Category: Compassion

Karma Yoga

by Claudia Fountain, posted in Compassion, Yoga

To give back, to act for others. The birth country of Yoga is suffering, and as they suffer so do we. We are all neighbors sharing this beautiful planet. If you were wondering how to be of service, here is a list of trusted organizations that some colleagues of mine have put together.

[From Anjali Rao:]

Milaap – an online crowdfunding platform that enables anyone across India to raise funds for healthcare, education, sports, disaster relief, and other personal causes. https://milaap.org/fundraisers/help-mumbai-dabbawala…+

The Akshaya Patra Foundation – an organization striving to eliminate classroom hunger. https://www.akshayapatra.org/+

Association for India’s Development – a volunteer movement promoting sustainable, equitable, and just development. https://aidindia.org/+

Asha for Education – a secular organization dedicated to change in India by focusing on basic education in the belief that education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change. https://ashanet.org/join-us/covid-19-relief-fundraiser/…+

Hemkunt Foundation – a non-government organization aiming to provide humanitarian aid to marginalized sections of society. https://hemkuntfoundation.com/

[From the folks at Moxie.xyz:]

American India Foundation

The American India Foundation (AIF) provides frontline health worker interventions, helping those who are at greater risk of getting infected. They also provide community screenings, personal protective equipment, nutrition needs, awareness on vaccinations, and more. Submit Your Donation. 

Association for India’s Development

Association for India’s Development is a volunteer movement promoting sustainable, equitable and just development. AID supports grassroots organizations in India and initiates efforts in various interconnected spheres such as education, livelihoods, natural resources including land, water and energy, agriculture, health, women’s empowerment and social justice. Submit Your Donation.

ActionAid India

ActionAid responds to emergencies as soon as it strikes. As a part of our first level of intervention, in coordination with local authorities, we focus on providing immediate support in the form of food, shelter, medical aid, hygiene and other non-food items for the survivors, such as sanitation kits for women. We also organize health camps, safe spaces for children and women, and provide psychosocial care to the survivors wherever required. Must select NRI & Foreign Citizen to submit your donation. Submit Your Donation.

PM Cares Fund

The ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) is a public charitable trust aimed at strengthening the fight against COVID-19. Its goal is to further the availability of quality treatment and encourage research on ways to beat Coronavirus. Submit Your Donation.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

by Claudia Fountain, posted in Compassion, gratitude, Joy, kindness, Mantra, Uncategorized

In these challenging times, may this form of compassionate prayer bring you some measure of peace.

LOKAH SAMASTAH SUKHINO BHAVANTU

OM SHANTI SHANT SHANTI

 

May all beings have freedom and happiness, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my life contribute in some way to that freedom and happiness.  Peace. Peace. Peace.

To hear the chant:  https://vimeo.com/400370987

Love In All Directions

by Claudia Fountain, posted in Compassion, Exercise, kindness, Meditation, newsletter

“Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life.  So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically.”
–Neil deGrasse Tyson

We are in the Universe and the Universe is in us, literally in every way.  Chaos and order, in everything.  With one element to bind it all together, to balance it out–love.

“The most important aspect of love is not in giving or the receiving: it’s in the being. When I need love from others, or need to give love to others, I’m caught in an unstable situation. Being in love, rather than giving or taking love, is the only thing that provides stability. Being in love means seeing the Beloved all around me.”
–Ram Dass

While we all may not be able to create change in the world on a global scale, we can work within our personal sphere of influence.   Being the change begins with ourselves.  Being in love, existing in the flow of love, manifests as compassion, kindness, responding (rather than reacting), speaking and acting from our hearts.  I believe the doorway to being in love begins with ourselves–be good to yourself first, then others.  It’s like putting on your own oxygen mask.  Until you do that, you are no help to others.  Self-care may take the form of exercising, eating well, getting enough sleep.  But, it also means taking time to manage your stress, practicing mindfulness, and self-compassion.   Sometimes the best self-care is to step away from everything, and go for a walk; or, simply sit and watch your breath for a few minutes.

