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sanskrit word of the week { #3 }: mukta { liberated }

I know you can feel it ... that certain something in the air. We are lighter. Higher. Stronger. Freer. With the transformative float of Fall { today is the very first day, the equinox }, we drop our heavily laden leaves to the ground. We are beautifully bare, comfortably naked, glisteningly new once again.

 

• In Sanskrit, MUKTA means released, liberated, freed. { Moksa/Moksha is closely related to Mukta, meaning liberation or freedom. I've chosen to bring attention to Mukta as its tense communicates that it has already taken place, just as we are already free. We simply have to recognize it. }
• What has been weighing you down? What muck has settled upon your leaves and made itself at home? 
• It is time to let everything go. Release it all. Free yourself.
• Yesterdays. Expectations. Shoulds. Regrets. Projections. Lamentations. Let them fly away in the breeze.
• Mukta often refers to spiritual liberation, but our spirits cannot find freedom when the mind entraps.
• Where to begin? Find your breath, let it be a release. Pull your boots on, head outside, and kick up a pile of crackly leaves. Take in the crisp autumnal air and watch all your worries disappear with each exhale. Stretch and be expansive with the grace of the weightless.

Free your mind and the rest will follow,

sanskrit word of the week { #2 }: isvarapranidhana

Sometimes life gives lemons. Not luscious Meyer lemons, but sour, mean, puckery ones. As in, "Oh, hello...it's me, life. Boy do I have a f#ck@%g gift for you!" And if you're anything like me, there are moments when you say right back, "B*tch, I ain't got time to make lemonade!"

This is where isvarapranidhana comes in.

• Isvarapranidhana is the combination of two root words: Surrender (Pranidhana) and Higher Power/Source/Spirit (Isvara).
• Instead of Self or Ego; Spirit. Rather than Clinging or Attachment; Surrender.
• Shiva Rea's thoughts: "Isvarapranidhana is a big picture yoga practice. It initiates a sacred shift of perspective that helps us to remember, align with, and receive the grace of being alive."
• You don't have to carry the weight of the world's lemons on your shoulders. The next time one rolls along, OFFER IT UP. Release it. Let it go.

Nobody wants to hang on to lemons, anyhow. Sure, they're good when squeezed into water, are cleansing for the body, and handily remove stains from fingernails, but holding one at length is not wise. Who needs all that acid?! Instead, I will let go of the bitter and practice recognizing and enjoying all the sweetness around. This is the nectar of surrender.

sanskrit word of the week { #1 }: kumbhaka

Sanskrit is a gorgeous language with deep, luscious, expansive roots. Like many things new and unfamiliar, it can either strike fear/discomfort or inspire curiosity and stoke learning. I invite you to cultivate the latter, to open your arms wide to a tongue and script that may eventually feel like home. Or a lovely place to visit.

On an impish note, Sanskrit is also good for faux cussing. Pick a word, shake your fist at the sky, and shout it out. Instant stress-reliever, head-turner, and diffuser. Nine times out of ten, you're really just calling someone — or your current circumstances — a turtle, a type of mudra, or an inoffensive body part. Foooooooot!

• Kumbhaka means pitcher, jar, pot. Think: container.
• It is also the term used for breath retention — on both the inhale and the exhale.
• When you inhale and retain the breath, your container is full. Expansive.
• When you exhale and retain the breath, your container is empty. Receptive.
• In The Heart of Yoga, Desikachar has this to impart, "...as it is held the breath is at rest, and with it so hopefully is the mind."
• During the day, remember to bring your attention to your breath. Fill your jar completely and experience this feeling. Then empty your pot fully and stay tapped in.

Word to the wise: you'll always remember Kumbhaka if you sing my remixed tune...

"Kumbhaka my lord, kuuuuuummmbhaaaakaaa." Be sure to hold your own hand and sit by a crackling fire. Breathing mandatory. S'mores optional.