Yogachaitanya: New Yoga CDs

Sounds of Transformation

Yogachaitanya has created a CD set for yoga practice and sadhana, with Yoga Nidra as the first in the series. He explains the concept behind the CDs to Carol Sill, while discussing the practicality behind using the CDs for daily sadhana.

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Yogachaitanya on Yoga Nidra (Pt.2)

Yogachaitanya continues his discussion of the practice of Yoga Nidra with Carol Sill. He describes how surfing influenced his early exploration of the states of mind and body. He also touches on the topics of breathing and meditation and the implications and range of possibilities for the application of yoga nidra - for both athletes and recovery from surgery.

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Yogachaitanya on Yoga Nidra (Pt.1)

Yogachaitanya discusses the practice of Yoga Nidra with Carol Sill. Working with the neural and physical systems, the practice creates a wholistic experience for the entire being, which benefits all systems of physiology. Functioning between the waking and sleeping state, the practice enables one to return to a place of optimum efficiency, addressing deep layers of consciousness and emotional being.

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Medicine Wheel

..when you’re in the center of the circle, which is the place of creator in that system, you are the human being that’s at the cross-point between the life and death earth-walk and spiritual beings that can come through our experience of this earth walk; there is a point of integration of those two, and we can embody that.

Judy Evaski continues her conversation with Carol Sill on the Medicine Wheel Path

C: Hi, we’re continuing our conversation, this is Judy Evaski and I’m Carol Sill, and we’re here in Vancouver talking about Judy’s spiritual path and her relationship with nature. I think that’s our next topic, right?

J: Yes. I would add that when I was working with, and I’m still working with, the Native elder, one of the first teaching tools that was used with me, aside from offering tobacco, was the medicine wheel. I was able to construct a medicine wheel, with his guidance, and began to learn some of the basic teachings in that path through that vehicle.

It was a wonderful tool for me to integrate all the paths that I had been exposed to. I’d always had a strong link to nature, to the other creatures in nature, not just us two-leggeds, as we are called, but also with the winged ones in particular. Also with the stones and the rocks, which are called ancestors. What my goal was, I’ve come to realize, in pursuing that path, was to try and learn the manner of speaking to all my relations, which the Native path teaches.

There have been millennia of time that humans have understood their place in creation, their relationship to all the other beings that we share this time and space with. And so my deepening has been in learning the language that promotes communication between all my relations and two-leggeds.

And one of the most wonderful things in the medicine wheel that I began to learn, this is just a simple thing that I think it’s okay to share in this format, is that you have the crossed axis. You have the north-south axis and you have the east-west axis. And in that tradition, and probably in many others, such as the Christian with the cross symbol, the east-west path is often considered the spiritual path. And the north-south is actually the earth walk.  So I’m just realizing as I speak that it’s maybe reversed in the Christian path, where I’ve heard the cross described as the horizontal is our outreaching to other beings, other humans, and the north-south or the up-down axis is our connection to spirit.

Anyway, the point is: when you’re in the center of the circle, which is the place of creator in that system, you are the human being that’s at the cross-point between the life and death earth-walk and spiritual beings that can come through our experience of this earth walk; that there is a point of integration of those two, and that we can embody that.

And I think that’s the purpose of the practice, and of all practices, is that we train ourselves to be more and more ready and more able to allow those energies that we can call divine sometimes, or we call inspiration, to flow through us and to stimulate us in some way to express what those divine energies are.

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On Authenticity

“To describe this in words, that’s the realm of poetry and art. It’s a resonance, we know when we are authentic. So certainly that might be the aim, even if I should fail. The aim must be that I be authentic, in this moment only. Always. This moment only.”

Andrew Jordan in discussion with Carol Sill

A: If what we’re talking about is “Authenticity” … authenticity is something that when it happens we just know. We know. We can’t fake that. Our dog would know. Our lover would certainly know. Our children definitely know when we are authentic. And that one thing is true in every moment, no matter what. So in that sense, it could be said that it’s a constant.

