Category Archives: Tantra

HEALING THE HEART, HEALING THE MIND

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Healing the Heart
is
Healing the Mind

NOW GOING ONLINE!

The heart is alive. In fact, it brings life to us with each pulsation, sending rivers of prāna flowing through our plasma, blood, muscle, fat, skeleton, marrow and finally, our vital reproductive juices. There it transforms into our very essence itself or leaves us to form a new life with another beautiful heartbeat singing its song!

This heart that is the fiery sun of our own universe, is ever producing our minds through its sensory rays and clear light! Mind as it spreads its venous tentacles to every sense organ so that we can fully experience the world around us. Mind that extends instinctively down into our bellies, so we vicariously feel each perceptive truth as a somatic experience. And mind, like a tree, sends its rising branches upwards to form our brain. Where we think, imagine, reason and occasionally perceive the highest truths.

And yet, we imprison this heart behind gates of arrogance, lust, hatred, greed, jealousy and pride. And we subject it cruelly to fears, unjustly to angers and unmercifully to grieving.

Our hearts are the key to our lives. Heal our heart and we heal our mind. In healing the mind we finally discard the undigested toxins of fear, anger and grief. And spontaneously and oh so creatively, the heart sings its joy and its simple innocent declaration- know me and know peace.

Upcoming Healing the Heart Online Workshop:

June 27. Now open for Registration. Space Limited.  Click here to Register.

July 11: Scheduled. Email adretreats@gmail.com for advance Registration!

 

 

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
In the Vedic tradition, the heart is the seat of emotions, of prāna and of our intrinsic immunity. It is also the origin of the mind and it is from the heart that the mind as emotions moves towards the brain for intellectual understanding and the gut for instinctive behavior. If we free our emotional seat from the siege of its enemies: fear, anger and grief then the rightful emotions of playfulness, innocence and joy rule supreme once again. It is a journey of remembrance. One we should all take together. Yoga and Āyurveda show us the way to do so.
WORKSHOP CURRICULA:
The Heart as Seat of Mind
The Qualities of the Heart: Creativity, Innocence and Joy
The Enemies of the Heart: Fear, Anger and Grief
The Allies of the Heart: Resolve, Patience and Faith
PLUS
Practicum: Emotional Intelligence Yoga Practice: Healing The Heart/Healing The Mind (separate practice video)
Understanding Heart Disease Through Āyurveda: Treating Through Yoga (Bonus separate video)

 A heart to heart prayer:

May we together be each others protection.
May we together nourish each other.
May we together become each others strength.
May we together become wise.
May we always be friends.
May we support each other in finding peace.

May your breath always be at peace!

QUIETNESS

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Dear friend,

It has been a while since I have written. There is so much being written and shared out there anyway, so the ability to just listen for a while got to me.

Also, there was not much to share in terms of events in the life of Yogarasayana, my alter ego. Or rather, my teacher and practitioner persona.

It is not that there has not been a lot going on. We finished the Yogarasayana India 2016: Forest Sage Retreat auspiciously. A lovely group of students and friends sharing some yoga sutra of Patanjali, some jungle time, some Ganges time and some all around good times.

On coming back, I headed to Phoenix to spend time with the students of the lovely Mary Bruce and Lorilee Gilmore, my hosts. The topic was Psychology of a Sage. So you can see where my head is these days…On coming back, I headed to Phoenix to spend time with the students of the lovely Mary Bruce and Lorilee Gilmore, my hosts. The topic was Psychology of a Sage. So you can see where my head is these days…
Read the related article Psychology of a Sage: Activating Higher Functional States here.

And of course the LA Ayurveda and Yoga Therapy Clinic has been in session and has kept me busier than ever.

Then of course there has been all the other stuff that we all shared. The uncertain becoming even more uncertain, definitely a disturbed vata trend. And I believe to some extent, we are all a little shell shocked and a little worn out by events not just here in the USA, but all around the world.

Storm Clouds

Perhaps some quiet is called for. Some time to turtle up, huddle into a shell and examine who we are in there. I feel fortunate that in these difficult times, I have these ancient yogic teachings that I can fall back on. Those that talk about who I am when I move past who I am sure I am: because I know I am flesh and blood, lifeforce, a mind, some intelligence and even some happiness when I allow it. When I say to myself, yes indeed this is me. But it is not lasting. This is the mortal me. It changes just like my world changes. And it is best not to get too attached to this me nor to the world it lives in.

