The first september 2021

Good evening,
It’s the end of summer, the joy of living without too many barriers … and the start of the school year slowly looming with the resumption of Yoga classes in early September. Yoga invites us to this constant search for otherness and balance between the opposing forces of Yin and Yang, feminine and masculine (Pārvatī / Śiva) etc.

Om Shanti and good reading !
JCG

“Circular time” …

Indian thought
As a reminder, Indian thought is based on a cosmogonic representation of life and contrary to the conception and perception of most Westerners who present Hinduism as a polytheistic religion, for Indians the Divine is ONE in its essence. Among the ancients in India, time is seen there in a cyclical or spiral manner, as with Hesychios of Alexandria, the grammarian (in ancient Greek Ἡσύχιος / Hêsýkhios) who wrote that life is “chronos tou einai” the “time of Being ”. If we reverse this phrase as proposed by the theologian Raimon Panikkar, it becomes: “ time is also the life of being ”, and this becomes interesting because life is breathing, the movement of inspiration and expiration, this coordination of movement in space on a line, a circle or a spiral which never goes back, but time is rhythm.

The Rhythm

In Indian mythology we refer to the quality of the rhythm which can be creation or destruction, as shown so well by Śiva (devanāgarī: शिव), the cosmic dancer or “Natarāja” (the god of Yoguin) in the dance called Tāṇḍava or Tāṇḍava nṛtya, (ताण्डव नृत्य).

The quality of rhythm which is either “creation” or “destruction” is like in Jaina-Yoga described by the Indian philosopher Jidhu Krishnamurti, the quality of “silence” which can be “positive” or “negative”.

« Understanding our power to create illusion is infinitely more important than understanding reality. This power must cease altogether, but not in order to obtain reality; we do not argue with the fact. Reality is not reward, the false must go away because it is false and not in order to find the truth.
We live in delusion most of the time. We have prejudices, desires, various beliefs, opinions and convictions. But all this is the fruit of thought, of our reflections, of what has been reported to us, of the media … We see the world through the eyes of others. This is why it is necessary for us, to free ourselves from the illusion, to begin by observing it, by understanding how we create the illusion, how we come to pass from an immediate and true perception of what is to a perception full of judgments of values and various emotions.
Through this attention, we gradually weaken the power of illusion and grasp the truth. Indeed, illusion is an erroneous perception of reality, created by thought. »
Krishnamurti

How to get out of māyā (devanāgarī: माया), the illusion, how to enter the rhythm, how to enter the circle? practicing yoga is one way. Yoga is a breath, it is a movement, it is a dance, the practitioner called the sādhaka (devanāgarī: साधक) will thanks to the rhythm of his practice reach mokṣa (devanāgarī: मो 3), the deliverance, freedom.

“To worship God while dancing fulfills all inspiration and the way of deliverance opens to the one who dances”

Extract from an ancient text, quoted in “The civilizations of Asia”, published by Casterman, ISBN 2-203-15707-0

It is no accident that Śrī K. Pattabhi Jois called his book “Yoga Mālā“. Mālā, it is the prayer rosary, like a pearl necklace that are the postures, the thread is the victorious breath of the uninterrupted Ujjãyi, we never go back, but from pearl to pearl without ever skipping one , in rhythm. In rhythmic time, the postures pass but are not repeated. Thanks to the mūla-Bandha (: म 4 ल ब 7 ध), and to the ujjãyi, the tension is constant in the thread of the necklace.

Resumption of all classes the first september

Next intensive morning : 
September 11 & 12, 2021 :: Ashtanga yoga intensive morning
October 9 & 10, 2021 :: Ashtanga yoga intensive morning

Next Workshops : 
October 2021 : Workshop in Athens, Greece
November 2021 : Workshop in Athens, Greece

Om Shanti,

JC Garnier

Good evening,
“Being in quarantine, Buddhism calls it a retreat. In the cave of our house, like the meditators of ancient times, we can consciously light the lamp of compassion and connection” Lama Willa Miller

Om Shanti and good reading !
JCG

Yoga “way to fullness” …

Here is the story told by André Van Lysebeth, in one of his seminars in Switzerland

A lonely rider riding an Arabian thoroughbred with an immaculate white coat ventures into the desert …, after days and days, he sees in the distance another rider coming from the direction where he is going, also riding a pure-bred Arabian horse with a splendid black coat.

