Stillness

CENTRAL PARK, JANUARY 24, 2016

Dear Students,

New York was blanketed in a huge snow storm this month. I love these times when the city is forced to come to a standstill. Usually there is so much activity, that we can easily forget what stillness feels like.

T. S. Eliot penned these words, which seemed fitting:

At the still point of the turning world. 
Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; 
at the still point, 
there the dance is,
...
Where past and future are gathered. 
Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. 
Except for the point, the still point,
...

As we start the new year, full of promise and potential, and starting new rituals, one of the best things we can do is practice meditation regularly. Quieting down the mind and bringing it towards stillness is the ultimate aim of practicing yoga. Though we work with the body, strengthening and stretching it, in asana (postures) practice, yoga is so much more than that.

In the classic text, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali -- the "yoga bible" so to speak -- right at the beginning, Sutras (Verses) 2 and 3 in the opening chapter state:

Yogas Chittas Vritti Nirodhah
Tadah Drashtu Svarupe Avasthanam

Loose translation: the goal of yoga ultimately is to quiet down the movements of the mind and bring it towards stillness. When the mind is still, only then can the Self -- our True Nature -- be realized.

Practically speaking, it does not matter how strong or flexible you are if you can remember that stillness of mind is the ultimate goal in yoga asana.

Everything in our day to day experiences conspire to have us believe that we are past and future, movement from and towards, ascent and decline. Taking time to practice yoga and meditation help to remind us that these things are the least of who we really are.

For me, the one daily ritual that I have maintained over a number of years now (by now so many that I can't remember) is 20 - 40 minutes of meditation practice each day. I live in midtown Manhattan -- one of the busiest places on the planet -- and it is a true wonder to me at times that I can experience stillness and relative silence, despite all that is going on around me. My practice is my oasis, my mini-vacation (or "stay-cation") which helps to keep me sane and able to hold onto some semblance of equanimity. It is a treasure to me.

Will you take a moment in your day to practice being still? If so, know that everything that follows will be of great benefit to you and others.

May your mind come to stillness,
May you know the still point,
May your True Nature be revealed, ...
... for the benefit of all beings everywhere.

With metta and aloha, 

Paul Keoni Chun
January 31, 2016

Dana - Generosity

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LONGWOOD GARDENS, KENNETT SQUARE, PA - CHRISTMAS LIGHTS DISPLAY

Dana Parami translates as "perfecting generosity. From the Buddha's teachings, in order for the mind to become awakened, the first quality we need to perfect is generosity. 

Buddhist Meditation Teacher, Gina Sharpe, writes:

"The Buddha said that a true spiritual life is not possible without a generous heart. Generosity is the first parami, or quality of an awakened mind. The path begins there because of the joy and opens that arise from the generous heart. ..."

The benefit of practicing generosity for us is that we feel good. Though yoga and meditation practice are not often thought of as acts of generosity, it can be made so by how we align our intentions with our practice. Are we just practicing for our own benefit or do we practice with hopes that we can somehow help the global situation through our practice? The benefit to us of practicing for the sake of others is that we get to feel good in the process and likely will experience more success in our practice. 

The Buddhist meditation teacher Kamala Masters writes:

"Generosity is a medicine for our tendency to hold on to things, to cling to life as it is, because it is developing the opposite, developing our ability to let go ... letting go of the material ... of our need to be right ...."

I really found this helpful this month as some changes occurred that I found upsetting. Sometimes I struggle with wanting some things to be the same and not to change. But of course I know that things will always change. I take comfort in realizing that in my 56 years of living in this human form on this earth that somehow through all the changes inflicted on me from the outside I've made it through OK. There's no reason for me to fear change if I can remember that so far the Right Path has found me always.

Especially when practicing yoga postures, let go of your need to be right. Generously give yourself room to breathe. As much as we practice to accumulate more strength, power, and flexibility in our bodies, practice letting go of all of that too. The practice ends in savasana, relaxation, in part because we can perfect letting go.

Pema Chodron interprets Dana Parami this way:

"Giving is an act of letting go of holding on to yourself."