Best to go looking for the me that is not mortal. The one that does not suffer. The one that is also you. It is there we fall in love with each other and everything else mortal. In fact, that is the simplest description I can give of Tantra, of Buddhism, and of the Upanishadic Vedanta. And it is from that place that I continue to grow this love that trumps all the hate I may exude, share, witness when I do not allow myself to be. Just. Quiet.

Arun File - 03

Even in this conversation we are having. To encourage you to join me in this quiet. Where we are a shared Being. Not separate except in our mortal lives. And that is as it should be. Where we can enjoy each other, admire each other, help each other and give each other space when we get under each others skins.

But this is getting long in the tooth. So I will stop here.

I have a quieter year planned for 2017. We shall see how that plays out. Perhaps I will still come to your hometown. However, I do encourage you to join me in any of the below and meet each other too.

There are three teaching Retreats planned:

April: Yoga Practices for Emotional Intelligence: CLICK HERE
Sivananda Yoga Farm, Grass Valley, CA. April 7-9, 2017


photo

This time around, it is less theory and almost all practicum. So, you actually get a taste for why I keep teaching this stuff. This Emotional Intelligence Stuff. The stuff that when functioning clearly, innocently, joyously leads to clear, innocent, joyous thinking and thus actions. Those that support us instead of bushwhacking us. Every. Single. Time.
REGISTER HERE FOR GRASS VALLEY RETREAT

June/July: The Art and Practice of Vinyasa Krama Yoga with Ayurveda: Zen Rocks, Mani, Greece. REGISTRATION COMING SOON! INFO: ADRETREATS@GMAIL.COM

Ever since I started studying with Ramaswami Sir, back in 2004/5, I knew I would need to teach this miraculous way of practicing. But I also knew I had to wait till it came in my voice. Obviously Ayurveda infused. Here we go. Serious Practitioners and all Yoga Teachers. This is for you.

Sept/October: Yogarasayana India Retreat 2017! Into the Stories.

This Retreat is in the Planning Stage but this is how it is shaping up:
Two sections:
A Southern India portion that includes Somatheeram Ayurveda Beach Resort, Kerala, for a week of pampering and Ayurvedic treatments and then a week of travel around some of my favorite places down south. Such as Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry, Arunachala.
A Northern India portion that starts with the birthplace of Lord Krishna; continues to the Taj Mahal and then wanders into Rajasthan, and into some legendary temple, wildlife and archeological sites. Along the way we will talk about the teachings of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the meaning of Tantra which in itself can be quite evasive to pin down and stories from India’s mythological past.
A total of two weeks in Southern India. And one week in the North. Do just two weeks or do it all.

If you are interested in this Retreat, please write to adretreats@gmail.com and you will be put on an Early Announcement Letter with a Special Price Offer.

Meanwhile, I bask in your friendship,

Arun Deva

Triple Strands

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My dear friend,

It is said that this life is a journey. Whether we believe our soul takes many such journeys or just one, or even whether there is no soul, just this journey itself; what remains the same is our desire for it to be a happy one.

For me, this happiness exists in yoga and Ayurveda.

It is from this place that I offer this Triple Strand: Each one a healing journey in itself.

Come with Jutta Hecht and me on a Sacred Rivers Tour to India. Or come study deeper healing secrets in the Weaving The Yogic Basket study course this summer. Or if you have only a weekend to spend, come to the lovely Sivananda Yoga Farm in Grass Valley for The Five Layers Of Healing retreat.

Wherever we should meet up, let us share a little of our life feast with each other.

In love & light,
Arun

Sacred Rivers Tour:

India is my home. Yoga is my love. Ayurveda is my life. Please join me for this Sacred River Journey. And of course, Kerala!

Weaving The Yogic Basket:

Where yoga and Ayurveda meet, health and wellbeing will always be found. To all my yogi friends, this is my passion: the healing power found in this union. It is what I am most joyous teaching.

The Five Layers Of Healing:

In this deep weekend Immersion, we learn to identify our levels of trauma; peel away the layers of fear, anger and grief to reveal our original creativity, innocence and joy. At the beautiful Sivananda Yoga Farm.

