The Heart and Science of Yoga™
"Newton's Parlor" Oil painting on mahogany panel, ©Jenness Cortez Meditation • Easy-Gentle Yoga • Retreats • Calendar
YOGA SCIENCE IN BRIEF
Forward from The Heart and Science of Yoga™
It wasn't what I'd expected. I'd spoken at many yoga centers before; they were often large, empty rooms where students could unroll their hatha mats and launch into a series of stretches and twists imported from India. When I'd show up to lecture, folding chairs would materialize from hidden closets and an audience would listlessly filter in from the dirty city streets. The American Meditation Institute, it turned out, was more like a beautiful estate than a yoga business. The grounds were magnificent, colored with an astonishing array of flowers and flowering shrubs. A sparkling pond brimming with minnows and a small, man-made waterfall interrupted the rolling green lawn. This oasis twenty minutes outside Albany, New York was a paradise of tranquility and fragrant blossoms. The AMI building was friendly and clean, scented with the inviting aroma of vegetarian cooking and filled with co-founder Jenness Cortez Perlmutter's paintings of country landscapes, scenes from Indian mythology and especially--everywhere--horses. Jenness herself was tall and lean, exuding both warmth and intelligence. Her husband and fellow AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter had a thick beard that made him look like an Indian baba who'd just come down out of the Himalayas after years of meditation. He appeared very serious but the moment he began to speak, not only his vast knowledge of the world's mystical traditions but also his totally disarming sense of humor were immediately evident. I didn't for a moment feel I was visiting a yoga "institute." Len and Jen made all of us at the seminar feel like family. Their emphasis on yoga as a preeminently practical form of spiritual discipline kept their teaching very real, grounded and relevant to their students' everyday lives. The Perlmutters are students of Swami Rama of the Himalayas, the yogi who revolutionized our understanding of human physiology back in the 1970s. Before Swami Rama allowed researchers at the Menninger Institute in Topeka, Kansas to hook him up to their EEGs, EKGs and temperature monitors, Western scientists had never believed India's yogis could do what the Indians always claimed they could, controlling every component of their physical bodies to the extent that they could appear virtually lifeless according to the electronic printouts, yet remain fully conscious. The swami repeatedly demonstrated full mastery of his autonomic nervous system, which until then most Western doctors had assumed was impossible. I studied with Swami Rama for some years when he founded a graduate program in Eastern Studies here in the United States in the 1980s. Swamiji complained that the experiments the researchers conducted at Menninger were comparatively trivial. The real value of yoga lay not so much in stopping one's heartbeat or regulating the temperature in individual cells in his body (skills he actually demonstrated there) but in its deep and transforming effect on human consciousness. That, unfortunately, the scientists didn't know how to measure. Swami Rama left his body permanently in November, 1996. He died like a yogi, having announced the exact moment of his departure earlier that day. He sat up in a yoga posture and, in full consciousness, vacated the body we'd come to love so well. He taught us how to live and, in his final moments, showed us how to die. Swami Rama's work lives on through the efforts of his students. Swamiji strongly encouraged the Perlmutters to teach. His blessings have transformed their originally modest home into one of the finest yoga centers in North America. The Heart and Science of Yoga™ is the story of yoga as they live it, in the vibrant tradition of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. Linda Johnsen
QUESTION: I've heard it said that every form of yoga has
Self-realization as its goal. LEONARD: Knowing our true Self brings ever-increasing access to an intuitive library of wisdom that will always lead us for our highest and greatest good. The great value of this human life is that it provides both the capacity and the means to end our suffering. We now have a human body, mind and discriminative faculty--all the requisites for making the transition from enslavement and suffering to freedom and Divinity. The sages promise that we can be free in this very lifetime. Each of us, therefore, can realize this state by transforming our old habits and purifying our personalities. We have been granted this rare opportunity by Providence to make ourselves fit to receive our full inheritance. This is our challenge as human beings. QUESTION: Every tradition and religion has a different name for God, yet the more I practice yoga science it seems that all the sages are speaking about the same Divinity. Is this your experience? LEONARD: Words are always less than what they describe. Current scientific research indicates that it is the helpful habit of the left brain to represent complicated concepts with simple, easy-to-refer-to symbols. Such symbols save the time of re-examining in detail what is to be communicated. However, this inclination of the left-brain can be problematic. Its shorthand symbols never explain anything completely, yet, as a culture, we accept these symbols as reality. There is a Zen injunction that advises, "If you meet the Buddha, kill him." The saying is meant to caution an earnest seeker against the common trap of deifying the teapot instead of drinking the tea. The Buddha, no matter how exalted and holy, is still a limitation on the