If you are interested in studying Classical Yoga, but are still not sure if you can handle a trip to India, this is a perfect opportunity for you.
Wise Living Yoga Academy is a centre of Classical Yoga located in the outskirts of Chiang Mai, in the district of Doi Saket in Thailand. Our new training facility is set in midst of rice fields and surrounded by hills and forests. The centre provides an "Ashram-like" environment, ideal for the full immersion experience in Traditional Yoga studies.
Thailand itself is known to be a good balance (blend of East & West), providing the travelers with an exotic experience without much troubles and hurdles of the lack of infrastructure that is characteristic of much of Asian subcontinent. Our courses are structured to provide the students with the right environment for learning& authentic approach to Yoga Philosophy & Techniques.
Below you'll find links to photo albums of our last course in 2013, the upcoming courses in the second semester of 2013 and all the courses already scheduled for 2014!!!
Please visit our website for complete information about the courses!
Read more information below!
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Wise Living Yoga Academy is authorized to impart Yoga Teacher Training Courses on the tradition of The Yoga Institute of Santacruz in Mumbai, India – the world’s oldest organized Yoga Institution. The residential programs are held regularly in Bali (Indonesia), Chiang Mai (Thailand) & Minas Gerais (Brazil) throughout the year and are accredited by the Yoga Alliance USA, allowing the graduates to teach Yoga in any part of the world.
And cried ,‘They’re sharp and hardly worth my while"
The Fox and the Grapes (example of not true detachment)
"This Fox has a longing for grapes: He jumps, but the bunch still escapes. So he goes away sour; And, 'tis said, to this hour Declares that he's no taste for grapes"
"Pleasures are dear and difficult to get.
Feasting the eye, fat grapes hung in the arbour,
That the fox could not reach, for all his labour,
And leaving them declared, they're not ripe yet."
by Aphra Behn, Walter Crane, Isaac de Benserade respectively, from the original "The Fox and the Grapes" traditional Aesop's fables
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The fox that gave up in attempt to reach the grapes, that were too high for it, saying that the grapes were sour, was not an embodiment of true disinterestedness.
When one lacks capabilities, and therefore shows disinterest in otherwise interesting objects, then one is not really disinterested. If you are sick, and you have no desire for food, you need not have to praise yourself foe being sparing in your food habits. The real test of your disinterest lies, when in spite of good appetite and tasty food available you, show disinclination to eat it.
It is often found, during pathological conditions e.g. psychiatric disorders, that one loses one's urge, for normal biological activities of life. This should not be mistaken for any spiritual development. You may lose your appetite, when you are under influence of anxiety and fear. But when you are free of such anxiety and fear, the appetite returns. Thus, we see a lot of sadhus and sanyansis showing their pseudo-spiritual qualities of unworldliness, etc. however, when they are in a favourable situation to partake of material pleasures, they go about uninhibitedly indulging in their secret cravings. They betray a lack of any true disinclination to material objects.
Rise of a spiritual understanding of the real from the unreal, is an important ingredient of yogic disinterestedness.
One has to have faith in a spiritual destiny to begin his attempt at self improvement. It is said that to create such an attitude, one must enjoy a certain amount of tranquility of the mind. Clarity is poor with us, when our mind is confused and we are overpowered by hatred, jealousy and such negative feelings. It is therefore recommended that one begins cultivating his disinterest, by experiencing positive feelings of friendliness, compassion, etc. these emotions when not excessive, remove toxicity (mala) from our mind.
It may happen that, with the rise of positive feelings, certain amount of disinterest develops. We have to therefore find out what sensory stimuli have been mastered at this stage, and what sensory objects still remain active. This sort of understanding of the mind is not so easy to obtain.
Yogis at this stage show disinclination to the gross material objects, and yet they remain attached to the subtle ones. Some of the tallest individuals in our society, disinterested in wealth and material comforts, may yet very attached to power.
The final stage of disinterestedness is when one gains a sense of mastery over material things. However, this too is considered inferior, if a corresponding understanding of a spiritual life is not available.
Disinterestedness based on spiritual knowledge culminates in final liberation from bondage.
Source:
From "Stray Thoughts on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" by Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra, published by The Yoga Institute of Santacruz, Mumbai - India.
I know I haven’t been posting in awhile but I’ll try to be better about it in the future. I miss hearing from all of you that post here and send me emails about your progress and what not. I will try my best to do better.
So first, what has been going on? Besides family, work, and music, the answer is “running.” I’ve been enjoying running again. After taking a year off of any serious running, I’m back at it and loving it. I’m trying to get faster and run longer without getting injured. That is usually a tall task for most runners but I think it is achievable. My ultimate goal is still to eventually run fast enough to qualify for Boston, but right now I am just focusing on the smaller running goals that will eventually produce that result. It is going to take some time and hard work, but I know eventually I’ll get to Boston!