Each time we practice yoga and meditation, we let go a bit more and more of all the stuff we hold on to. As we grow older, we see more intimately how finite life is and how, as one of my former and formative yoga teachers used to say, we have to let go of habits that are stale, old and no longer useful. Letting go of things we no longer need frees us up to be more fully present for others. This too is an act of generosity.

Gina Sharpe concludes:

"... Pure unhindered delight flows freely when we practice generosity. We experience joy in forming the intention to give, in the actual act of giving, and in recollecting the fact that we've given. I invite you to practice giving joyously this season."

Now that the month and the year are coming to an end, I was able to reflect back happily and recall the ways I was able to give to others in this past month and year. It brought me great joy in seeing again the delight my giving brought out in others. That felt like a gift to me.

It also brought me great joy in realizing that the reason I can give is because I have so much abundance. And, in those moments when I could recognize my own abundance -- rather than my lack -- my own mind felt freer. What a gift that felt like.

I am so grateful to have all the abundance -- both material as well as accumulated knowledge and wisdom -- in my life that allows me to live with a greater sense of freedom. It frees me up to be of greater service.

Buddhist Meditation Teacher, Sharon Salzberg, put it this way:

“... I’d rather translate whatever sense of abundance I do have into more generosity and reaching out to others.”

May you perfect generosity, ...
May you let go of more stuff as an act of generosity, ...
May you hold on to yourself less, ...
May you be experiencing great joy as you reflect on your giving, ...
May your mind be further awakened, ...
for the benefit of all beings everywhere.
 

Learning to Stay

Central Park at Dusk, November 2015

We all felt devastated after the attacks in Paris this past month. As practitioners of yoga and meditation, perhaps we asked ourselves: "what can we do that will help?" Pema Chodron suggests "Learning to Stay."

Understandably, our first reaction to such devastation would be to want to find those killers and seek revenge immediately. Certainly, they should be found and be prevented from doing any more harm.

And, we can also look within and ask ourselves: "where exactly do the root causes of evil lie?" Pema Chodron writes:

"To honestly face the pain in our lives and the problems in the world, let's start by looking compassionately and honestly at our own minds. We can become intimate with the mind of hatred, the mind that polarizes, the mind that makes somebody 'other' and bad and wrong. We come to know, unflinchingly, and with great kindness, the angry, unforgiving hostile wolf [that lives within our very own heart]. Over time, that part of ourselves becomes very familiar but we no longer feed it. Instead, we can make the choice to nurture openness, intelligence, and warmth. This choice, and the attitudes and actions that follow from it, are like a medicine that has the potential to cure all suffering."

At this moment in the world, there are so many people who don't have the capacity and the ability to even consider examining their own minds. Many, quite understandably, have minds that are filled with anger and vengeance, at this time. For us who do have a little more space to step back from the chaos, we are reminded, as Pema writes here, that:

"... for each and every one of us, intelligence, warmth, and openness are always accessible. If we can be conscious enough to realize what's happening [in any given moment], we can pause and uncover these basic human qualities. ... we can make the choice to nurture openness, intelligence, and warmth. This choice, and the attitudes and actions that follow from it, are like the medicine that has the potential to cure all suffering."

Pema continues:

"What I've noticed about the people I consider to be awake is this: They're fully conscious of whatever is happening. They're minds don't go off anywhere. They just stay right her with chaos, with silence, with a carnival, in an emergency room, on a mountainside; they're completely receptive and open to what's happening. ..."

We can help the world by seeing the root causes of suffering -- the hating mind, the vengeful mind, the closed mind -- within our very own beings. In practicing yoga and meditation, we clean the lens of our mind by purifying our body first so that ultimately we have space to examine our own minds more closely and honestly. An important part of this practice involves learning to stay with whatever arises and not letting things trigger us so that we commit unwise actions.

An important reminder from the Buddha -- especially at this time -- is this one:

"The Buddha taught that every human birth is precious and worthy of gratitude. In one of his well-known analogies, he said that receiving a human birth is more rare than the chance that a blind turtle floating in the ocean would stick its head through a small hoop. He would often instruct a monk to take his ground cloth into the forest, sit at the base of a tree, and begin 'gladdening his heart' by reflecting on the series of fortunate circumstances that had given the monk the motivation and ability to seek freedom through understanding the dharma."

Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, it is good to be reminded of just how lucky we are to have this opportunity to experience life as a human being. It's not that life will never cease to be unfair or not always be fun nor pleasant. But it is indeed our luck that we can, as the Buddha said we could, "live joyfully amidst that sorrows of the world." We are so lucky that we can learn to stay and sit with sadness, with evil, with life's inherent appearance of unfairness and ultimately use these experiences to deepen our ability to know and express compassion, tenderness, and love.

During this season of giving thanks for all that we have, if we can't think of any reasons to be thankful, at the very least we can practice simply staying. In doing so, undoubtedly over time, we will come back home to remembering the preciousness of our lives and the lives of all beings. So many people in the world seem to have forgotten this at the moment. Will you help the world by practicing for them?  

May you reclaim natural openness, intelligence, and warmth, ...
May you look closer at your own mind, ...
May your heart experience gladdening, ...
May you remember the preciousness of your human life, ...
May you learn to stay, ...
... for the benefit of all beings.

Sky-like Mind

Rockaway Beach, Oct. 25/2015

A perennial idea that I learned from yoga and  Buddhist meditation teachers is that our minds can both close down to a very narrow view of things, and also open up and see a very wide-open view of things that includes all-beings and all things. So, which view is closer to our True Nature?

In her book, Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves From Old Habits and Fears, Pema Chodron wrote::

"So this is our challenge, the challenge for our spiritual practice and the challenge for the world--how can we train right now, not later, in feeding the right wolf {within our hearts}? How can we call on our innate intelligence to see what helps and what hurts, what escalates aggression and what uncovers our good-heartedness? With the global economy in chaos and the environment of the planet at risk, with war raging and suffering escalating, it is time for each of us in our own lives to take the leap and do whatever we can to help turn things around. Event the slightest gesture toward feeding the right wolf will help. Now more than ever, we are all in this together."

These words, though written some 5 years ago, seem so relevant and even more prescient now. Taking time to slow down and practice something like yoga and/or meditation is definitely something we can do that is a step in the right direction. Leo Tolstoy said:

"Everyone thinks about changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

The message is that in order to help turn things around in the larger world, we have to work on turning things around in the inner world first. So our challenge in our yoga practice is to recognize when we are getting worked up and becoming competitive with ourselves and with each other. Our challenge is to notice when we are beating ourselves up for not feeling adequate and gently bringing our hearts back towards compassion for ourselves. Our challenge is not to escalate aggression within, but rather pause and be kinder to ourselves. Even a small bit of self-compassion can go a long way.

Pema Chodron continues:

"... We all have the ability to interrupt old habits. ... the potential for goodness exists in all beings, ... everyone, everywhere, all over the globe, has these qualities and can call on them to help themselves and others. ... basic goodness is natural openness, the spaciousness of our skyline minds. Fundamentally, our minds are expansive, flexible, and curious; they are pre-prejudice, so to speak. This is the condition of mind before we narrow down into a fear-based view where everyone is either an enemy or a friend, a threat or an ally, this mind that we have, that you and I each have, is open. We can connect with that openness at any time. For instance, right now, for three seconds, just stop reading and pause."

This one word - "pause" - has been significant for me. I practiced pausing in more moments of my life over the last month as a result recognizing the wisdom of this psychic imperative. As I traveled from class to class, or sat down at my computer to do my work, or practiced sitting meditation, I realized pausing is a useful tool to help get me further ahead. When we practice deep breathing in yoga, it is form of "pausing," taking time to not rush through things and opening our minds up to a wider view.

Pema continues:

"... natural openness, is always available. This openness is not something that needs to be manufactured. When we pause, when we touch the energy of the moment, when we slow down and allow a gap, self-existing openness comes to us. It does not require a particular effort. It is available anytime."