When they meet, they greet each other, the first says “As-salam alaykom” and the second says “Wa Alykom As-slam“.
– The first, a wealthy merchant, asks: “Who are you?“
– The second responds “I am the plague” …
– Where are you going ?
– To Dallas…
– How many people are you going to kill with the plague?
– 2 million…
– But that’s much too much …

And they talk like “carpet dealers” over a cup of sweet mint tea … At the end of negotiations, the merchant obtained from the Lord of the Black Death only 500,000 dead. And each one goes off in his direction …

A few years later, in the same desert on the way back, the rich merchant on his magnificent white horse meets the Lord of the Black Death, but he is accompanied by another horseman who has a haughty look.
“As-salam alaykom” “Wa Alykom As-slam”.

Theye light a fire to boil the water and make the sweet mint tea …

The Black Death, speaks up:
– Did you do good business?
– Yes, excellent, but frankly I’m not happy, you promised to kill only 500,000 people but there were more than two million deaths …, you lied to me …
– Sorry, but no I kept my promise, I only killed 500,000 people.
– But then all the others …
It’s my companion here …
– And who are you?
– I am FEAR …

Strengthen your immune system to minimize the effect of the virus on yourself.
The most effective way to strengthen your immune system is to reduce stress, which is one of the benefits of yoga. So careful to follow a healthy, gentle, non-gymnastic, daily yoga practice (even just 15 to 20 ’).

Yoga and stress reduction
Examples of stress reduction practices for different ages and conditions: Yoga-Nidra, Pranayama, meditation technique, do-in, etc.

Sleep
Current research clearly demonstrates the influence of sleep on immunity and cognitive functions and reveals the importance of sleep duration, its regularity and its quality. Healthy sleep is one of the key factors of a good immune system and practicing yoga can help us sleep. If you practice in evening then your yoga must be very gentle and slow …

Have a balanced diet
In the midst of all this, do your best to maintain a healthy and varied diet.

Keep up relationships
Stay in close contact with your friends and family, even at a distance thanks to WhatsApp, Skype, Face-Time or others…

Conclusion

1. Practice gentle yoga preferably in the morning. This morning practice will promote sleep and restful sleep. …
   
2. Have a light dinner, necessary, at least 2 hours before bedtime. There are links between diet and sleep.
3. Keep up relationships

Boost your immunity
and help your body, I recommend four products

Liposomal vitamin C (helps reduce fatigue and maintain normal functioning of the immune system during and after intense physical exercise). Take 1 to 2 capsules a day in the morning.
Gemo-Vir, the great protector of the organism (Blackcurrant, Sea-buckthorn and Alder) effective in case of acute infections. Take far from meals 7 drops morning and evening, diluted in a large glass of water.
Roy-Eau Astragale, this plant has adaptogenic properties, it is traditionally known as tonic and energizing, it has antiviral potential, etc. Take a vial morning and evening diluted in a glass of water, before meals
Royal Haarlem Capsules, Haarlem oil is an exceptional product for the respiratory sphere, rich in organic sulfur that is stimulant and antiseptic. Take 1 capsule daily 15’ before a meal.

Specific Ayurvedic
remedies to strengthen the immune systemGuduchi = Tinospora cordifolia : increases the amount of active white blood cells and cleans the blood
Amla, a natural source of vitamin C. Vitamin C strengthens the connective tissue; so germs cannot enter as quickly. It strengthens our immunity by helping the white blood cells to mobilize to fight against any infection and thus increase our protection against diseases.
Chyavanprash, an amla and spice paste that increases immunity, Golden milk with turmeric, ginger, Chinese cinnamon, etc.
Neem tea, its bitter taste cleanses the liver and strengthens the immune system (which will then have less work)
Neem soap, to disinfect hands to better protect us …

Good evening, Here is to nourish your inner fire with this new Newsletter on just before Christmas. With good resolutions of firmness, stability and endurance taken for the new year, you will get going again to implement your Sādhana Om Shanti and good reading! Jean Claude Garnier

How a word ĀSANA brings a global reflection on yoga

Āsana आसन
Āsanam = meditation posture
The verb root ĀS– means: “sit down”
The suffix “ana” means: “doing”
Āsana literally means “the fact of sitting or sitting”

“It is this belief in a cosmic order, for which the role of art was to capture, to render visible the principles, that formed the basis of the establishment of the theory of all arts in ancient India.”
Alain Daniélou (Approche de l’hindouisme)

As Sri T. Krishnamacharya put it, yoga is India’s gift to the world. If one looks attentively, all the physical disciplines (gymnastics, aerobics, physical culture, dance, therapeutics of the body and the soul like psychoanalysis, etc.) borrowed something from this science, known for millennia in India. Yet classical Yoga is misunderstood and many false ideas circulate on this subject.