Personally, my two most essential “go-to’s” for managing stress are dedicated time on my meditation cushion, and a good solid cardio session either at the gym or outdoors.   Exercise literally moves energy, burns it up, moves it out with each exhale, with each step taken.  Think of stress as energy that is stuck, needing to be transformed.  I take that stuck energy, and give it back to the universe in the form of carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and water vapor.

What form does self-care take for you?  How is love manifesting in your life both for yourself, and for others?  Can it be found in the form of a child’s laughter, or the purring of a cat?  Perhaps it is in the form of a hug, or listening to a friend as they talk about their sorrow.  If we look with open hearts, it can be found in everything, and everyone.

See you on the mat!

Let’s Talk Equanimity

by Claudia Fountain, posted in Compassion, Equanimity, Yoga, Yoga Sutra

“A modern definition of equanimity: cool. This refers to one whose mind remains stable and calm in all situations.”
~Allan Lokos, Pocket Peace

Every so often (or more), there comes a day that challenges my sense of stability, peace, or safety.   You may be familiar with this phenomenon. The morning news stirs up emotional responses, nothing seems to go right, every stop light is red, and rushing to catch up or move beyond only seems to increase the effect of frustration, or the feeling of unsettlement.  The solution to days, or moments, like these can be found in Patanjali’s Sutra 1.33.

Maitri karuna mudita upeksanam sukha
duhkha punya apunya visayanam
bhavanatas citta prasadanam

The mind becomes tranquil through
the practice of friendliness toward the happy,
compassion toward the miserable,
joy toward the virtuous, and equanimity toward
the non-virtuous.
[Gary Kissiah]

Upeksha, or equanimity, is a state of even-minded openness.  Even though we may be stirred or moved by outer circumstances, and are motivated to make things better, our deep inner stability and serenity remains undisturbed–if we have developed equanimity.  We are better able to respond in balanced and clear ways, rather than reactively.  A balanced heart feels without grasping, pushing, or pulling.

We never know what changes, or consequences, each day will bring.  Equanimity allows for things to be just as they are.  The qualities of friendliness, compassion, and joy are balanced by the stability of equanimity.  This enables us to offer an open heart in all situations, without expectations or attachments.

On the mat–and off–we have many opportunities to practice kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity towards ourselves.  Each time we fall out of a pose, compare ourselves to others, break that favorite cup, get cut off in traffic, we can repeat to ourselves, “May I not be caught in reactivity.”

As we enter the hot months of summer, we will be working with managing our inner tapas (fire), and developing non-reactivity.  See below for one of the cooling pranayam (breath) exercises we will be practicing.

See you on the mat!

 

Sitkari Pranayam
  • This pranayam can be practiced anywhere, anytime.
  • Gently press your upper and lower teeth together, and part your lips comfortably so that your teeth are exposed.
  • Inhale slowly through the gaps in your teeth, and focus on the hissing sound of the breath.
  • Close the mouth, and exhale slowly through the nose.
  • Repeat up to 20 times.

The Lotus Heart

by Claudia Fountain, posted in Compassion, Pranayama, Yoga

One of the early ancient Vedic Sanskrit texts, the Yajurveda (1200-1000 BCE), puts forth the first suggestion that the essential self dwells eternally inside the heart.  It suggests that the union or merging of opposites (male and female, active and passive, the two sides of the body–the sun/surya channel on the right and the lunar/chandra channel on the left) is celebrated as “always dwelling in the lotus heart.”  When opposites are profoundly integrated, the heart takes the form of a lotus “imbued with devotional sentiment” and leads to “a spirit of unconditional acceptance.”

A well-balanced heart is a compassionate, empathic, and tender heart.  Hardness is tempered with softness.  Softening invites connection, openness, and reception.  We move from doing to being.

This month we play with balancing muscular strength and yielding softness, moving from effort to surrender.  We will also explore the body/breath/heart connection through pranayam practice.  The breath is central to unlocking the body and opening the realm of the heart.  Each inhale brings spaciousness and expansion to the body.  Each exhale invites softening and release.  What journey will your body and breath take you this month?  Come find out!  See you on the mat!  

