Category Archives: Yoga

Metaphysical/Spiritual, Yoga

The Spiritual Path (Part 2); “The Big Picture”

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We have all heard it…the quote that sums it up; the “zen” perspective of how it is; the assumption that brings us to the present moment……”It’s not the destination.  It’s the journey.”  Really?  Life is all about the journey?

Deciding to enter into serious spiritual study is to inquire into the big questions.  How did we get here?  Where did we come from?  Where are we going?  What is the destination?  What is meaningful?  Is there objective truth and morality?  There is no more important path to get on than the spiritual path.  Deciding to enter onto the “path” in search of “The Way” in itself provides direction and becomes the journey.

So what is the big picture?  Is there a main theme or plot to this whole existence thing?  Seeking out, discovering, inquiring into and studying the ancient metaphysical maps one begins to see a common theme…almost like a story where the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning and everything in the middle is the journey.  One understands that the “beginning” or the creation is critical to getting a glimpse of the big picture.

If you have thrown up your hands or you have given up on the concept of Creation…Don’t.  Within the Creation Story is a key ingredient to seeing “The Big Picture.”  Of course, all of this is a bit nebulous and those of you who are yearning for a more concrete discussion here hang in there.  Spiritual inquiry is, by it’s nature, obtuse and can be murky.  It’s kind of like the quantum physics’ concept of changing what is observed simply by observing.

The foundation of the Big Picture has a lot to do with the 3 steps of the path……namely….Beginning – Middle – End.  Now, within that construct we can inquire by using different words and ways of looking.  The “journey” is defined by where we came from and where we are going.  This is one way to look at it.

Here is another way.  Life is an elaborate interplay of Yin and Yang,  Desire and Fulfillment, Receiving and Sharing, Good and evil or, should I say evil and good, negative and positive, Dark and Light.    Where they  meet, where the dance occurs is the middle or the experience of journey.

And here is a third way……..Birth-Growth-Death.   Or, Immaculate Conception – Miracle/Illusion – Resurrection.

The Kabbalists tell us that the reason for the creation of our universe was/is to absolve Bread of Shame.  Bread of Shame is the feeling of unworthiness that emerges when one receives something that he feels is unearned.  This implies that there was something going on prior to the creation of this universe we find ourselves in.  This place, this existence is called “The Endless World.”  The Endless was/is an existence where the interplay or dance between Desire and Fulfillment was/is perfectly orchestrated and immediate.  There was no time or space dimension.  Cause and Effect occurred at the same “time”.  But a problem surfaced that needed attention.  Desire began to feel Bread of Shame.  Desire began to feel that it had not earned its fulfillment and wanted some space and time to do that.  BOOM!  Big Bang and a whole bunch of planets and stars and all that.  Eventually we appear and we seem to have evolved to a consciousness where we can consider all of this.  We came from a perfect connection with “The Light” of Fulfillment (Sound familiar to some of you?  Hint: garden of…) and we are going back to to that perfect connection.  The journey is all about awakening to this “Big Picture” perspective and doing the spiritual work.  And there is a lot to it.  It is not easy.  The more you delve into it the more you realize how much you do not know.  The Spiritual path and spiritual work is all about speeding up the process.  It is not about the journey.  It is about the destination and the creation.  Once this is seen the journey is re-calculated  and the work of unification and peace begins anew.

Part 3 in the works…

Metaphysical/Spiritual, Yoga

Healing

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This is an email I sent to my yoga clients and others:
If you are getting this email then you are on my “yoga” list or I, have or am working with you on a related subject.  I came across this video and I would like to share it with you.  The link is pasted toward the end. Allow me to create some context.
Yoga, from the Sanskrit root “Yuj” gives us our word “union.”  Returning to wholeness, therefore, is the essential meaning of Yoga.  The heart of Yoga lives in realizing the path by which we unite our finite self with Infinite Being.  The vision of Yoga is an unbroken (unceasing) awareness of our oneness with Spirit.  This new level of consciousness evolves through yogic practices aimed at developing an ever-increasing awareness of the various levels of our experience : physical, energetic, emotional, spiritual, and so forth.
Keeping us from experiencing ourselves as truth, bliss and consciousness are obstructions, both obvious and subtle.  These obstructions create disharmony within us and is considered the root cause of our dis-eases.    In response to this alienation from Self, the practice of Yoga assists us in holding these unconscious patterns of obstruction and disturbance up to the light of our awareness.  This is the healing journey; the path to wholeness.
Swami Kripalu described it this way………
“The purpose of Yoga is the attainment of happiness, peace and bliss.  The meaning of
Yoga is the union of individual consciousness with Shiva consciousness; with
God (Source, Creator).  Yoga is the meeting of the drop and the ocean.
The ultimate result of all Yoga is purity of mind and body.”
Ok, with that said, most of you know that I acquired Type 1 Diabetes at age 14.  This dis-ease has been my “cross to bear.”  My deepest desire is to heal it.  It is a very challenging and uncomfortable obstruction to deal with albeit all the medical advancements.  Prior to the invention of injectable insulin in 1922 a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes ended quickly (not quickly enough).  Without insulin the body is not capable of metabolizing food.  Without insulin the body starves and is drained of all water.  My awareness that this life was a path of healing hit my square between the eyes in November of 1976.
I teach Yoga in the context of understanding that we are inquiring into how to become whole; how to heal.  This attitude is the foundation of my passion.  Yoga is but one map that I have studied and engaged in.  Some of the other maps are Vipassana Meditation, Kabbalah, Mystical Christianity, Spiral Dynamics, Integral Theory, Cranio – Sacral Therapy, Light Therapy, Bio-feedback, Acupuncture, Chakra balancing and others similar.  I love having Yoga as the backbone because it is such a dynamic map.
This video is one of the most comprehensive processes I have experienced.  It is 24 minutes. When you have a 1/2 hour find a comfortable place to be. lower the lights, maybe light a candle, wear comfortable clothes. make a cup of tea, put your headphones on, click play and enlarge the screen so you are in full screen mode.  One of my facebook friends posted this and then I checked it out.  The internet and advancements in technology are both mirroring and making possible the evolution in human consciousness that all of us can tap into now.
I teach the yoga classes not so much to teach yoga but rather to find and walk the path of healing.  I think we are about ready to quicken the pace.  As one of my personal mentors often said…..”Let’s gitty up.  Feel free to forward this email to any friends or family that are in need of healing energy.
Here is the Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7iLX14ua6k
Namaste,
Michael Mahanger
Coach, Trainer, Meditation Guide & Certified Yoga Teacher
www.choicetimes.com
Diabetes, Yoga