From a yoga perspective, an open -- "sky-like" -- mind is the natural state of our mind. Problem is -- life gets in the way and our mind gets bogged down. It takes courage to slow down. It takes courage to even touch the energy of the moment, as Pema suggests above that we do. Some moments, we know, can feel quite hot! I have a feeling that the minds of the Olympic Gold Medal sprinter Michael Johnson and the iconic basketball player Michael Jordan are actually quite open and expansive and sky-like, particularly in the heat of the moment, whether it be at the last few meters of the 100 meter dash or the last minute of the 4th quarter of a close championship game.  They both have the courage to touch the heat of the moment and stay with it. I am not a professional athlete at the level of either, but sometimes this past month I found myself needing to sprint to get to my classes. Even as I ran as fast as I could, I tried to mimic professional sprinters and I found that my mind was actually able to relax and open, rather than tighten from the fear that came on from thinking I would be late for my class. Whether I was moving fast or slow, I discovered that I could indeed touch natural openness if I simply touched the energy of the current moment and focussed on my breaths.

Pema offers a suggests through this inspiring story:

"The next time you're getting worked up, experiment with looking at the sky. Go to the window, if you have one in your home or office, and look up at the sky. I once read an interview with a man who said that during the Second World War, he survived internment in a Japanese concentration camp by looking at the sky and seeing the clouds still drifting there and the birds still flying there. This gave him trust that the goodness of life would go on despite the atrocities that he was witnessing.

Manhattan is filled with numerous tall buildings. As I walked in the area near the massive Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan recently, I stared up and seemed to see more building than sky. Yet, when I paused and really took in the picture, I realized that actually there is more sky than building even here in one of the densest parts of Manhattan. Last week, my mind was bogged down with worries over several massive projects I had going on at once. I found comfort in imagining my mind to be like sky, and tried to remember that eventually these worries would drift away. They did.

Manhattan from the ground up

Pema adds: 

"As [my teacher] Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche once remarked, 'Openness is like the wind. If you open your doors and windows, it's bound to come in'."

Use your yoga practice to train yourself to "open the door and let the wind in." That wind is always there, if you will just allow. It is the doorway to creating a spacious, sky-like mind.

A tight mind sees few possibilities. A spacious mind sees many. Now, not later, choose.

Metta Phrases:
May I know what helps and what hurts, ...
May I pause, ...
May I slow down and allow a gap, ...
May I touch natural openness, ...
May I keep the door to Higher Awareness open, ...
... for the benefit of all beings.

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Join Us! KMA Friendraiser and Spring Recital

Be inspired. Be moved.

Join Paul Keoni Chun, Founder and Lead Teacher of Keoni Movement
Arts as he guides our spring session students through an exciting demonstration of the movement arts skills they have mastered.

When: Friday, June 19 7-9pm
Where: DaNY Studios, 305 W 38th St (@ 8th Avenue), Studio 9
Cost: Free – Donations to KMA gladly accepted to help us reach our friendraising goal
RSVP: 212.643.9013 or info@KeoniMovementArts.org

Refreshments will be served after the performance and our beautiful new
KMA t-shirts will be available for sale – be one of the first to have one!

Space is limited, please RSVP by Monday June 15.

Year-End Appeal

Aloha Friend of Keoni Movement Arts,

Recently, a mother contacted me to enroll her son in one of KMA’s gymnastics classes. She shared that people have always encouraged her to get him into gymnastics because he seems to have the talent for it. Currently unemployed, she could not afford most programs and was happy to find KMA’s affordable classes. Even from his first class it was clear to me that her son does have talent. I remember thinking, “This is exactly the reason why I started KMA — to fill this type of need!” I felt so happy that KMA was serving its mission in this way.

KMA’s mission is to provide access to the movement arts to everyone. No matter the challenges, no student will be turned away. We offer financial assistance to those who qualify.

Our generous donor support allows us to offer this assistance, and to provide programming such as our current on-going weekly classes for children 3 – 5 and 6 – 9 years old, and teens/adults and individuals with special needs. We’ve developed relationships with agencies, communities and schools including Y.A.I., Sinergia, Hartley House, Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation, James Weldon Johnson Community Center, P.S. 212, P.S. 51, and P.S. 111. We would like to continue building these relationships, and do outreach to other communities where access to the movement arts is limited or nonexistent.

