by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC
Upon returning to yoga class after the first few weeks, my new students often would come to me with a despondent look, saying, “I don’t know if yoga is for me – it’s very difficult.” My response always began in the same way: “If yoga was not difficult for you, you would not need to be here. The struggle is what makes it meaningful.”

Viktor Frankl said,

“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.”

Viktor Frankl, M.D., Ph.D., was a neurologist, psychiatrist, author and Holocaust survivor. One of his over 32 post-war books, “Man’s Search for Meaning” (1946), describes his psychotherapeutic method of finding meaning in all circumstances and situations.

Viktor Frankl once recommended that the Statue of Liberty be complemented by a “Statue of Responsibility”. There are plans for construction of such a statue on the West Coast of the U.S. by 2010.

Back to Work. See you there.

I took my first Tae Kwon Do class the other day. I’ve done lots of sports and enjoy the edges I find within them, so, after 13 years of practicing yoga, I was curious about this similar martial art. The metaphor of doing battle interested me since I often feel like I’m personally at war – with my own efforts to change things and the need to accept and detach from those same efforts. I sometimes feel ready to “fight” and am not always sure how that fits into my life and my purpose.

So, here I am in this gym, running around on a mat, doing push ups and sit-ups and yelling “yes sir!” – ninth-grade gym class meets Boot Camp! Once we were sweating, we started doing side kicks, 40 at a time – hard – into mats held by my classmates, complete with a warrior cry and intermittent bowing. I admit, it felt good, though by the time I was done, seemed less like a spiritual, life-changing practice than “Tae Kwon Do It”.

I was grateful to return to my yoga mat the next day, though I have to say that I brought a renewed sense of vigor with me. Ashtanga provides a balance of hard and soft, ease and effort. It made me wonder, can we be peaceful warriors in this fight to save the planet? Can we tap into the strength and determination we need to “push the iceberg” without losing our compassion and peace? Yoga tells me yes, though I worry about our culture’s willingness to dig deep into what it takes to change.

Ron Kauk, a climber in El Portal, CA spoke to me through a quote I read in Late Summer Patagonia catalog, “How are we supposed to evolve when we’re so caught up in material things? Society is so anxious. We want so much and we want it all, now. Man…you need to work at it, you need to put in the time in order to be rewarded.”

Can we survive disillusionment and bridge the gap between knowing and doing? I believe it’s all in the flow – that balance of ease and effort, work and surrender and our willingness to rediscover both inspiration and purpose. Perhaps it takes sweat, focus and making some noise. But within that, we can find our peace.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Early into my yoga years, I felt and realized the practical and metaphorical connection between the yogic path and earth stewardship. Yoga is about flow, connection of the mind, body and spirit, and oneness of the Universal energy – much like the cycles of nature and its ecosystems. As it’s said in Japanese, ““Shi Do Fu Ji” – The Soil and Body are One.

When I opened my neighborhood studio in 2000, it became a place to explore these ideas and put them into practice. I introduced one of the the first green yoga mats, as well as the idea of yoga as activism. My seemingly new and revolutionary teaching of yoga as a “green state” was warmly, albeit tentatively, received by my trusting students. Framed on the studio wall, was a letter written by Shannon Gannon, of Jivamukti Yoga Center in NYC, published in Ascent magazine in March, 2004. Here’s an excerpt:

…”Most crucial to the future of yoga in North America is the courage of its practitioners to embrace the spiritual and ethical practices of yoga. It takes a lot of courage to go against the grain. The most profound act a person can do these days is to have the courage to care about the suffering of others. In our times, I believe that the atrocities committed against animals in the name of human progress is an important issue facing us all. Many other issues are related to it, including water pollution, air pollution, soil erosion and pollution, all forms of violence including war…Traditionally, the yogi has been that member of society who devoted himself or herself to the pursuit of enlightenment through finding means to live harmoniously with the Earth and all her creatures. Now that is a very radical concept for anyone these days to embrace. “Live simply so that others may simply live.”