Having said all that, I thought I would use today’s space to tell you about a very cool race that I ran a few weeks ago. I’ve never reported on a race before, but both times I have run the Oak Barrel half marathon, I left thinking “what a cool race,” so I thought I might spend some time telling folks about it.
The 2013 version of this race is only its third edition, but the folks in the small town of Lynchburg, Tennessee have got this race thing figured out. In a conversation with one of the race directors, he told me that the race is put on by a bunch of local runners who just like to run. I could see the pride in his eyes when I complimented the race. It isn’t just another race to the people of Lynchburg, it is their race. It belongs to them and to the 1,200 runners who show up every year to run.
Even though this is a smaller race, I am still impressed by the organization. For the most part, everything seemed to run so smoothly. And you don’t just leave Lynchburg with a running t. How about a technical t-shirt, a wooden race medal, a hat, and Smithwick socks with the race logo. All that swag for a race fee of $50!
Now I need to mention the course. The race starts in downtown Lynchburg and ends in downtown Lynchburg, which looks like it could have been stolen from the set of the Andy Griffith Show. Mayberry ain’t got nothing on Lynchburg, but more on this later. The course quickly moves to the country and takes you past a number of farms and rolling scenery, which I really enjoyed. Quick warning: You may notice the strong odor of cow poop at certain points along the way, but here in the south we like to call that “Southern charm.”
One other quick warning: this course is not flat! Check out my splits:
Mile 1- 7:46
Mile 2- 7:47
Mile 3- 8:00
Mile 4- 7:58
Mile 5- 9:55 (Whiskey hill)
Mile 6- 7:40
Mile 7- 8:12 (another smaller hill)
Mile 8- 7:37
Mile 9- 7:37
Mile 10- 7:27
Mile 11- 7:24
Mile 12- 7:36
Mile 13- 7:31
You can see around mile 5 there is a big hill which seemed to go on forever. The locals call it Whiskey Hill, and Whiskey Hill is so mean that it actually has its own Facebook page. The Oak Barrel website calls it a “character building hill” that is a “gradual climb for about a mile.” I’m not sure if any “character building” was achieved, but I will say Whiskey Hill kicked my butt and it took a mile or so to recover. I think it is also important to note that somewhere in the middle of running this hill is when I heard the banjo music from Deliverance piping out of a sound system In the woods. That definitely made me run faster.
The good news however, is that the runners who conquer Whiskey Hill, are rewarded by getting to go downhill. Who doesn’t love to go downhill? Also, the last mile was nice and flat as you pass the Jack Daniels Distillery (no free samples along the race course which is actually in a dry county). While the course was challenging, it wasn’t unmanageable. I only cursed once or twice and I do that in every race anyway.
The finish line in downtown Lynchburg was an awesome spectacle. The people there seemed to really enjoy the experience and were totally in to it. I think the local flare is what makes this race so great. Yes, they did have the typical finish line food (bagels, bananas, etc.), but along with it different booths were set up with food from local restaurants. Along with pizza from a joint on the town square, you could get Brunswick Stew, and a local delicacy called Hoe cakes. For you big city dwellers, check the spelling on that last one and get your mind out of the gutter. A Hoe Cake is basically cornmeal fried in oil, and at the finish line of the Oak Barrel three ladies were cooking them under a tent. Next to that tent was a Jack Daniels tent and if you’re in to the whiskey thing, the head distiller is available to sign your race medal.
All in all, a really fun race! As I left the downtown square to travel home, I saw a man giving rides in a horse-drawn carriage as well as a bluegrass group jamming their way through Foggy Mountain Breakdown. I found it so captivating that I had to stay and listen for a good twenty minutes. I still couldn’t believe I wasn’t in Mayberry. Very cool experience, and I would encourage anyone looking for a small town half-marathon somewhat off the beaten path, to make their way down to Lynchburg. And don’t be afraid of that hill, it didn’t hurt…..much.
In case anyone cares, I finished in 1:43:38 (7:55/mile pace) and was 3rd place in the 40-44 age division. That was cool for me since I’ve never been that high in my age division before. From the splits listed above, you can see I ran the last 6 miles at a pace much closer to what I would need to qualify for Boston. Also, I feel I could have ran even faster if that dang hill hadn’t somewhat whipped me out.
Next Up: I’m thinking I will run the local Cotton Row 10k at the end of May. I want to see what I can do for 6.2 miles. However, this race also features a killer hill. What is up with me and these hills? I will definitely include some hills in my training the next few weeks.