Divine. Therefore, if you accept this limitation, you cut yourself off from experiencing the truth that lies beyond the word or form. In this Zen instruction, you are urged to "kill" (or surrender) the limitations that the mind tries to impose on that which exists beyond the mind. Similarly, in Judaism, there is an injunction against writing the name of G-d, and against creating any "graven images." According to yoga philosophy, the reasoning is essentially sound. When the name of the Lord is written, the word is something less than the Lord. A word is a human being's narrow concept. The Absolute Reality includes the limitations, but also extends beyond the limitations of both the conscious and unconscious mind. The purpose of all spiritual practice is to help you transcend the limited perspectives of the mind. QUESTION: Would you briefly explain the value of contemplating the question, "Who am I?"? LEONARD: This inquiry, called vichara in ancient yogic texts, has been esteemed for thousands of years as a reliable method of knowing the true Self. If you are sincere and persistent in posing this question to yourself, the answer will come. And, as the truth
Tell a Friend about AMI If you know someone who might benefit from our American Meditation class, let them know about the AMI program or call us with their name and address and we'll send them a brochure with our current class schedule. Karma Yoga --- the practice of selfless and skillful action If, as part of your practice, you have a few extra hours during the week and are interested in helping grow the American Meditation Institute, we need your dedicated, volunteer energy. As a student of yoga science, you are already familiar with the kinds of practical services the Institute provides. Each month we write, edit and publish this newsletter, teach an average of thirty new meditation students and present stress-reduction seminars to various businesses and organizations. We also invite visiting speakers of interest to our area, organize seminars on yoga science and do continuing personal counseling. Our immediate needs include press relations, seminar management, clerical assistance and general delivery work. Remember, whatever time or talents you possess will be put to meaningful, productive use. If you have the time, please call the Institute at (518) 674-8714. Site maintained by Rob Washington
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Dr. David Frawley's new book,
Yoga and the Sacred Fire, is a monumental work, encapsulating the profound wisdom the author has accumulated over decades of deep study, meditation and spiritual experience. In this important book David Frawley explores the evolution of life and consciousness according to Vedic cosmology and the psychology of Fire--not only as a physical force but also as a spiritual principle. He explains how yoga's deepfire wisdom can help mankind move forward into an enlightened planetary age where humanity and nature can again be united in a higher awareness. Dr. Frawley is one of the few Westerners ever recognized as a Doctor of Vedic Science. He is the author of over twenty books and numerous articles.
Yoga and the Sacred Fire is available through the AMI bookstore.
nonreligious people. And they are better able to cope with such crises as illness, divorce and bereavement." Recent studies have indicated that the more an individual consciously relies on a philosophy in directing their daily lives, the greater their happiness and overall sense of satisfaction will be.
In the current issue of
Yoga International, Ayurvedic physician, Dr. Vasant Lad, explains that anxiety is
primarily due to an aggravated vata constitution. Lifestyle factors such as late hours, overwork, windy weather conditions and improper diet all contribute to an imbalanced
vata condition. To soothe the nervous system, Dr. Lad suggests a strict routine of eating, sleeping, working and slow, methodical exercises like walking or swimming. In addition, he encourages a daily oil massage, alternate nostril breathing, a hot bath containing one-third cups each of ginger and baking soda, aromatherapy (using three drops of frankincense, basil, orange or clove essential oil) and a glass of warm almond milk containing a pinch of ginger, nutmeg and saffron.
Tadatmananda will teach how the ancient wisdom of humanity's noble history can help each of us overcome unnecessary suffering. As a Sanskrit scholar and former engineer, Tadatmananda will draw upon his wealth of contemporary scientific and psychological insights as he presents the relevant spiritual teachings of this important scripture. His warmth, humor and informal style make his teachings enjoyable and rewarding for all.
depths of his own personal experience and realization. Trained as a clinical psychologist at Wesleyan University and the University of California, Berkeley, and a direct disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas, Swami Ajaya wrote the introduction to
Living with the Himalayan Masters. He is also the author of
Yoga Psychology, and Yoga and Psychotherapy: East and
West.
A light-hearted and thoroughly entertaining film about the joys that can be ours when we slow down, practice deep listening through one-pointed attention and cultivate the art of patience and trustful surrender. An Eastern European visitor (Hanks) becomes a resident of a New York airport terminal when war breaks out and erases his country from the map, voiding his passport.
A beautiful travelogue and history lesson unfold in the two parts of this film: a historical text of Siddhartha, later known as the Compassionate Buddha, and the contemporary quest of Lama Norbu, who believes he has found the reincarnation of his former teacher in a Seattle child.