April~May 2013 Events:

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Presently on a month long personal journey of healing and rejuvenation in a very remote part of India. In a little Ayurvedic Shala in the midst of a remote but very sacred village called Hariharapura. In the lush green state of Karnataka where the Western Ghats are resplendent as rain forests.  Read More…

Once back in April, the offerings are as follows:

SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH

Vinyasa Cikitsa Krama:

A Therapeutic Flow with Arun Deva

Vinyasa Yoga is to flow in a logical and sequential manner. Krama is the methodology. The goal is to find comfort in the various postures that our bodies (and minds) can take. In Cikitsa however, we find the benefits of the challenging postures through therapeutic sequencing and modifications to movement. Following any asana practice with Pranayamaincreases the benefits a thousandfold. Meditation then becomes a smooth lake into which to sink. Come experience a complete yoga experience for all levels. This class is suitable for both beginners as well as seasoned yoga practitioners.

DATE: Saturday, April 13th

TIME: 1 – 4PM

COST: $30 EARLY REGISTRATion / $40 at the door

LOCATION: Dancing Shiva
7466 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, Ca 90036

CONTACT & REGISTRATION: studio@dancingshiva.com
or call: 323-934-VEDA(8332)

SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH

 The Sacred Art of Eating Ayurvedically presents: An Italian Interpretation.

With Arun Deva, Jutta Hecht 

Chef JQ & Anjali Deva

Crostini, 3 versions of Pizza, Sage Ravioli, Garden Insalata w/Farmer’s Cheese, La Dolce Vita, Aperitifs, and Fig Tiramisu:  all interpreted Ayurvedically.
We will begin with a lecture on Ayurvedic Principles of Food & Eating and relevance to our current dietary paradigms.
Then we will look at Italian Food through the eyes of Ayurveda.
And then we get in the kitchen and cook up an Italian feast!
Served as a sit down dinner.
Bon Appetit!
Space limited. By Invitation Only. 
In a Private Estate in Vista, CA
12Noon-6PM
Cost: $150 per person.

APRIL 18-21

I will be presenting at the NAMA Conference:

Yogarasayana – Ashtasiddhi Mala:
The Ayurvedic Application of Yogic Principles & Practices for Increasing Rasa.

Rasayana is four-fold:  1) Longevity, 2) Maintenance of health, 3) Improvement of the mental faculties, and 4) Resistance against disease. The ashtanga of yoga can be thought of as an ashtasiddhi mala or necklace of eight magical powers thatbegins with the promise of the above. Recognized by Ayurveda as far back as the Charaka Samhita, wherein we are advised to have confidence in the efficacy of yoga practices, these eight principles when put into practice are very powerful medicine.  In this practice, we will first bypass the mind directly into the experience and then use the mind to understand and digest it.

MAY 3-5

Emotional Intelligence through Yoga & Ayurveda

Facing the 6 Emotional Enemies with the 6 Healing Tastes of Ayurveda

Course Description:

This course primarily uses the tools of Yoga, Ayurveda and Tantra to explore, in a practical manner, our Emotional Intelligence. The keys to our deepest nature, where our vasanas/karmic residual triggers for behavioral patterns reside are found and adjusted best only at this deep level of our being.

  • An understanding of the Vedic sciences of Yoga, Ayurveda & Tantra from the perspective of the three stages of immersion into a journey of self-discovery.
  • An understanding of the Ayurvedic concept of Taste (Rasa) and its energies and effects upon our Emotional Body
  • An understanding of the the Yogic and Ayurvedic concepts of the six enemies of mankind (shata ripu-s) and how they affect and are affected by Rasa.
  • An understanding of the Yogic, Ayurvedic and Tantric views of the workings of the Mind and practical tools on how to raise our Emotional Intelligence to the vibrations of Joy, Innocence and Creativity.

Tuition: $150
Accommodation options for the 2 night stay, per person:
Tent – $100
Dorm (4 person) – $130
Cabin (2 person) – $170
Cabin (1 person) – $280
Deluxe Cabin (2 person) – $480
Deluxe Cabin (1 person) – $390

For More Information Please Visit:
Sivananda Yoga Farm or Find Us on Facebook

The month of May continues in Los Angeles, where Jury Duty calls… 🙂
Coming up later this year:
Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, IAYT Conference in Boston, Vaidya Yoga Teacher Training (yes it is actually happening end July), Greece Retreat followed by two India Retreats: North and South! I pray to share some of this with you, my friend.
Om Shanti,
Arun