Also, my oldest daughter and I plan to run a Color Race in a couple months. Looks to be loads of fun. Hope she loves it.
OK, so tell me about your running! As always, I love hearing from you guys via email or post on the site. Email me at: hacopeland3@gmail.com .
I'll leave you with some post-race music from downtown Lynchburg:
“Practice makes a man perfect” - This is true of Yoga studies as well.
In fact, the role of perseverance is pivotal here. Because after stalling the flow of one's biological and psychological energy, from getting dissipated in mundane objectives, one has to direct it to better purposes.
There is this great need for holding on to that first inspirational state, that arises within us occasionally, to pursue the path of self-improvement. We are apt to lose heart, when traveling this path of self-evolution. Long is the journey, and uncharted the path. It is therefore, that we are commended prolonged and uninterrupted effort. There is no sense of a spiritual life that proceeds by fits and bounds turns into a drudgery or is devoid of energy, strength, enthusiasm and cheerfulness.
For one thing, there is no question of hurry in spiritual matters. In the oft quoted story in the commentaries on Yoga Sutra:
"The two tiny tittibha birds, that lost their eggs, to the sea, vowed to recover the same, is very apt. The birds began to gather drops of water in their beaks and flew a distance away dropping the sea water, with a hope that in this operation they would dry up the sea bed. They affirmed to themselves that though they knew very well, that their final objective may not be met in a few moments, or few hours, or even a few days, or a few weeks, or a few months or a few years, they were sure that if they persisted, birth after birth, they would succeed in the end. That was their determination and their source of enthusiasm. The impossible happened, as per the mythological story, when the divine Garuda intervened on their behalf, and recovered their lost eggs."
The efforts are not to be just for a little while. Efforts are to be continued for a long time. Much patience is needed here.
"Patience is therefore also synonymous with the name of great yogis like Goraknath."
In traditional learning, there are to be asked no such questions:
"How long will I have to continue my studies?"
Sketch of Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra President of The Yoga Institute of Santacruz
There can be no crash program in Yoga. Another important point is that of not allowing any efforts to get lost. Once we create a certain climate, momentum and mood, we should keep up the tempo. The slightest distraction has to be avoided, lest the momentum might get interrupted.
It is often that the students of Yoga undertake tapa (severe discipline) to condition themselves for a serious and consistent study of Yoga. In this act of sadhana (spiritual study), the ritual of initiation has an emotive value. Spiritual journey could not be a dry and barren exercise, shorn of feelings of a positive kind.
Much can therefore be said of devotion, enthusiasm, cheerfulness and spiritual passion in this context. Before anything else, one has to pass through this positive experience.
This experience combines the will with the next important process of disinterestedness.
With regard to Yoga, faith and disinterestedness are the two sides of the same coin.
Source:
From "StrayThoughts on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" by Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra, published by The Yoga Institute of Santacruz, Mumbai - India.
Understanding Yoga as on of the Indian systems of philosophy;
Understanding Yoga as a path for Self-realization;
Understanding Yoga as way of life;
Understanding Yoga in its entirety (not just taking one part of it).
All of the above is meant when we say Classical or Traditional Yoga.
Raja Yoga can also be called as Ashtanga Yoga or Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga.
So lets understand what is Raja Yoga or Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga in brief:
Raja literally means 'king' or 'royal'.
Raja Yoga may refer to one of the paths of Yoga amongst the 4 valid paths; the other 3 paths being Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga.
But in reality it is the culmination of all Yogic disciplines and efforts. So Raja Yoga actually refers to the highest states of Yoga.
Patanjali, was a great sage who systematized the entire path of Yoga in his 195 sutras. And, in this way he has contributed to the human society this great work on spirituality and human psychology. Raja Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga consists of eight parts, often called as eight-limbs-of-yoga. Yoga traditionalist and scholars devote their entire lives in studying, learning and practicing the Yoga sutras of Patanjali.
Our beloved Guru Hansaji had once said to me that "the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali serve as a path for the humans to help themselves to come out of the turmoil of life".
It is a highly organized path, giving precise directions and guidelines to humans who are interested in spiritual and self-development.
So the eight disciplines of Ashtanga Yoga are:
1) Yama - Universal ethics; the don't(s) - five in total
2) Niyama - Personal observances; the do(s) - five in total
3) Asana - Physical postures
In a systematic and traditional path of Yoga, it is highly essential to place ethics and observances before physical postures. The first two steps empower a human to sublimate his negative tendencies, freeing the mind from many negativities. Then only, a deep awareness and control on the body can be gained. A total understanding over the body can be achieved when our thoughts, our behaviour, our entire lifestyle is pure. Otherwise, as our Gurus say "asanas will also become a materialistic way, to show off, to compete". Asanas will lose their deep spiritual purpose without the practice of Yamas and Niyamas.