**I am excited to be subbing this coming Thursday, 5/11, 7:30-8:45pm, Candlelight Flow at Breathe Together Yoga, Los Gatos!!**

Varanasi, India, March 2017.

Tied on a short lead, no water or feed available, I reached over and rubbed her head, scratched around her ears. Her eyes closed, and she pressed her head against my hand, asking for more touch, more contact.  So I gave more.  Love in its most simplest of forms.  Asked for, and given.  Along my trip it was tiny moments like these that broke my heart open the most.

The Heart of the Matter

by Claudia Fountain, posted in Anahata, Compassion, Meditation, Yoga

Namaste my fellow yogi/yoginis!

“Love was born first, the gods cannot reach it, or the spirits, or men…Far as heaven and earth extend, far as the waters go, high as the fire burns, you are greater, love!  The wind cannot reach you, nor the fire, nor the sun, nor the moon:  You are greater than them all, love!”
–Atharva Veda 9.2.19

This month we focus on our center of peace, the still center point of our energetic body–the Anahata (Heart) Chakra.  This peaceful, loving, compassionate energy is reflected by the Golden Rule:  Treat others as you would wish to be treated.  Love yourself, as well as your neighbors.  What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself.   Where in your life are you being less than any of this towards either yourself, or others?

The element associated with the Anahata Chakra is air.  Air is most commonly associated with expansive knowledge, openness and spaciousness, freedom to breath and a sense of lightness.  This love is empathic, compassionate, and is experienced within us as a state of being which is not based on need or desire.  We will work with prana (breath), back bends, and chest openers to help us connect with some of these elements.

For your meditation practice, I offer you the seed (bija) sound for the Anahata (Heart) Chakra:  Lam.  Repeat this seed sound silently to yourself as you gently follow the rise and fall of your breath with your attention.  You might also envision a green, glowing light centered in your chest.  Feel this essence of compassion, drawing it in on the inhale, and radiating it out on the exhale.  

An interesting side note:  The translation of Anahata from Sanskrit is “sound that is made without any two things striking.

A couple updates to my teaching schedule:

1)  I have stepped out of the Saturday morning Vinyasa class rotation at the Palo Alto Family YMCA.  The class will continue to be taught by the remaining teachers on a rotational basis.  Check the online schedule at: http://www.ymcasv.org/paloalto/html/downloads.html

2) The Friday Breath & Meditation class at Breathe Together Yoga is at a new time:  2:30-3:00pm beginning Feb. 17th.

See you on the  mat!

 

Metta For These Times

by Claudia Fountain, posted in Compassion, Dharma

I close each of my yoga classes with an offering to all beings everywhere, that they may have happiness and be free from suffering.   These two wishes are part of The Four Immeasurables, as described by Lord Buddha, which consist of loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity.  We work with these four qualities so that we may cultivate wholesome attitudes towards all sentient beings.

Loving-kindness, the first immeasurable, is the wish that everyone, without exception, have happiness.   Loving-kindness feels much the same as the sincere good wishes a mother feels toward her new-born infant–that he or she will enjoy good health, be intelligent and successful, and make good friends.  This immeasurable counters ill-will.

Compassion, the second of the immeasurables, is the wish that everyone be free from suffering.  When we witness suffering by those close to us, family, friends, even a pet, we experience the ordinary quality of compassion.  To reach the sublime level of compassion, is to extend it out to all sentient beings in all realms of existence.  This immeasurable counters cruelty.

My wish, as we navigate our post-election world, is that we remind ourselves on a daily basis to connect with loving-kindness and compassion.

See you on the mat!

THE FOUR IMMEASURABLES

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings never be separated from the happiness that knows no suffering.
May all beings live in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.

 

Compassion in Action

by Claudia Fountain, posted in Compassion, Yoga

“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded.  It’s a relationship between equals.  Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others.  Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.” –Pema Chödrön

Compassion in action begins with self.  Notice how many moments during your average day, when you are unkind to yourself.  Self-judgement, feelings of unworthiness, comparison of self versus another are just a few of the ways we are unkind toward ourselves.  This month we will explore the many ways we can soften the relationship we have with self and others.

See you on the mat!

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