Saturday, Jun 01, 2019 A Message from Marydale – June 2019
Salutations!
Five years ago, the United Nations initiated June 21st as the International Day of Yoga, commonly called Yoga Day. Narendra Modi, from the UN General Assembly, has written:
“Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help in well being. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.”
All of us at Param Yoga feel privileged to practice many facets of yoga daily, truly embodying all of the attributes mentioned above and more that yoga offers us. To celebrate, please join us at the studio on Friday, June 21st for a free yoga class followed by a vegetarian potluck. Coming together in community with like-minded people to support, encourage, and energize each other is an important part of being a yogi.
With a heart filled with gratitude, I bow to each one of you for creating the sacred space that we embrace as our yoga home here in Chatsworth. Blessed and grateful each day to be sharing the path with you,
Love, Love, Love,
.
“When we must live in this world, we are not alone. Thus, we must think of others and ourselves. We should use our skill, talent, and whatever we have in a constructive way, making positive contributions to family, friends, community, humanity, or ultimately to God’s creation. Thinking like this improves our quality of living, it improves our attitudes about how to live in the world, and it helps us to help others.”
— Paramahamsa Prajnanananda
Wednesday, May 01, 2019 A Message from Marydale – May 2019
Greetings to all of the mothers who rise each day to love, serve, and care for the children, grandchildren, stepchildren, adopted children, children-in-law, grown children, sick children, challenged children. I bow to you, for as women we have inherited the challenging, consuming role of birthing, training, and guiding the human race, one individual soul at a time. While some women are more adept at this lifelong responsibility, this arduous task, this gargantuan expression of energy, the constant selfless role of “Mother” is not easy for any of us.
The rewards of motherhood, on the other hand, are profound, including the unconditional love one feels for her child, accompanied by boundless joy for their individual accomplishments, no matter how small. In the end, motherhood makes all of us women somehow a part of an exclusive club with knowing expressions of understanding shared on a subtle, almost psychic, level.
As we approach May 12th, the day set aside to honor mothers this year, make it your responsibility to reach out and honor as many moms as you can with a kind word, a thank you for raising such awesome kids, a big hug, and a welcome smile for a job well done. Then consider honoring mothers around you each and every day. Be kind to them, considerate, patient, tolerant, encouraging, and loving to support them as they care for the future of our world.
As yogis, let us lean into the knowing that the Divine Mother is ever-present in all of our lives, just waiting for us to approach her with heart in hand and ask for her loving support and continuous guidance. She is always waiting and available to assist you, whether you are a mother or not. Lean into her, climb on her lap, give her your troubles, and celebrate your joys with her. By doing so each and every day, your life will open through endless Grace.
I celebrate you and thank you!
May great blessings be yours, now and always,
.
“When we understand and recognize the special role of a mother, our heads naturally bend down with love and reverence for her sacrifice and selfless service. What more is there to say? Mother’s Day is a time to respect mothers and offer regards to them with humility and caring.”
— Paramahamsa Prajnanananda
Monday, Apr 01, 2019 A Message from Marydale – April 2019
Greetings!
After a cold, wet winter, our precious Earth is bursting forth all around us with displays of grandeur and delight that we have not witnessed for quite some time, from hidden waterfalls and blankets of wildflowers to dancing leaves of every imaginable shade of green sparkling and shining in the soft April sun. We are witnessing the gifts that are rejuvenated through deep hydration of the land, at long last. Plus, an added bonus showed up right on cue to dazzle us as we witnessed the amazing renaissance of hundreds of thousands of painted lady (or cosmopolitan) butterflies moving through our world as they majestically and courageously made their way toward an environment that will sustain them for generations to come. What a wonder!
Since winter was unusually cold and damp, chances are that you have experienced more sluggishness than usual. Now that we have more light, warmth, and brightness, it’s time to allow the thickness of winter to soften, making space in our minds, bodies, hearts, and Spirits to be able to literally lighten up.
Savor springtime by simplifying your life to include only those things that truly revitalize you. When we’re over-stimulated, we experience the same problems emotionally and neurologically that we do if we overeat—we get filled beyond our capacity, to the point of weakening the entire system. The remedy, in simple terms, is to take a healthy break from over-stimulation and seek periods of peace, quiet and calm.
To assist in shedding your heavy winter coat, so to speak, try these easy-to-incorporate habits each day:
- Wake with the sun. Dawn is ruled by light, clarity, and subtleness.
- Move your body. Walk outside for twenty minutes—no matter what.
- Do your asana practice daily or at least several times a week.
- Eat lighter foods that are pungent, bitter and astringent, including kale, collards, dandelion, spinach, and mustard greens; strawberries, cherries, and blueberries; fresh green peas; and barley, quinoa, and millet.
- Do some spring cleaning in your environment—let go of all extra stuff that no longer serves you and has you clogged up.
