The answer came when I realized that my flaws, real and perceived, the flaws I  have overcome and the ones I am still trying to overcome, were my gifts to my students.  The fact that asana, meditation and especially opening to grace, required constant  remembrance, discipline and an annoying amount of discomfort at times were exactly what I have to offer to my students!  I can look them in the eye and say “Yeah I know, it’s hard. Sometimes it downright sucks” 

But I can also tell them that most of the time yoga is joy.  It is life affirming.  It is life changing.  In the very best way I am more of the person I am meant to be while remaining the person I have always been.   My Anusara yoga practice has taught me disciple and control while showing me glimpses of delicious freedom.   That may sound like a paradox but it’s not. It is balance. It is union.  It is…well…yoga.

So now I have my first real yoga gig and instead of feeling doubtful or unsure of myself I am delighted.  I hope I can lead students to glimpse the peace and power that yoga has brought to me. I can only hope to channel my teachers with gratitude for the service they have done for me and humbly serve the students who come my way.
Jai Hanuman!!

Yoga is Like Ice Cream

I love Jamocha Almond Fudge ice cream.  I'm not really sure what a Jamocha is but I think it might be Sanskrit for coffee.  To me it's a perfect balance of coffee, chocolate and nuts.  I think it is delicious. As a matter of fact I think it might just be perfect.

Now that doesn't mean I will pass up a creamy bowl of butter pecan or a simple chocolate cone.  Digging into a carton of pistachio reminds me how good it is.  How could I have forgotten? But, personally, I'll pass on cherry ice cream.  It's not for me. 

But back to Jamocha Almond Fudge. You may argue that Jamocha Almond Fudge does not have a monopoly on coffee, almonds and nuts. Coffee ice cream with nuts and chocolate sauce is the same thing, right? Maybe you feel that your homemade ice cream is superior to anything you could buy because it’s organic, pure and has no trans-fats. Maybe you’ve never met a bowl of ice cream that you didn’t like and you’re secretly happy that my preferences will leave more cherry ice cream for you.

 And you would be right.

Yoga flavors are a lot like ice cream flavors.

 I love Anusara Yoga. I think it’s a perfect balance of spirit, body and mind; of attitude, action and alignment. The ‘heart centered’ language speaks to me like no other; the alignment sings to my body and soul. I think it’s delicious. In fact I think it might just be perfect.

 Now that doesn’t mean that I’ll pass up a great flow session or a classical ‘hatha’ class. Wandering into an Ashtanga class reminds me how good it can be. How could I have forgotten? But personally, I’ll pass on  "Hot” yoga styles. They are just not for me.

But back to Anusara. You may argue that Anusara does not have a monopoly on ‘heart’. All yoga claims to balance the mind body and spirit, right? Maybe you feel that generic hatha yoga is organic, pure

and does not sell t-shirts. Maybe you’ve never met a yoga class you didn’t like and my preference just leaves more mat space for you in the 6:30 Bikram class.

 And you would be right.

We need to remember that yoga is like ice cream. One person’s preference does not invalidate another’s. It is not a question of right or wrong. There is a flavor for everyone and plenty to go around.

So let’s make like ice cream. Keep it cool, keep it sweet, keep it fun and don’t forget to pass the sprinkles!

Myths to Live By

I'm reading "Myths to Live By" by Joseph Campbell.  First of all, I have to say that I love Joseph Campbell.  I remember his TV documentaries with Bill Moyers that played on PBS in the late 80s.  The idea that myths, spiritual allegories and sacred scriptures contain common themes and images was eye opening for me.  I had heard all of this before from my friends who where self proclaimed  intellectuals and skeptics but the message was delivered with a sneer and a mocking tone, as if somehow the commonality of human beliefs carried by these epic tales discounted the relevance of the experiences and the truths that the stories were trying to convey.  Conversely, Campbell spoke with respect and wonder and humor as he wove the world's metaphysical and sacred storiestogether.  I appreciated his down to earth style as he discussed the heroe's journey as it related to Luke Skywalker.  And most important I felt a connection .  A connection to concepts that deep down I felt I already knew but had forgotten. Now, reading "Myths" I am surprised how much of the book comes back to the theories of non-dualism I am encountering in my Anusara yoga studies and the Tantric texts I am reading as part of my own journey.

In the second chapter Campbell gives an interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve in The Garden of Eden.  As everyone learned in Sunday school or catechism class when Adam and Eve eat of the tree of knowledge they were cast out of the garden. They suddenly perceived their lives as an onslaught of opposites; birth and death, good and evil, which then "are regarded, consequently with desire and fear." by the pair.  They felt shame and the frightened pair suddenly saw themselves as as not only different from each other but as different and separate from God.  God becomes 'other'.

But the best part of the story...the part I never absorbed after all those years at Catholic school ... was that there was a second tree in the garden.  If Adam and Eve had only reached up and plucked the fruit from the tree of eternal life they would not have been separated from the divine.  The would not have experienced duality. 

I can't help but believe that there is something buried deep in the human psyche (soul, heart, whatever) that seeks a connection to the energy and divinity that runs through each of us. We only need to step into the stream to access it's joy and power.

May the Force be with you!