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!

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Yoga & My Inner Self…by Patty Perlman

I have been excited for weeks for Swami Govindananda’s (“Swami Ji”) yoga philosophy workshop at the Ascot studio. It’s been a while since I have attended a yoga related philosophy workshop, or done Kirtan chanting. I was so excited to learn from Swami and apply his teachings in my yoga classes. This workshop was going to make me a better instructor and I was going to be happier for that. So come Saturday, dressed in my favourite white comfy yoga pants, I arrived at the Ascot studio with an open mind & heart. I was ready to receive love and inspiration, and leave Ascot floating on a little yoga cloud. I’m sure Swami Ji would laugh at my mindset. “I’m going to attend this two hour workshop and leave a better instructor and so much happier than when I came in.” And I’m now laughing too. Here I am placing my happiness in hands which are not mine. And why? Aren’t I responsible for my own happiness, my own self improvement?

Swami Ji opened with a few verses in Kirtan chanting. I closed my eyes, fishing for the words I was hearing, and began to sing along. After about a minute I felt tears welding up behind my eyes. Of course I thought… tears. And then came my next thought: Patty, how could you have forgotten. I had forgotten that yoga is more than just feeling good and relaxed. Lately, it has been that simple for me. Sometimes it can be an escape for my mind, and sometimes it makes me physically feel fantastic. But then there are times when it brings up things I am avoiding. Things I would rather not deal with; thoughts and worries that have not been spoken about, and have taken physical form in my body. Whether it’s tightness in my shoulders or tears I’m blinking back. My mind had been preoccupied trying to get the Kirtan words right, that my body jumped at the chance to let go of the physical emotion it was holding. “Oooh look, she’s concentrating on the lyrics, let’s get out now!”

Swami Ji spoke about our tendencies to place happiness in the hands of others and to work on our spiritual relationship with ourselves. Amongst the table of food for thought he provided, his ‘homework’ for us was to go home and search inside ourselves for ‘What is it that makes us conscious?’ My answer… I don’t know. As a matter of fact, I have no idea. But I do know that as I sat in the studio, eyes closed, searching for the sounds of the Kirtan words, I felt something that I had not felt in a long time.

In the end I found that I went to Swami Ji’s workshop looking for happiness, looking to feel great and leave with a big silly smile on my face. When I left I felt very different to that. Not sad, but not floating on my magic yoga carpet either. I went looking to feel joy, and I left feeling something I needed to feel. Maybe those tears were the release I needed on my way to consciousness. Who knows? But I do know that I assigned myself my own homework to improve myself: Wake up happy. Don’t wait for your evening yoga class to be happy or for your trip to the coast. Happiness is in your own hands, all the time, so just wake up happy.

Patty Perlman
Ten Toes Yoga Teacher

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