Less is truly more as you make space in every aspect of who you are for Spirit to flow into you and through you with each breath. Give yourself that space – you deserve it. Be Light, be clean, be lean – ‘tis the season.
As Earth Day approaches, remember to be sensitive to the fact that each one of us holds stewardship for the protection and upliftment of our extraordinary home. Offer your service to love, protect and care for her in small ways, each and every day. And be reminded that with the change of each season comes the opportunity to recommit yourself to your Spiritual practice, whatever it may be, to live in constant harmony with the Divine and live in the perpetual flow of goodness for you and all. Celebrate your life, for it is brief and will never come again. Blessings to you and yours in springtime and always.
Love, Love, Love,
“Just as we light lamps in our homes, let our body-houses be decorated with light. In every door of the body house, the sense organs, the inner chamber of the heart, the mind, let our lives be filled with knowledge, love, and actions that make our lives beautiful and productive.
During this time, let us all pray for world peace by cultivating inner peace, compassion, and lives of service.”
— Paramahamsa Prajnanananda
Friday, Mar 01, 2019 A Message from Marydale – March 2019
Greetings!
The deeper you go into Yoga, the deeper it gets – there is no end to it. When one approaches Yoga, it should be done with a sense of inquiry and a healthy attitude. Leave the competitive nature behind and translate your own mind-body language…doing it your way without regret. Over time, Yoga becomes yours. It is a way of maintaining health and happiness. It’s a compass for constantly staying in touch with what healthy truly is to you.
Through your practice, you learn the difference between what it means to heal and to cure. Yoga takes deep causes into account that are, more often than not, found in the mind and in the way you live. That is why Yoga Masters recommend and encourage self-study or svadhyaya. You must take an active role in your health and not be dependent on others to take care of you. They do not know how you truly feel inside! This happens automatically as your self-awareness increases and you are able to pay attention to things while they are small.
Consider yoga as a way to self-empowerment. Physicians, therapists, and remedies can help us through a crisis, but we ourselves are responsible for our own health and happiness—especially for tapping into the Source of lasting happiness that lies within.
A springtime arrives, take time to make a commitment to your continued, conscious Yoga practice as you cultivate and fine-tune awareness, balance, stability, your relaxation response, and the authentic happiness of being YOU! See you on the mat.
Love, Love, Love,
.
“Practice, practice, practice! It will give you perfection. It has been emphasized by the masters since time immemorial. Even in perfecting my world skills, for example, singing, dancing, cooking, and other such activities, one can easily see how repeated practice brings mastery and success. However, mechanical practice is not enough. There is a need for joyful practice. So practice the instructions of the guru preceptor with love and faith. It helps to be steady in your evolution.”
— Paramahamsa Yogananda
Friday, Feb 01, 2019 A Message from Marydale – February 2019
Happy LOVE month to you!
For several months now, our community has been focused on making our lives ongoing labors of love. Since February is traditionally recognized as LOVE month due to Valentine’s Day, it seems appropriate for each of us to revisit what it means to be a Labor of Love Advocate. Simply stated, you are to make living in a state of perpetual love your underlying principle in all that you do. Allow your consciousness to evolve into a place of Grace that opens your mind to perpetuating thoughts of loving kindness and unbridled love for all of creation, and to avoid preconceived notions of selected loving when your processing mechanism determines that qualifiers for who, what, and how to love are missing. Instead, be willing to trust the process of our innate essence—Love—and do your best to just love anyway, all the time, gently, quietly, without ego or attached expectations. Then step back and observe how the reverberations of your integrity to BE love create in your world a steady flow of goodness, kindness, beauty, and great joy.
Let’s continue together. We can do this, and the rewards are endless and empowering for all of humanity and the planet at large, for what you do, how you behave, and how you approach this one and only life of yours matters. Your life has repercussions that you will never know, so be careful to not move through this gift of life in a comatose state, forgetting your intricate value to all. Wake up, stand up, and let the Love flow into you and through you ceaselessly. We thank you in advance for being awesome!
All Love, All the time,
“In the state of love, no matter what you do, it’s going to be good. To love those that love you is easy. To love those that love you not is not so simple. If you want to change anyone, set a better example. Show more kindness, more understanding, more love. That has a sure effect. To those who are not kind, show kindness. To those who are mean, show bigness of heart.”
— Paramahamsa Yogananda
Tuesday, Jan 01, 2019 A Message from Marydale – January 2019
The care and feeding of the human condition is complex and requires respect, honor, and vigilance. Everyone knows that food is fuel for the body and that the food choices one makes either build up the cells of this bio-sack of ours or break it down. Offering the body regular exercise designed for our specific person is a vital part of health and happiness, not only for the body, but for the mind as well. Our mental state requires constant engagement in the world with opportunities for expansion, challenge, and fulfillment. Complacency in the continuous care of body-mind affords a risk of emotional instability, vulnerability, and a higher chance of depression and/or anxiety.