If you share KMA’s vision and would like to support our mission please consider making a tax-deductible donation*.

Mahalo nui loa (thank you) for your consideration!

Aloha,

Paul Keoni Chun
Founder and President
Keoni Movement Arts
www.KeoniMovementArts.org

DONATE

*Keoni Movement Arts is a qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible to the fullest amount allowed by law.

The Ford Foundation grants Keoni Movement Arts $19,000 over the next two years!

Our MISSION is to expand access to the Movement Arts of Yoga, Dance and Gymnastics by providing classes and performance opportunities to individuals of ALL ages, abilities and means.

Our VISION is a world in which strengthened bodies, peaceful minds, compassionate hearts and joyous spirits work together to benefit all of earth’s inhabitants.

Keoni Movement Arts (KMA) is a qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. KMA does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national and ethnic origin, disability or any other legally protected status.

About: Paul Keoni Chun, KMA’s Founder, was a competitive gymnast at Stanford University (B.A. in Human Biology with emphasis in Aspects of Youth Socialization). From 1997 – 2002, he developed a recreational gymnastics program, which offered classes for children, teens, and adults, at the McBurney YMCA Chelsea Center. He had a 20-year professional dance/acting career working with New York City based choreographers and performing in Off-Broadway (including Pan Asian Rep) and regional theaters and on television. He is designated as an “Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher” with Yoga Alliance. Currently, he teaches yoga professionally in the leading NYC Health Clubs. He has over 19 years of experience teaching yoga, dance and gymnastics to individuals from 2 – 80+, and in particular, over 10 years of experience adapting yoga to individuals with special needs. As a result of the benefits that KMA’s work has provided for the community, NY1 News recognized him as a “New Yorker of the Week.”

Paul speaking at Family Service League, November 12, 2014

Family Service League is pleased to announce an educator and parent seminar “Enhancing the Lives of Children with Autism through Technology and Movement” is being held on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 from 9am – 1pm in Westhampton Beach. This informational program is being offered to special education administrators, teachers, psychologists, social workers and parents/guardians of children with autism. The seminar will cover the principles and beneficial techniques of utilizing technological skills, yoga, dance and gymnastics to promote sensory integration at home and in the classroom. The presenters are Beth Rosenberg and Paul Keoni Chun. Pre-registration is required; the $50 seminar fee is non-refundable and includes breakfast. For more information, contact FSL Barbara Silverstein 631d 288-1954, ext. 2237 or bsilverstein@fsl-li.org.

FREE Community Events on May 18th!

Yo-Dan-Nastics™ for children, Yoga/Meditation for teens/adults
 

Move and Meditate with KMA! Join us for Two Free Classes on Sunday, May 18

Have a child who wants to experience the joy of movement? Bring them to our Keiki (children) Yo-Dan-Nastics™  (3 – 9 years) class!

Are you an adult or teen who wants to reap the benefits of yoga and meditation? Join our Metta Flow Yoga class with Loving-Kindness Meditation for teens / adults  (16+ years).

Time and Class:
2:15 – 3:15pm, Keiki (children) Yo-Dan-Nastics™ (3 – 9 years)
3:30 – 4:50pm, Metta Flow Yoga with Loving-Kindness Meditation for teens/adults (16 + years)
Where: DaNY Studios
305 West 38th St. @ 8th Ave. Studio 5
Both classes will be led by Paul Keoni Chun. All levels are welcome!

Space is limited. Please RSVP by Wednesday, May 14th. Call (212) 643-9013 or contact us here.

Thanks, once again, to our generous donors for making these free community events possible!

Hartley House field trip April 14

On April 14th, KMA treated a group of children from Hartley House, a neighborhood nonprofit settlement house, to a free Yo-Dan-Nastics™ field trip. The children enjoyed jumping, stretching and “Om-ing.” Fun was had by all! MAHALO (thank you!) to all our donors who made this experience possible. Without such support, KMA could not continue to be a valuable resource for our community!

We are so honored that NY1 News recognized us as its "New Yorker of the Week"