Our Blog

Creating the Conditions

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:25:30 -0400

Walking home to the train the other day I saw something so cute, I had to double back to see it again. A mom with two boys, each on their scooters, the eldest right near mom, and the youngest being pulled by his good old dog Charlie. What a sight! I was mesmerized to see exactly how this worked. The dog happened to be pretty old and a VERY good listener. For every few steps, the boy was pulled in a gleeful swoosh of movement, the leash came out of the boy’s hand and good old Charlie would wait patiently for the boy to pick up the leash again. The mom would give directions... "Wait Charlie ... good dog ... okay go ... Wait Charlie ... goooood dog ... okay go now." This happened several times, and every time good old Charlie would wait patiently for his chariot driver to again pick up the reins.

I can only imagine if things were a little different how this scenario could look. I've seen a few adults walking pretty big excited dogs and really struggling to avoid lurching forward even on foot. And somehow a spry excited chihuahua puppy trying to pull a six foot four businessman on a skateboard wouldn't have been so sweet and perfect as this. Ahhh amazing what the perfect combination of a small boy, a good dog and a scooter can allow. This is a situation that had to have those exact conditions all in line in order for it to work. And let's not forget a lot of patience to allow for it to happen on the mom's part.

Sometimes things just fall into line and work out amazingly like this. Other times we can create the conditions for things to happen and then patiently wait to see the results. If we never try, then it shouldn't be a surprise to see no results. Imagine longing to be on the other side of a river and choosing to stand on one side praying for the other shore to come to you. This won't get you to the other side! You have to get in a boat and row!

If there is something you are longing for in your heart of hearts -- learning another language, how to play the guitar, or getting your desktop organized so you can think straight -- notice if you are taking the action to make it happen. Focus on creating the conditions for what you want in your life, and then patiently wait to see what unfolds.

-- Frances Taylor-Brown

I Know Why the Audience is in the Dark

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:57:45 -0400

Walking in to Joe's Pub late for the show after a long train ride and some searching for the number of the unfamiliar building ... 460, 417, ahh...425, I follow the waitress to a small table just to the right of the stage. The show is in progress. I smile apologetically to the woman singing on stage ... sorry I am late, but so grateful to be there for the event. She smiles back.

What a wonderful gift, the etherial sound of her voice. Ashley Davis is debuting her new album (I am dating myself, but I still think of CD's as albums) "Songs of the Celtic Winter". Her mother has been one of my regular students for a long time and introduced me to her daughters music as it was similar to some music I had played regularly in class by a wonderful Yogi/Musician named Michael Hewitt. "I know why the audience is in the dark" I think to myself as she plays a beautiful song and tears run down my face. I don't wipe them thinking it will be less obvious to those around me. I wonder how many other people in the audience are crying too. I imagine it could be many.

That's what we're here for, isn't it? Along side generally being entertained, we're here to be moved ... to feel our emotions. Once in a while singing the blues just makes us feel better. Knowing that someone else out there and has sung the same song in their heart gives us comfort. Music has a wonderful way of allowing us to process our feelings and letting us know we are not alone in the process. I heard a quote yesterday in yoga class by Maya Angelou that said, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." I want to share this with my kids.

The picture above was taken at about 10 o'clock on my way home. I was surprised to see a mom and her boy at that hour on the train apparently doing homework. I thought about how the academic focus for our kids misses so much of what they need to know in life that will serve them in their process. How to process their own feelings, and how they treat people and how to hold their own if others don't treat them with dignity and respect that all humans deserve, how to stand up to them, and when life throws you a curve ball, how to grieve and then move past the sadness to the other side. Most of all I want for my kids to know that they are not alone as they go through it all, that they have a community that has been through it before them, and they have the support of not having it all by themselves.

Thank you, thank you, musicians of the world for helping us to connect to our feelings , and allowing the space and time to feel and move through them. And especially for letting us know that in times of trouble, we are not the only ones singing the blues.
-- Frances Taylor-Brown

