The Importance of Satsang

After a blissful weekend spent in the company of renowned teacher Clive Sheridan and a group of inspiring yogis and yoginis, I came away with renewed enthusiasm for my practice, deep appreciation for the yoga community, a sense of physical, mental and spiritual rejuvenation, but most importantly I felt I had reconnected with the teachings of yoga and even had a few glimpses of new possibilities in my practice! I spent the week after veritably floating around, as we sometimes say, ‘feeling the bhav’ (spiritual feeling of yoga) and I got to thinking about the importance of satsang.

Over the course of the weekend workshop Clive brought us together for three sessions devoted to exploring and sharing spiritual ideas, techniques and experiential truths – sessions commonly referred to as satsang. Satsang is a Sanskrit word comprised of two parts, sat = true and sang(a) = company, or the coming together of a group of people to discuss deep truth. For me, satsang can take many forms, from a formal gathering of people listening to a teacher, to sipping a chai with like minded friends sharing our ideas and experiences. The benefits of taking part in satsang can be just as varied, here are some that came to mind this week.

Going Deeper

We generally live in a world preoccupied with the material, the functional, the surface level of things, the things we can see and measure. There are not many work places, schools or families where you can comfortably ask questions like ‘but what does it mean?’, ‘what is the principle behind it?’, ‘what does your intuition say?’, and ‘what can I learn from this?’ For those of us that sense there is a little more to the story, it can be challenging to maintain a balance between the normal worldly perspective and the more philosophical or spiritual view point. Satsang can become an important source of reconnection with forgotten ideas or discovery of new truths that we might struggle to otherwise find. It is the perfect time to explore and discover the vast concepts and practices of yoga that go well beyond stretching and strengthening the physical body.

Community Support and Connection

Aside from the actual ideas shared during satsang, simply spending time with like minded friends can be deeply nurturing, inspiring and supportive. Coming together in satsang gives us a sense of community, a sense that we are not alone as we explore our chosen practice, philosophy or spiritual area and simply by being there we are reinforcing these same feelings for everyone present. By making time for satsang we build richness and vibrancy into the yoga community and establish a space that can recognize the mysteries of life.

Feeling the Bhav

Perhaps the most important aspect of satsang is getting an instant injection of happy yoga vibes (bhav)! For me there is nothing quite so uplifting as hearing a teaching that resonates deeply, and seeing that recognition in friends, new and old, around me. Niggling questions are often answered, enthusiasm renewed, areas that need work come to my attention and techniques for mindfulness are gained. In this busy, stressful modern life we lead, I personally feel we need to use all the tools we can to find some quiet peace, that calm inner joy that’s just waiting to be discovered below the surface of our troubles. For me, satsang is one of those tools.

Where to Find Your Satsang

If you like the sound of deep truth, calm joy and bhav, you’re probably wandering ‘so how do I find it? Finding your own approach to satsang is probably easier than you think, in fact you’re probably already doing it! Here are some of my suggestions:

• Attend a weekend workshop (ask any of your TT teachers for suggestions)
• Attend a short or long retreat
• Attend philosophy discussions
• Sit for group meditations
• Catch up with like minded friends to share ideas (best done with chai)
• Begin your own discussion group
• Take a walk in nature and discover what life has to teach you without words
• Attend a Kirtan (devotional chanting – we have one at Ten Toes this Sunday!)

One final point I would like to share is that no effort is ever wasted. Even if you manage to get to one of these suggestions every now and then, you will still gain many benefits that are often subtle and long lasting.

Yours in peace, truth and happy yoga vibes,

Jess White

Jess is a long-time Ten Toes Yoga Teacher and also owns and operates ScissorsRockPaper – Fair Trade Products to support your Yoga Practice and Inner Adventure!

Leave a comment...

YogaAid Challenge 2011…by Alison Sykes

Can you remember why you first started practicing yoga? Trying to touch your toes perhaps? Wanted a cute butt to put in those stretchy lululemon pants? Maybe your mind was racing a million miles an hour and you just needed to slow down. All in all though, you started your yoga practice for you, right? I sure did, depressed, anxious, unmotivated and tired, I needed something for me, to nurture and nourish my spirit. I got that and a whole
lot more, and along the way I learned about
karma yoga.

Karma yoga is the yoga of action, without attachment to the outcome. Ultimately what that means is that we act for the good of all beings, without defining our worth based on how perceivably successful or unsuccessful our action is. One way to bring this concept to our yoga practice is to dedicate our efforts to someone who needs a yoga practice, but is unable to come to the mat for one reason or another.

This year I will be leading a section of the Yoga Aid Challenge, here in Brisbane’s Roma Street Parklands on Saturday, 12 November. The challenge raises funds to support a number of charities, mine is the Nelune Foundation supporting public health system cancer patients, bringing them emotional, psychological and physical support. At this event hundreds of yogis come together to dedicate their practice to something bigger than themselves, to offer the beauty of their practice to inspire and support others.

Register for the Yoga Aid Challenge here: www.yogaaid.com.  Remember to join the Ten Toes Yoga & Natural Health team!

If you are unable to join us please support the Ten Toes Yoga & Natural Health team, our goal is to raise $1000. You can sponsor us by clicking here:http://yogaaid.com/alisonsykes

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Alison

Leave a comment...