Type 1 Diabetes. “Now that’s a yoga pose.”

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I have been living with Type 1 diabetes since 1976.  I was 14 when diagnosed.

I will spare you the whole story for now.

About five years ago I completed my initial yoga teacher training at Kripalu Yoga Center in the Berkshire Mountains.  After a very profound session with one of the senior yoga teachers, I had the opportunity to speak with her.   I told her I had Type 1 diabetes since I was a kid.  Her verbal response was….”Now that’s a yoga pose.”  Her emotional response was dripping with compassion.  I was immersed in one of the most profound training experiences of my life and being introduced to the deeper aspects of yoga.  I had been practicing yoga for six years prior to going to Kripalu for the month long teacher training course.  My yoga practice had transformed my body and mind.  I saw yoga as a metaphor for what I am tasked to do as a Type 1 Diabetic.  Both yoga and living with diabetes involves issues of restriction, alignment, balance, attention, focus, letting be and manifestation of life force energy (prana).  I did not want so much to be a yoga teacher, instead, I was seeking to deepen my understanding and practice.

Now that’s a yoga pose.

 

Yoga

Attention All Yoga Teachers

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Yoga is exploding in our country.  Yoga studios are popping up everywhere.  I have been “practicing” yoga for 15 years now.  It is a powerful “map” of the human experience.   I have attained a 200 hour certification to teach yoga and have completed an additional 150 hours towards my 500 hour certification.  In addition to that, I have attended a 10 day Vipassana Meditation Training.  In my opinion, this was the most profound of all the trainings I have attended.  Google Vipassana and check it out.  It is 10 days of no talking, no outside contact, just sitting in meditation with some profound instruction and guidance.  It is the Buddha’s minimum training requirement for enlightenment.  I consider meditation to be the seed level of yoga.  If you begin to inquire into yoga you will understand what I mean.  If you are a yoga teacher or practitioner you probably know what I mean.

My biggest life challenge has been living with Type 1 diabetes.  I was diagnosed at age 14 in 1976.  Type 1 diabetes is a tough one.  I know there are tougher challenges out there but this one is a 24/7 kind of thing with short and long term effects happening all the time.  It was when I began to practice yoga that I stepped on a path of healing, transformation and liberation that, I now, wish to share with others dealing with diabetes.  Yoga is, what I call, a map of the territory.  Understanding and following the map will help deliver you from the unreal to the real.  It will provide you with a starting point.  It will give you direction.  It can serve as a companion on your journey.  It can show where you want to go.

I offer yoga instruction in the form of a series of classes or a workshop for people who have diabetes, family and friends who support those with the condition and health care professionals who desire a deeper dive into what diabetes is and how to approach it with their clients.  In the U.S. there are 26 million people who have diabetes.  There are another 79 million people who are undiagnosed or who have what is called pre-diabetes.  They will get it eventually.

The workshop is a three step process:

Step 1:  Alignment

Step 2:  Discovering Your Edge

Step 3:  Exploring Beyond Your Edge

Contact me at 954-254-8871 to discuss doing something in your area.

Diabetes, Metaphysical/Spiritual, Yoga

Less is More

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This is a concept in yoga.   Yoga is not about stretching or struggling past your edge. Proper yoga means, first, proper alignment.  Then, finding your edge with the attitude of inquiry and compassion. A perfect example of this in dealing with diabetes is the amount of food we eat in any given sitting. I have found that less food means more control. I try to restrict my food intake to less than 40 grams of carbohydrates in one sitting. When I do this I achieve more control of my blood sugars. When I go beyond 40 grams, control becomes more uncertain.