Yoga
For many Westerners, yoga is only hatha-yoga (Haṭhayoga हठयोग), in other words, physical exercises, postures or “āsana”.
Deepening yoga is not learning yet a new posture, nor practicing meditation for one more hour every day …
The aim is to broaden the field of consciousness by the yoga of knowledge: jnānayoga; the relational field through the yoga of adoration: Bhaktiyoga; the field of ecological action through the yoga of action: Karmayoga.

Yoga is not an esoteric mystical-smoky discipline perfumed with incense. Yoga is an exact science of the body in static and in movement based on knowledge of anatomy and physiology, prāṇāyāma is a science of respiration based on knowledge of fluid dynamics and circulation of nervous fluxes, these are extremely Cartesian sciences that have been observed and documented for millennia.

With globalization, yoga is diluted
Today Yoga is known all over the world, unfortunately it’s traditional context has been stripped off, also by many Indian masters to make it more accessible to Westerners (Desikachar, BKS Iyengar etc …). It has lost its substance, its authenticity …
Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya studied a little more than 3000 Yoga postures taught by his master Ramamohan Brahmachari in a cave near Manas Sarovar in Tibet. In his book “Light on Yoga”, BKS Iyengar describes only 602 postures; Sri K Pattabhi Jois taught almost as many if the six series are practiced… The Yoga Bikram consists of 26 postures, André van Lysebeth in his series called “Rishikesh” taught only 12 basic postures …                                      It is obvious that Yoga has diluted …

The definition of Yoga :
The word “Yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root “Yug”, which means to link, to unite or to direct and concentrate one’s attention. It is thus a practice that gradually leads the practitioner to integrate into the most material body (the coarse body) the different internal bodies or subtle bodies, thus reaching the soul. For this, we use postures (āsana), respiratory techniques (prāṇāyāma), concentration (dhāraṇā), inner listening (pratyāhāra) and meditation (dhyāna).

Yogasūtrāṇi
Patañjali, in his book on Rāja Yoga, the Yogasūtra (196 sūtra) describes the principles and techniques of psychophysical reintegration, it is a manual explaining clearly how to practice, how to go from the alpha point to the omega point. It is a kind of mapping, a “GPS” on the way to Samādhi.

Patañjali, in the 196 aphorisms, uses only three times the word “āsana” … he does not speak of “posture” of the dog, the cat, nor the pig nor the raven perched on its tree …, he speaks of righteousness, of being well adjusted to one’s plate, to one’s physical and mental balance, he is therefore talking about  searching for the right balance and inner mental attitude in the many possibilities of the field of consciousness

The Yogasūtrāṇi are composed of four chapters

1. Samādhi-Pāda (समाधि)
2. Sādhana pāda  साधन
3. Vibhūti pāda  विभूतिपाद
4. Kaivalya pāda कैवल्य

In the first chapter of Samādhi-Pāda (धाधि), Patañjali describes Yoga and the means to achieve this goal: it is not about being well with oneself, but about BEING. This quest for Unity, which passes through the Unity with one’s Self, then with the Absolute, with the Universe…

In the second chapter, the Sādhana pāda, Patañjali describes the spiritual practice, the purification of the body and the mind by the practice of kriyā yoga, that is purification through self-analysis and development of awareness of self; and aṣṭāṅgayoga, the eight parts of Yoga.

YS 2.29 (Sādhana pāda, chapter of spiritual practice), in this sūtra, Patañjali describes the path to reach the samādhi:

Yama-niyam-āsana-prāṇāyāma-pratyāhāra-dhāraṇā-dhyāna-samādhayo’aṣṭāvaṅgāni
The practice of postures or āsana(s) constitutes the third, of the eight stages of yoga. The postures put an end to the bodily agitation and bring together the scattered energies. They are intended to remedy the weaknesses of the body and to improve the metabolic system and thus the overall health. The awakening of consciousness leads to the awakening of sensory, emotional intelligence and to the light of the soul.
After speaking of the yama and niyama (YS 2.30-2.45), Patañjali approaches posture and prāṇāyāma. This sūtra contains only 3 words but it reveals to us the essence of the postures of yoga.
YS 2.46 (Sādhana pāda, chapter of spiritual practice)
Sthira sukham āsanam
It can be translated by: The posture (āsana) must be stable and immobile, as well as comfortable.

Om Shanti,
JC Garnier