4) Pranayama - Training of the bio-energy
5) Pratyahara - Sense withdrawal from sense objects
6) Dharana - Concentration
7) Dhyana - Meditation
8) Samadhi - Deep absorption in consciousness state.
To really understand Yoga, one has to experience it. It is an experiential science. It is a way of life, a very profound philosophy which needs to be put into application. It leads to an overall transformation of the human personality on all the planes.
Our entire Yoga Teacher Training course 200 hours and advanced 300 hours is based on Raja Yoga. It is a Classical Yoga training, with a traditional approach.
All the techniques practiced in our center are scientifically taught. Here the students get to understand Yoga from the scratch, from its very roots. We get many students from different walks of life, some who have not practiced any Yoga, no yoga asanas. On the other hand, we also get so many students who had been doing Bikram Yoga, Hot Yoga, Ashtanga ‘Vinyasa’ Yoga, Power Yoga and such styles of physical practices. There are just so many styles. Today so many fancy names are put in front of Yoga.
But these are just some 'styles' of doing an exercise.
If it is not done with the right attitude, it is actually not 'Yoga'.
Even a style of asana has been now called as 'Ashtanga Yoga', but it is only an exercise style and many a times it can get confusing for a person who does not know the real meaning of Ashtanga Yoga.
Yes, Yoga has a part called Asanas, which is important. But the other parts are equally important and cannot be neglected. A good routine, healthy food, natural environment, healthy inter-personal relationships, personal hygiene, daily exercises and body cleansing, breath work, meditation, and so many other things all make up Yoga. This is what we are committed to pursue and teach. In order to help yourself and to help others, we highly recommend that you choose to study and practice Yoga in its entirety. That would be Classical Yoga or Traditional Yoga :-)
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Wise Living Yoga Academy is authorized to impart Yoga Teacher Training Courses on the tradition of The Yoga Institute of Santacruz in Mumbai, India – the world’s oldest organized Yoga Institution. The residential programs are held regularly in Bali (Indonesia), Chiang Mai (Thailand) & Minas Gerais (Brazil) throughout the year and are accredited by the Yoga Alliance USA, allowing the graduates to teach Yoga in any part of the world.
Three attitudes prevent us from receiving a continual flow of blessings. They are compared to three 'pots':
- a full pot, - a pot with poison in it, and - a pot with a hole in the bottom.
The pot that’s filled to the brimis like a mind full of opinions and preconceptions. We already know it all. We have so many fixed ideas that nothing new can affect us or cause us to question our assumptions.
The pot containing poison is like a mind that’s so cynical, critical, and judgmental that everything is poisoned by this harshness. It allows for no openness and no willingness to explore the teachings or anything else that challenges our righteous stance.
The pot with a hole is like a distracted mind: our body is present but we’re lost in thought. We’re so busy thinking about our dream vacation or what’s for dinner that we’re completely deaf to what’s being said.
Knowing how sad it is to receive blessings and not be able to benefit, Shantideva wants to save himself grief by remaining open and attentive. Nothing will improve, he says, unless we become more intelligent about cause and effect.
This is a message worth considering seriously!!!
From No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva
Besides conducting Yoga Teacher Training Courses in various parts of the world, we have long time ago introduced Corporate Yoga Training programs in India, and it has been a great experience.
We have introduced new methodology of training the employees by integrating modern activities and the concept of Multiple Intelligence and Experiential Learning.
These activities have been developed by The Yoga Institute of Santacruz and tested with thousand of students. They are used for bringing about more body awareness and control, concentration, relaxation and make it easier the understanding of the Yoga Philosophy – through conceptual games. All that, of course, along with traditional yoga asanas, pranayamas, kriyas and meditation.
Our aim is to use all this technology to give a broader perspective to physical and mental fitness, taking in consideration of the modern day set-up of an office environment and functioning.
Read more and go through the pictures below to understand how it works:
Kinesthetic Intelligence Learning through movement and control of body. Developing better motor skills and neuro-muscular co-ordination. We have been using games and juggling with rubber balls which has show tremendous positive effect besides being a recreational activity.
Traditional Training with Yoga Asanas
The practice of asanas is the traditional method of improving body awareness and dexterity.
Training employees with Multiple Intelligence Techniques is a very practical exercise that promotes efficiency, decision power and harmonious inter-relations with other workers. It is shown highly beneficial for the progress of an organization.
Training employees with