Shortly afterwards, the green yoga movement became official when Laura Cornell founded the Green Yoga Association in CA, with a mission “dedicated to fostering ecological consciousness, reverence and action in the Yoga community”. Studios are now signing on to the Green Yoga Association Green Studios Program, installing bamboo flooring and solar energy, using soy and beeswax candles and and educating students about eco-friendly habits.

The yoga = sustainability idea has grown by leaps and bounds since then, with the introduction of pvc-free mats, cork blocks, and other supplies made from sustainable materials. Many yoga clothing lines, like Blue Canoe Bodywear, are also now offering organic cotton, bamboo and hemp yoga wear alternatives.

Keeping in mind that yoga was once done on the ground, at sunrise outside of a temperature controlled studio with skylights, I’ve taken to practicing outdoors much of the year. I love to really feel the weather – the humidity, the breeze and the mist of early morning, and hear the animal sounds. I’ve learned even to welcome the buzz of insects and occasional mosquito bites.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I found a book recently. It showed up at a used book store that I regularly visit. The book looks handwritten, including the copyright, which says 1984 and, By A Center For the Practice of Zen Buddhist Meditation in Mountain View, CA.

These are some of the things I’m learning so far:

“Until we learn to accept, we cling to things being the way they have been. We tense up all our muscles, dig in our heels, and RESIST. We continue to choose our old way, the way that causes us to suffer because it’s familiar, it’s safe, it’s comfortable. We know how to do it, and we know who we are when we’re doing it. No risks here.”

“To do anything, there must be the willingness to do it. Achievement is commensurate with effort; effort is commensurate with willingness.”

“As long as you are looking outward, you’re looking in the wrong direction.”

ARE WE WILLING TO BE THE CHANGE?

It’s called, “Practice”.

Yamas – Outer Observances

Ahimsa – Don’t harm yourself, others or the planet.

Satya – See what is true and tell the truth – especially to yourself.

Asteya – Don’t steal anything from others or from the earth.

Brahmacharya – Practice moderation in all things.

Aparagraha – Don’t try to possess or cling to things, people or situations.

Niyamas – Inner Observances

Saucha – Be pure and clean in heart, mind and body.

Santosh – Contentment – love what you want and want what you have.

Tapas – Use discipline – remember what you want and act accordingly.

Swadhyaya – Study the self (before studying others).

Ishvar Pranidhana – Surrender to wisdom and live with awareness.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Do some yoga for a time, and you’ll start to bliss out on the connection between your mind and body. Lots of things can put you “in the zone” of flow (Vinyasa) – music, art, dance, sports – but the ultimate challenge of one-pointed focus could be the art of slacklining. Here’s the official definition from Slackline Express:

“Slacklining is the act of having an unbelievable amount of fun walking and doing tricks on a piece of webbing pulled tight between two points, also used as a form of meditation, physical and mental training.”

Slacklining originated in the sport of rock climbing but quickly made it’s way into the yoga world. One of my yoga friends, a graduate student, invited me to try slacklining in his backyard, where he and his roommates took breaks from studying. He said it helped him refocus and de-stress. I was immediately drawn to the meditative challenge and even though my first attempts were quite uneventful, the next thing I knew, I had one rigged up at home in our community shared space. I’ve yet to take even a few steps on my own, but I’m determined to keep at it.

I made a new slackline friend yesterday when I was bicycling downtown. Here’s Brian Taylor making this stuff look really easy (it’s not). But he did totally re-inspire my own efforts with some experiential tips. It seems that my 15 minute attempts to practice on my line were bound to be futile since he recommends sticking with it for up to one hour in each session. Brian also showed me how to get up on the line with a big hop rather than trying to step up slowly.

Why does this feel post-worthy to me? Because, like the steadily increasing interest in yoga and other meditative arts, it shows yet another cultural shift towards more authentic pleasures, those that help us remember the joy of a steady, quiet mind and a connection to the body – something in full contrast to the distraction of television, video games or Monster Truck Pull. And like all things that clear the mind rather than clutter it, allows space to study the self and grow.