Each part of who we are is interdependent, and when one part is out of whack, the repercussions begin to cause problems elsewhere. It’s an intricate balancing act, to be sure, but we are designed to maintain wellness easily by using common sense and living a life of moderation, avoiding conditions that poison us.
The all-important aspect of Soul sitting quietly as the Observer, the eternal Witness, is constantly available to guide us through the challenge of navigating through this dense, complex, material realm. Tapping into this knowing is our saving Grace, our true GPS for a happy, healthy life. We must take the time and effort to allow Soul to be our conscious, subtle companion in each and every breath. Today, through mountains of worldwide research, it has been proven that taking time to go inward, to be in stillness, to meditate, to contemplate, to reach for Oneness, works. Doing so gives tremendous benefits to us for a life that is calm, focused, and better prepared to hold the energy of a healthy experience as a multifaceted being in a challenging world.
I’m very excited to invite you to join us in February as together we embark on our first online study together—Cosmic Source, Cosmic Self—to investigate these matters deeply and to gain techniques to live the life you love. The classes will stream live on Wednesday evenings for an hour over a ten-week period of time. Classes will be recorded for those who cannot attend the live class. Click here for more information and join me for a most excellent adventure into deeper knowing.
With the arrival of 2019 we are being offered the opportunity to up our game as the creator of our own reality, for this is a “3” year in the study of numerology, which indicates: creative self-expression, social interaction, optimism, tolerance, and inspiration. A wonderful platform for self-study and the continued commitment to make your life an on-going Labor of Love.
May 2019 be blessed with all good things for you and yours.
See you on the mat!
All Love, All the time,
“Let us begin this new year with a new light of love and compassion, with a new understanding of seeing good and doing good. Let this new year be a turning point in our lives. Let us all use our precious time to make ourselves divine and ultimately make this beautiful world a real paradise. Wishing you all a prosperous and spiritual New Year.”
— Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, December 23, 2016
Saturday, Dec 01, 2018 A Message from Marydale – December 2018
On behalf of the Param Yoga staff: Kirsten, Sabrina, Stephanie, and Julie; our wonderful subs Cherise, Jo, Cindy, and Josh; our Kriya Los Angeles Center leaders Richard and Judy Peterson; and, of course, Yoda; I THANK YOU for your ongoing love, attendance, and support of our sacred space. We were established eight years ago through Grace to be a bright Light and offer the Chatsworth community true Yoga in a way that can be incorporated into daily life for your highest good. It’s always been—and continues to be—all about YOU!
As we approach our ninth year, we do so humbly, mindfully, and openly, offering a space for you to grow, to rest, to rejuvenate, and to gain peace from the inside out. Through the day-to-day challenges of a small business in suburban America, we are only as strong as our customers, clients, students, and friends. Therefore, we beseech you to contact us and assist our future by offering your requests, ideas, and desires to make the studio more well-rounded, accessible, and fulfilling for you and your circle of influence.
May this culminating month of December hold a promise of all good things for all of us, as we see with clarity, listen more, speak less, embody peace, and stay awake, living through endless gratitude and consciously breathing the essence of eternal Love, Love, Love.
This holiday season, remember who you are and share that Truth by offering your life as a Labor of Love in all that you do. Standing with feet firmly planted on this beloved planet of ours, with head reaching for the eternal goodness that created all things and heart wide open, I bow to you.
All Love, All the time,
“Let these festive days create a spirit of joy, peace, and love, not only at this time, but during every breath, for all time to come. Remember that success in life is possible due to sincere effort and divine grace. The grace of the Divine is more available to those who dedicate their lives to hard work with a positive and prayerful attitude. Gurudev (Paramahamsa Hariharananda) often reminded us that life is not an empty dream.
“Discipline, dutifulness, and devotion are the three determinants of our success in any field. As a regularly cleaned copper pot shines brightly, in the same way, when we work sincerely and diligently, we experience the crowning achievements.”
— Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, Christmas 2014
Thursday, Nov 01, 2018 A Message from Marydale – November 2018
With heart wide open, I bow to each and every one of you who have chosen to be an ongoing part of Param Yoga’s community. It is because of you that we have shined our bright Light consistently and now celebrate our eighth year! Blessed and grateful are we to have made this landmark together! So grateful I am to YOU!
Bringing the attitude of gratitude into every moment of your life is the doorway to creating a sweetness in your world that is indescribable. We have all heard: “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade”— a positive and life-affirming instruction. Often, that is easier said than done for many of us. However, hear this, yogis: life serves up lemons to everyone in one way or another, and if you have been practicing day by day, there is not a lemon sour enough to take you from your calm, joyous, sweet center!