Sweeping Leaves in the Wind

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 19:52:37 -0500

On the way to class the other day, I saw a man in front of a shop attempting to sweep leaves in the wind. However futile it might have seemed in the moment, you could tell that this was part of his daily routine, and he wasn't going to let the wind stop him from his daily goings on.
A man parked in a car in front of the shop watched for a while and with a smile said to the shop keeper, " Hey... You can't fight the wind!" The shopkeeper smiled back and said, "I know, I know.... but, the more I sweep, the less leaves there are!" And he kept sweeping with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.
At certain times in life it can feel like we are fighting an impossible battle. Whether the circumstances are physical injury, life change, or emotional stresses, we can get wrapped up in our frustration and feel like all is lost and resistance is futile. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras encourage us to not lose hope, and give us guidance on how we can help still or calm our mind's "vacillating waves of perceptions." To do so can be very peaceful and calming.
The following verses from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (as interpreted by Mukunda Stiles) address how our attitude and diligence can support us in the process:
‣ "The vacillating waves of perceptions are stilled through consistent, earnest practice and dispassionate non-attachment. (Sutra 1.12)
‣ “That practice is indeed firmly grounded when it is pursued incessantly, with reverence, for a long time." (Sutra 1.14)
The first verse talks about persistent determined effort over a long period of time with detachment from results. This is like our leaf sweeper doing the effort even though he couldn't see direct results in the moment. The second verse tells us that the results will come over time if we apply ourselves with consistent effort and energy in the desired direction. It’s not about sweeping the leaves one day and then stopping satisfied that we have done it. Keeping our efforts consistent day after day is what makes the difference.
May me all learn the wisdom of a consistency -- even if it might sometimes feel as though we’re just sweeping leaves into the wind, the sutras assure us that our steady, consistent effort will pay off in the end.

-- Frances Taylor-Brown

Peace Train

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:12:29 -0500

A few weeks ago something very unexpected happened. Once again The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (sutra 1.33) came in very handy. A man on the number one train, out of the blue, came at me and started yelling in my face. From the things he was saying it was obvious he had some mental problems. Why did he pick me? Unassuming petite flower of a yoga and Pilates teacher. I had just stepped on the train and done nothing to provoke a conflict. We found out in the police interview later he thought my cell phone could take things out of his pockets. One of my spiritual teachers and former acting coach Diaan Ainslee would say “What is not love is fear” however unreasonable it might seem. We each have our own reality Although most of us are much more on the same page than our friend Jackson (I asked the officer for his name) Perhaps this event happened so I could try to make sense of it and share my findings with you guys. Several stops and a police investigation later, our friend was safely off to get some needed help. And hopefully people standing on the platform were a bit safer than they might have been had I brushed it off and not gone the step to stop the train.

I’ve been wondering. How do we keep our peace on the train while encountering many kinds of people on our journeys? The Yoga Sutras (which I have recently heard described as lessons in common sense and basic human nature) would offer the four keys to dealing with different kinds of people. In my mentor Mukunda Stiles’ interpretation of the Yoga Sutras, sutra 1.33 says:

“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward happiness, compassion toward suffering, delight toward virtue, and equanimity toward vice, thoughts become purified, and other obstacles to self knowledge are lessened.”

The idea of this sutra is to keep our own inner peace as best we can no matter whom we encounter. This last part about equanimity towards vice is also translated as disregard toward the wicked (potentially dangerous to you in this situation) which involves my usual technique in dealing with someone noticeably “off”. You know, the old New York trick...Keep to your own bubble of space. Pretend you don’t see them and they will not mess with you. In my fifteen years living in New York, this one usually worked. But, not this time. What did help ... I called upon The most valuable lesson I learned from my year long training in Hapkido with Sabumnim David Herbert (www.worldmartialartscenter.com
when confronted with a potentially dangerous situation. RUN! Sabumnim said in an interview with the New York Times,“While the training entails defusing conflict, there comes a time when the fight is imposed on the practitioner” He still, however emphasized to get away and get yourself safe however you can! I got to the conductor’s car and got help.

In researching subway safety the best advice I got was from one of my “Regular Morning Crew” (a group of riders that have the same work schedule as me). He said to ALWAYS ride in the conductors car (especially when riding alone during off peak hours) which he taught me is usually in the middle of the train. Look for the black and white candy striped strip. It hangs on the platform across from where the train driver sits and is what he/she lines up with in order to stop the train in the middle of the platform. Follow this link for some other subway safety tips from the MTA
http://www.mta.info/nyct/safety/index.html

-- Frances Taylor-Brown

Sequencing Into Flying Crow

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:14:00 -0400

Just posted a video made up of a series of photos that illustrate how to prepare for and sequence into Flying Crow (aka “Eka Pada Galavasana”). Click here to watch, and let us know if you try out the sequence.

-- Jason Brown