C: I’m thinking it might not be a constant, because, yes you can be authentic, but to be continually as a human being in the flow, always 24/7 with that right time, right place, right circumstance, right series of electromagnetic whatevers, always on. Is that possible for us as human beings? Or can we just rise and fall and be authentic in our feelings and our approaches? You know, there’s the two kinds of authentic, if you know what I mean?

A: I do. Well its too much to ask for a human being to be always authentic. We look at these Olympic gymnasts, the Olympics are happening right now and we look at the top gymnasts and they are almost perfect, but to ask perfection is a bit too much. But I think it’s not too much, or the least I can ask of myself is to be authentic in this one moment. Just this one moment, that’s all. That is the minimum I can ask of myself, and of you, is to be authentic, to have a conversation. Otherwise, why bother? Just this one moment.

C: But what is authentic, what do you mean by “authentic”?

A: To describe this in words, that’s the realm of poetry and art. It’s a resonance, we know when we are authentic. So certainly that might be the aim, even if I should fail. The aim must be that I be authentic, in this moment only. Always. This moment only. If only I’m responsible for this one moment, I cannot promise or commit to being authentic all my life. But I must say yes I am absolutely committed to being authentic this moment. What else?

C: Okay. What about that thought: “I’m going to be authentic in this moment.”? Is that a veil between authenticity or is that a helper, or training wheels so that authenticity occurs spontaneously?

A: That’s a direction. That’s a commitment, that’s a direction, in the language of Kaballa it’s kavanah, It’s a direction, physically a vector. ..If I sit down to write an exam, I aim for 100%. 50%’s a pass, 80% an A, whatever. But I know what my intention is: to do the absolute best. That might be the intention. So all I’m saying is that I must be committed to that authenticity, and that’s an intention. That’s choosing a direction. What direction am I choosing? That means being awake, and often of course I’m not awake. But I’m clearly a committed student of aiming towards authenticity in the moment.

C: Right. Yeah. Okay!

A: Now somebody might listen to this and say this is nonsense. To me this is not nonsense. I think it’s valuable. It’s almost like adjusting the rudder of the boat, where are you going, where am I going? It only works out if the direction is towards authenticity, committed to authenticity. I may fail, but that’s another story, that’s irrelevant to the discussion….

C: How do you tell when it’s on? Or, how do you tell when it’s off? What’s your sense?

A: Maybe this is when the teaching of Jesus becomes relevant. When, I just mentioned in a previous discussion, “I am the way.” I have to know, and I have to be okay with it. And when somebody with force comes down and tells me otherwise, I don’t…. I am the way, I have to know. That’s a very personal thing. It’s between me and God. And that should be good enough.

C: Right.

A: And whether you, the other, know or not that’s another story. If you get it we can probably be friends. If you don’t – well that’s a different relationship. So it’s a resonance. I have to be anchored in my own truth, and I have to know. Now, can you say that publicly to everybody, I don’t know, maybe politically it’s not acceptable to propagate such freedom for individuals…..I don’t know. For me, it’s being anchored in my own… I have to know. And if I know that’s good enough.
And then of course I’m always searching for tribesmen, and I would define tribe where people resonate similarly. We can meet in that place, that place when it happens.

C: It is.

A: So I’m not claiming that I’m better than the other guy, I’m just saying that’s my focus. You know why? Because I can’t think of anything better. If I could, I would. Being authentic is the best for me. I’d be happy to exchange it for something better. If there was one. I haven’t found one yet. It’s not about morality, even.

C: No.

A: … healthier and happier and more fulfilling life. That’s my personal belief at this time, until I change it.

C: That’s great. Thanks Andrew.

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Authenticity

Andrew Jordan and Carol Sill in conversation.

“To describe this in words, that’s the realm of poetry and art. It’s a resonance, we know when we are authentic. So certainly that might be the aim, even if I should fail. The aim must be that I be authentic, in this moment only. Always. This moment only.”

Link here to read the text version of this conversation.

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