How to do this, you ask? In your daily practice, be determined to anchor your consciousness in a state of perpetual happiness with an open heart. This leads to freedom, peace, quietude, and bliss. With a mindset to always be moving in that direction, all will be well. And, guess what? It is living in gratitude—the very fabric of this practice—that is directly tied to your ability to be grateful for whatever shows up in front of you, knowing that somehow it is there to stretch you, to move you, and to be a needed catalyst for your personal growth, understanding and ultimate highest good. Bring on the lemons and allow your life to open huge vistas of knowing for you. Wow, what a blessing!
Stepping together into our ninth year of sharing, caring, uplifting, celebrating, and seeking ever onward into the Truth of who we are and where that Truth is guiding us, I bow to you. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being an anchor in our community, for we would be nothing without you—therefore, I shall continue to celebrate YOU! Om, Om, Om.
Together let us acknowledge God’s limitless generosity that sustains all of us through endless…
Love, Love, Love,
.
“If we really want to love God, we have to love everyone and everything without any type of discrimination. We have to be kind, compassionate, loving, and forgiving. These are the qualities of God, and thus we must work to cultivate them in our thoughts, words, and actions.”
— Paramahamsa Prajnanananda
Monday, Oct 01, 2018 A Message from Marydale – October 2018
Have you caught the splendor of the Harvest Moon as it has shined its luminosity in our sky for the last several nights? Beautiful. May we all slow our pace and pay close attention as nature subtly begins to change her clothes before our eyes into warm golden and burnt orange hues with the onset of shorter days, longer nights, and—perhaps—a snap of cooler weather(?)! With this entrance into the last quarter of 2018 comes the season of activity, gatherings, celebrations, and community.
It is my hope that you will continue to carve out the necessary time to care for yourself from the inside out by being persistent and consistent with your practice. Choose healthy food and drink when invited to celebrate the holidays. Don’t overindulge mindlessly. Remember that less is more. Don’t waste food, time, energy or resources. Keep things simple, pure and in integrity with your yogic values. Dive within often and be renewed in body, mind, and Spirit. Open your heart and let your love-light shine, for you are Sat Chit Ananda—Eternal, Conscious, Bliss.
Step up today and each day to leave the world a better place for having lived.
And remember to:
LOVE SERVE MEDITATE REALIZE
See you on the mat!
Love, Love, Love,
.
“Stillness leads to self-realization. When breath is completely still, the state of Samadhi dawns on the disciple. This is self-realization. Samadhi is the opposite of sleep. There is no awareness of the body, the senses or the mind and yet the self is immersed in a state of wakefulness or super-consciousness. Samadhi is the perfect union of the self with the Absolute.”
— Paramahamsa Prajnanananda
Saturday, Sep 01, 2018 A Message from Marydale – September 2018
Labor of Love.
With the arrival of September there is a promise of busy days ahead for all of us. How fitting that we start the month taking pause to appreciate all those around us who labor for the betterment of our lives personally and for the world as a whole.
As the holidays bear relentlessly down upon us, there is no doubt that a lot of labor is necessary to create goods and services that support our hopes, dreams, wishes, and all of the other necessities that make our world spin.
Diving deep into the underpinnings of what makes the daily practice of yoga so soul-inspiring and life-supporting, we discover an innate simplicity that translates to pure Love. What may appear to be an endless complexity of scriptures, ideals, practices, and promises of an integrated life experience would not fulfill us without the constant Presence of Love.
All of us contribute to either the ongoing harmony of a magnificent world and human experience or (often unconsciously) to the apparent chaos. Yoga, through the simple precept of constant presence, encourages us to choose the former through disciplined thoughts that ultimately become actions and, thus, create our experience.
This month I challenge you to commit yourself to living a life of love by deciding that your very life will be an endless contribution through the “labor of Love.” Constantly ask yourself: “Is this a loving thought? Am I acting and/or behaving in a loving way?”
You might think this is an impractical and radical approach to a world of conflict, indecision, lack of purpose, and so on…however, that’s the whole point! What you think, how you speak, and how you act matters! You hold the keys to the kingdom in your circle of influence—large or small. Energetically, you set up a chain reaction in everything that you create. Yoga pushes us to be responsible for who we are and encourages us to grow more in Love, in integrity, in peace, and in the Spirit of wisdom and Grace.
If you are willing to take this challenge, write back to me and sign the pledge to be a Labor of Love Advocate. Together, let’s hold hands as we create the life we love—for ourselves—for everyone.
Join me, won’t you? Your Love can change the world.
Love, Love, Love,
“The sooner we understand that we ourselves contain the entire universe, that we have the source of happiness within us, that we already possess all the objects we could desire, the sooner we can obtain the peace we seek.
“Rather than running endlessly after what dazzles us in the exterior world, we need to learn how to fix our attention on the magnificent universe within.”
— Paramahamsa Prajnanananda