Posts Tagged ‘Om’
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Day 2 of Faeq Biria’s workshop: I know that I said earlier that I would not write about what we learned in Faeq Biria’s class but this lesson deserves to be posted.
Faeq Biria on “Om”
At the start of my third class with Faeq Biria, he taught us how to produce the sound “Om”. He said we should produce the sound “a” and “u” from below our belly button and imagine that, as the sound rises towards our mouth, it gets louder and louder. When we say “m” we should feel a vibration at the top of our palette.
He then told us to say “Om” three times. The first time should be the loudest as it should awaken our body. The second “Om” should not be uttered as loud as the first. The second “Om” is intended to awaken our mind. The third “Om” should be said quietly to call to mind our true selves. In answer to the unspoken question of why “Om” should not be uttered loudly, Faeq Biria said that most people who utter “Om” in the proper way cannot bear or handle the sound of “Om” if it is uttered loudly.
I wonder how a sound emanating from me could be so unbearable.
I will keep trying to say “Om” in the way Faeq Biria instructed in the hopes that one day, I will understand what it means for “Om” to be so unbearable.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Lessons in humility
For a time, getting into many asanas was getting easier. More often than not, I even found quiet in the pose. Then I stopped doing Yoga for a time as I became busy with other things. When I finally had the time to go back to class, I was extremely disappointed that I could not find quite even in the simplest of asanas. To this day, I have not found quite even while sitting in sukhasana and simply saying “Om”.
I cannot describe in words this feeling of utter disappointment in not being able to find quiet in a pose. Perhaps I should just lift my arms up and scream my head out. Maybe then you will understand how I feel. Maybe…
When I tried to understand what was happening to me, I realized that I had been attending classes thinking that I had done an asana and there should be no problem in getting into it again. As soon as this thought hit me, I told myself that I had to disabuse my mind of this. This way, I would have no expectation and not be over-confindent in myself. I must learn humility. I must.
I thought that the best way to disabuse my mind was to attend the basic classes. I needed to re-learn the asanas.
I attended the basic class today, which is taught by Susan, one of my classmates in the General Class (the class for people who already have some background in Yoga). When Susan saw me, she looked surprised and immediately said that Rina was teaching during the week. I told Susan that I was probably not prepared for a class with Rina yet as I had the flu last week and had not been practicing since. I suppose that Susan was wondering why I was attending her class when were were classmates. At the end of the class, Susan asked me how I found her class. I told her that I thought her class was great and that her back was straight (for many asanas we need to keep our back straight).
Susan is actually one of my classmates who does very well during the class as she is focused. Most of the time, Susan stays in the back of the class and she hardly says anything. Susan is also a devoted practioner of Yoga. She once told me that, when we do not have classes, she practices at home. I am not surprised that she has been chosen to teach one of the classes. The thing about Susan is that, she is very humble. Unlike me, she probably does not dwell on how perfectly she could execute an asana.
In today’s class, I learned the lesson of humility, not so much from doing the asanas, but from being inspired by my classmate and now teacher, Susan.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Aummmmmmmmm
Alya, one of my Yoga teachers, said that if the universe had a sound, it would probably be Om.
At the beginning of each Yoga class, we sit in sukhasana (similar to lotus-style sitting) with palms pressed together and thumbs resting on our sternum. With eyes closed and our minds emptied of everything except the here and now, we take a deep breath and on an an exhalation say “Om.”
Out of curiosity, I Googled, “Om” and was surprised to learn that, like Yoga, this two letter word with a three letter sound (”a”, “u”, “m”) has many nuances across many religions, philosophies and life practices. Reading about it got me all confused and made me doubt my gutt feelings about this word. I later realized that, it is best not to over analyze this word. Like Yoga, I think the best way to understand “Om” is to say it rather than to read about it. (more…)