tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post6371424612963260377..comments2023-12-16T20:19:41.067-08:00Comments on Christina Sell: To Chant or Not To Chant- what was the question?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-31058048325202326442008-10-03T06:25:00.000-07:002008-10-03T06:25:00.000-07:00I only deleted the comment from Dale because his w...I only deleted the comment from Dale because his was posted twice! As briliant as it was, I thouhght once was enough! (And really, I love Dale's comments. He is brilliant.)Christina Sellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08401826381021947279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-43273829323230782152008-10-03T00:08:00.001-07:002008-10-03T00:08:00.001-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02789755679554213814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-3917214994650574872008-10-03T00:08:00.000-07:002008-10-03T00:08:00.000-07:00Howdy :-)> "our love of the practice, the ...Howdy :-)<BR/><BR/>> "our love of the practice, the tradition and ... serving our students."<BR/><BR/>This is so excellent! Without our love of the practice, we have nothing with which to inspire students - we have no juice and no fire - we are just unloving spouses. I have taken classes with folks who are like this, & it's depressing...<BR/><BR/>Without the tradition (& by that I mean the technology of the practice, expertly learned & carefully proven to ourselves) we are just making it up as we go. I've taken classes from folks who discovered yoga 18 months earlier & took their teacher training classes & here they are, folks with little experience, trying to teach people who have been practicing years or decades. Painful.<BR/><BR/>And unless our goal is to serve the student, then we are just shoe salesmen. I fervently hope never to take another class from someone who is trying to make me serve the tradition, instead of serving me with her tradition, skills, and compassion. <BR/><BR/>*<BR/><BR/>Wierdness & freedom & getting over ourselves - he he he - awesome points :-). <BR/><BR/>*<BR/><BR/>Detachment about students chanting - or anything else... I do not want my students chanting, breathing, or using asana or mental imagery that they decide is wrong for them at that time. A couple of my students will not move from inversion prep to the actual inversions, even though I tell them that they are ready to proceed, because their inner voice tells them not to. I have to respect that, & I am thrilled that they are listening to that voice, because it is a more perceptive teacher than any external teacher will ever be.<BR/><BR/>Sometimes folks have the strangest reasons for not doing as they are asked. And you know, I'm not the boss of them :-). I'm just here to wash their feet with yoga. If they don't want their ankle cleaned, fine. Not a problem. I'll ask again another day :-).<BR/><BR/>*<BR/>Sure yoga works better when we believe in it. Research shows that when we think something is going to hurt, it hurts more than if we are not expecting for it to hurt. I am not aware of studies on pleasurable stimulii, but I expect that the same is true. Maybe a rose by any other name might not smell as sweet....<BR/><BR/>*<BR/><BR/>Universal vs Personal - I agree. And sometimes I ask my students to try something different ways, & decide what is working best for them. Then the theory is on the table (Cristina says that ...), I have related my personal experience (works for me!), & then I invite them to taste it themselves & see what happens. Tasty :-).<BR/><BR/>*<BR/><BR/>"Try to convert someone to something and you will encounter either blind adherence or rebellion." You are now, IMHO, ready to raise teenagers :-).<BR/><BR/>Certain teachers have been telling me to grab hold of my big toe in trikonasana for years, but I don't. And why? Because they have not explained to me how this best serves me. They just want me to conform. Yeah. Not.<BR/><BR/>*<BR/>"Additionally, I never assume that because someone is new to yoga and has a stiff body that they have no inner life. We just do not know."<BR/><BR/>I love your blog :-). You have a great deal of insight, which was not arrived at easily or without thought. Deep thoughts. Alot of "chewing on it" thoughts.<BR/><BR/>Someone commented that we could not tell from the outside who was more passionate, a nun kneeling in her cell in prayer, or some in the throes of a wildly ecstatic religious dance. For reasons that escape me, this contrast was Dionysean vs Appolonian. the point being that the quiet one might be dead to temporal reality - totally transported into the arms of the Beloved, and the dancer might just be going thru the motions. We really, really, really don't know. Even if we know the facts, we still don't know the truth. At least not all of the truth. <BR/><BR/>On thing the Bible says to me is that when I get to heaven, I'll find out that most of my theology is wrong. So who am I to judge someone's inner life? Nobody :-). I am just a finger :-).<BR/><BR/>*<BR/><BR/>Cristina, your posts serve me well :-).Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02789755679554213814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-69094758078719941522008-10-01T11:51:00.000-07:002008-10-01T11:51:00.000-07:00touche! (too-shay)touche! (too-shay)Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16610886740748609255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-23580069020338796282008-09-30T19:19:00.000-07:002008-09-30T19:19:00.000-07:00Haha! I think I'm kinda on the other side of the ...Haha! I think I'm kinda on the other side of the equation than Leanne. I was about to post a blog entry that is similarly related to what you are talking about, and I felt quite confident in what I had to say. Only I first read yours and now question SOOO much about what I was going to say. From clarity to confusion for me. Well, I'll find something to write about, hopefully without being too scatterheart.Jeremiah Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16676880939117636080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-39454889870764622112008-09-30T17:19:00.000-07:002008-09-30T17:19:00.000-07:00Thank you! thank you! Oh so stuck last night. Foun...Thank you! thank you! Oh so stuck last night. Found much more clarity this morning and so much more now after reading your blog.<BR/>I was just in a totally different mind space last night thinking about trees and apples etc. <BR/>It is very difficult to write a class when you are fully absorbed in writing and developing another.<BR/><BR/>You are so right- they already think I am totally weird :>)Leannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13272730128459982428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-91843005369198550522008-09-30T12:08:00.000-07:002008-09-30T12:08:00.000-07:00The real secret is that the reason there is no ten...The real secret is that the reason there is no tent in the back is because we are actually INSIDE the tent already. (But that insight is on a need to know basis!) Kidding. Just making fun of us on that one...<BR/><BR/>Thanks for chiming in you guys.Christina Sellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08401826381021947279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-78528002617234003272008-09-30T12:03:00.000-07:002008-09-30T12:03:00.000-07:00I am so glad that you are posting about this. Tea...I am so glad that you are posting about this. Teaching yoga in a place that is very uneducated about yoga in general, I have come across some people that are not comfortable chanting. I remember that you have begun workshops and classes with saying something like "this is not to convert you ...there is no tent in the back.." etc. I am really looking forward to tomorrow!! Thanks!Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16610886740748609255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5257811012678007955.post-48652889406825169872008-09-30T09:43:00.000-07:002008-09-30T09:43:00.000-07:00When I first started to do yoga I was only interes...When I first started to do yoga I was only interested in the physical side of it. I was doing it to be healthy that's it. It's only when I switched studios that I was exposed to chanting. To my surprise, I discovered that I liked it. During one of <A HREF="http://www.christinepriceclark.com" REL="nofollow">Christine</A>'s classes she mentioned that Krishna Das had described chanting as finding the seat of your heart. That really rang through me, with which might explain why I'm always crying when I chant. Which leads me to another question.... Am I the only one affected by chanting? I'm constantly balling and feel overwhelmed when chanting. I sometimes even have trouble with the opening Om!Christine Rondeauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04457052691359042494noreply@blogger.com