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Shames, Shames, Go Away! And Don’t Come Back Another Day!

Inspired by Yoga Sutra 2.16 Heyam dukham anagatam

 

Avoidable is the sufferingChild's drawing of a girl dragging heavy balls labelled fears, with the words shames, regrets, doughts around the edge
that has not yet to come~
That feeling of shame
That sticks like chewed gum.

How do we get through places
That are stuck deep inside?
Where the holdings, the collections
The patterns reside?

The patterns of feeding
Our suction cupped shames~
With secrets and silence
And judgements and blames.

Attract the energy of movement~
And comfort with movement~
Comfort with change~
Comfort with improvement.

Create space between impulseDrawing of a hand with the fingers curled into a mudra
And action that binds~
The stuck feelings that resists
Our meetings of minds.

Space is the experience
Of minds open and bright
The Wisdom of Grace
Is filled up with light.

Grace is the knowing
Our mistakes serve an aim~
Instead of allowing
Our mistakes to serve shame.

So to prevent future suffering~
And the feeding of shames~
Create a steady practice
Of breath work and aims.

Here’s a mantra for you
To embody and embed~
Press thumb into each finger
And say in your head~

{I inhale to prepare~Child's drawing on cardboard titled Shames, with small squiggly creatures
I exhale to share~
I inhale to release blame~
I exhale to transform shame~*}

{Repeat 11 times}~

Keep your sitting bones rooted.
Slowly rotate your core ~
Counterclockwise 3 rounds
Your breath? Don’t ignore!

Inhale going backwards,
Exhale going forward .
Your movements ride on your
breath~

Drawing of a child sitting cross-legged and circling the body around

It’s pretty straight forward.

Pause and move clockwise.
Repeat 11 times.
Close eyes and listen.
To your heart beat like chimes.

Find someone you know,
You love and you trust
Show them your shames
And watch your blames turn to dust.

May we have what it takes
To transform all our shames~
To allow our mistakes
To serve our Great Aim~

More to Explore

  • when something horrible happens

    how do you teach yoga to teens? you start by teaching Truth. speak to the highest in them. they will get it when you tell them that they are a spiritual being in a physical body and that they are immeasurably powerful. when they root their feet into their mat, into the earth in Mountain pose they will feel steady and strong; a steadiness they themselves create becomes a thing they can rely upon. when their feet are rooted into the earth, they will become rooted in their integrity. when they are faced with difficult situations they can breathe into steadiness, root into their integrity and make grounded choices.

  • A Sutra a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

    What are these sutras
    You speak so about?
    Are they stitches like sutures
    With some sort of clout?
    Good question, my friend~
    Why, yes, yes indeed,
    These sutras are potent
    In times of great need.
    In times of great need,
    And in times of great bliss,
    These highly condensed words
    Should not be dismissed.
    The most essential core thread,
    Of deep subtle meaning,
    That runs through the fabric~
    It supports out of gleanings.
    Gleanings of insights,
    And wisdom fused pearls~
    From the direct experience
    Of wise boys and girls.
    Sutras express so much
    In so very few words.
    With vast significance,
    It’s not for the birds.
    Sutras are formulas
    To be memorized and studied.
    To solve the perplexities~
    Of minds getting muddied.
    So chose your text wisely~
    Yoga, Shiva or Seuss,
    Buddhist, Tao, Platform,
    Tripitaka or Mother Goose.
    Then write them in BOLD~
    Where you’ll see them each day!
    Melt their magnificence
    In every which way.

  • Yes To Higher Aim…No To Lame

    Say Yes to Brightness,
    To Certainty, To Health
    Say no to dullness,
    To doubt, to filth.
    Say Yes to Careful,
    To Enthusiasm, to Aim
    Say no to Careless,
    To Backsliding, to Lame.
    Say yes to activity,
    To Attention, To humility.
    Say no to Heedless,
    Inertia, Instability.
    How to say NO
    To such 9 Disturbances?
    Create a “no” prop
    To play interference.
    A block will work wonders
    To impede interruptions.
    Place between your hands
    To help with deductions.
    Press your hands in
    To fire your inner shoulders.
    Breathe your arms up
    And become a beholder.
    Keep pressing in
    To activate what’s dull.
    Reach the block up high
    As well as your skull.
    Hold a block in one hand
    Lift up your opposite knee
    Tilt to block side
    Finding freedom is key.
    Place the “no” block
    Right between your thighs.
    I know it is awkward
    May your enthusiasm rise!
    Press your thighs back
    Keep your shins fixed.
    Fold Forward, touch the floor
    Breathe steady while betwixt.
    Step back into Downward Dog,
    Bend your knees a lot.
    Press your block up and back
    Notice your train of thought!
    Shift forward into plank
    Lower down flat like a pancake.
    Keep shins pressing down
    Lift thighs up with a mandate.
    Stretch your belly and heart forward,
    Hips back toward your toes
    Open your shoulders
    Like a polyphonic prose.
    Press back to Down Dog
    Come down to table.
    Remove your block
    Keep hands and shins stable.
    Prepare to find freedom
    With boundaries no less.
    In this grounded pose
    We call “No Table Yes”.
    As you stretch right leg back
    Exhale Yes to Higher Aim.
    As you bring knee to forehead
    Inhale No to Lame.
    Your spine arches and curves
    As you continue 5 times
    Try it fast, Try it slow
    Switch sides
    Cause it’s prime.
    Sit is easy pose
    Tune into your frame.
    Each inhale in
    Think Yes to high aim.
    Each exhale out
    Think No to Lame
    May this help you
    Up your game.

  • The Light Within – Yoga & Art Activity

    This activity came out of a need to define shinning inner light. The
    concept seems vague to some kids so I wanted to find a way to connect
    emotions with yoga movements in a concrete way. Doing this activity is a
    way for kids to verbalize their good qualities. Some kids are very familiar
    with their dark sides, and they only hear adults point out what they do
    wrong. They have to be able to identify their light sides and what they do
    right before they can shine their inner lights. Once they have a few
    concrete images to focus on, I think they can shine these attributes as they
    do the yoga poses.