Somayog and Meditation
The regular practice of Somayog brings a genuine lasting change in comfort, range of movement, posture and general body functioning. Any lower back pain will start to dissolve, and you will begin to move with greater freedom and flexibility.Through Somayog you will create strength, flexibility and awareness, starting where you are with what you have. You will begin to feel that wonderful paradox of yoga - relaxed and energized at the same time. Your body's intelligence will awaken, along with your ability to hear what it wants to tell you.
Please visit our Product page to order and download our Somayog Level 1 DVD or Somayog Level 1 Audio.
Videos of Somayog with Susan
The Art of Posture
The Art of Sitting
Note: If you have suffered an injury involving the spine, please check with your physician for any possible contraindications.
Meditation - Door to the Unchanging
Discovering the unchanging in the field of change.
(Feature Article in FOYTspace – Federation of Ontario Yoga Teachers Newsletter – Fall 2007)
What is meditation? It is not eating – it is not gardening – it is not bungee jumping. It is the art of awakening – of opening up to the life of the spirit, which is in fact our true reality and identity, and is what we long for at our deepest level.
Meditation develops inner awareness. It allows us to connect with that canvas of unchanging reality on which the whole panorama of changing phenomena plays. We crave that which is unchanging, because somewhere we know that is who we are; we crave the recognition of that. Meditation is the door to the unchanging.
What is meditation? It is not deep sleep – not dream – not the waking state. It is the science of unfoldment – of being that which we are already, the turiya state of consciousness, and knowing it on every level of our being.
Meditation happens when we close the eyes, because any time we close the eyes, we see that space unchanging. The mind can be liberated if it is immersed in this space. As long as we watch it, freedom from mind is there. Slowly and slowly, mind’s thinking gets absorbed in it; when we open our eyes, we again become a body and mind, and get on with life’s activities.
But don’t just listen to me. Experiment for yourself!
Begin by just watching. You will see the movie of your day, your life play out before you on the screen before your eyes.
You will become aware of the transitory nature of events. You will prove to yourself that you are not defined by your mind’s whims and desires, because you are the one who is watching them parade. You have the capacity to watch – not act – to watch and breathe.
Let the thoughts and images come and go – as if you are watching children playing in the schoolyard.
YOU are: be the one watching, aware of the transitory nature of the mind, and observing that the body, heart and mind are arising from the web of life where nothing is disconnected. The constant is the YOU, at the center, at the heart.
The movie of life is an ever-changing, unpossessable and unstoppable process, but YOU are the one watching it all – YOU – the only constant - eternal, immortal and unchanging.
Susan Randall
October 8,2007
Home of the 5-minute Meditation Challenge
Starting to get interested in meditation? Susan Randall (Madhurta) of 'Your Lifestyle Center', invites you to take the 5-minute meditation challenge. This timed video provides a positive, encouraging environment for you to start and grow your practice through daily, 5-minute meditations. The challenge is to meditate with this video every day for 30 days: that's how long experts say it takes to cultivate a new habit.
The 5-Minute Meditation Challenge
By integrating yoga practices and recommendations into our lives on a daily basis, we discover a time tested stress reduction and management program that works. Some of the benefits include decreased physical and psychological symptoms of stress, an increased ability to handle life’s challenges and respond more effectively to them, as well as an increased ability to relax and enjoy the moment.
It is through communication and interaction that we all make progress. I welcome your feedback, thoughts, ideas, experiences and insights regarding the inclusion of yoga and meditation in your life.
Somayog:
"Thank you for your wonderful introduction to yoga. It has been a true pleasure for me. I have learned to focus my breathing, improve my relaxation techniques, and, to my surprise, I have
improved my flexibility tremendously."
Etienne, Ottawa
Meditation:
"After having participated in two of your courses, I feel I have taken a very positive turn on my journey to spiritual wellbeing. Not only are you an inspiring and
knowledgeable instructor in the techniques of yoga meditation, you offer your students aids and resources to help them with their personal practice at home."
Joy, Wakefield, QC
Somayog Teacher Training:
"I taught Somayog one day to my senior yoga class, and they left muttering it was too easy. The next week they came back raving about it—how it really loosened things up, and how much energy they had the next day."
Yoga teacher Amanda, Ontario
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