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Marcus J Freed

October 27, 2011 | 10:12 am RSS

Kosher Sutra: Ride with the tide & go with the flow (Noah)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Photo

Kosher Sutra: ‘God’s breath calmed the waters’ (Gen 8:1)
Posture: Boat Pose/Navasana
Soul Solution: Calm the inner chaos
Body Benefit: Strengthen abs, deepen breath.


I recently saw a poster promoting a meditation class in Malibu that had the picture of someone surfing on a longboard and said something like “if your mind is wild like the ocean, it’s time to go surfing. Meditation class starts now”.

As we begin another cycle reading the Book of Genesis, we are reminded of the monkey mind, the Tohu V’Vohu – ‘chaos and confusion’ – from which the world was created. Many of experience this inner turbulence on an all-too-regular basis.

I am comforted by the calming verse that follows soon after, where the breath/spirit of God ‘surfs’ or ‘rests’ (merachefet) on the surface of the water (Gen 1:2).

In case we missed the message in the first reading of Genesis, a similar action takes place in the story of Noah, where the earth is flooded and the Divine breath/spirit floats once again on top of the once-wild waters.

The Taoists have a form of meditation that involves imagining our mind as water and using it to gently melt inner blockages, whether they are undefined emotional issues, pent-up anger or anything standing in our way. The ‘Water Method of Taoist meditation’ involves imagining the water slowly sinking from the top of our brain down through the body until it reaches a blockage, and then slowly melting that block as if it were a chunk of ice. In our yoga postures we can apply a flowing movement similar to the quality of water; this is an essential element of vinyasa (sun salutes).

We can take our Bibliyoga practice to ever-more subtle levels, bringing a deeper awareness to our daily lives. When do we find we are suddenly overwhelmed with inner chaos, when we are revisited by old worries or ancient neuroses that have plagued us year after year? Now is the time to catch our mind before it heads into the chaos, to take on this quality of water, to calm the wildness with our breath, and to unblock our energy so that we can go and flow once again.

Sign up for your weekly Kosher Sutra at www.bibliyoga.com

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga, President of the Jewish Yoga Network, and currently lives in Los Angeles.

photograph from: http-_blog.wbsurfcamp.com_index.php_category_yoga_

 

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October 19, 2011 | 10:21 am

Happy Endings (The Yoga of Succot)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Photo

Sri Krishnamacharya, the grandfather of Western Yoga, in Anjali-mudra/Prayer position.

Kosher Sutra: ‘He showed his love to the peoples’ (Deut 33:3)
Meditation focus: Anjali-mudra, the lotus of the heart.
Soul support: Feel loved and complete at every moment, regardless of what’s going on the ‘outside’.
Posture: Seated in ‘prayer pose’, with both hands pushed together, thumbs on heart chakra.

There is a poignancy to this week and it is a time for anticipating new beginnings. Nature runs its course and we are coming to the end of various cycles. The leaves are beginning to fall, the annual Torah reading is ending, another Kosher Sutra cycle is complete, and animals would be beginning to think about hibernating if we hadn’t singed the ozone layer and messed up the seasons through prematurely triggering global warming.

“He [God] showed his love to the peoples” explains Moses in his farewell speech (Deut: 33.3). The rabbinic commentators go for an ethnocentric translation of this, explaining that it is talking about the 12 tribes (Onkelos & Rashi), but the Hebrew word ‘Amiym’ suggests a wider scope. ‘Am’ usually refers to the Israelites, but the plural word refers to the other peoples on the earth, e.g. everyone, regardless of race or nationality. God loves you, baby. Hallelujah.

The final yogic teaching of the year is simple: all is one. And incredibly complicated: all is one. We can quote endless sanksrit sources, or Hebrew sources for that matter, but the mind-games will distract us from the work of our hearts – to understand that we are living in a space of Divine love, and that we are all part of one huge spiritual organism. When we can live in this space of deep knowing, we remove our fears, pains and sense of lack. This is an idea that our hearts understand, but our heads often complicate.

The yogic meditation of anjali-mudra takes us into this place. It is performed by pushing both palms together into ‘prayer position’ and lightly pressing your thumbs on the sternum, or heart centre.

This week is the festival of Succot where Jews gather in the temporary structure of the succah, and invite guests in throughout the whole week. We sit in this physical-spiritual space and remind ourselves of the oneness of God and the Universe. We hold four species of plants together (the Lulav/Etrog/Willow/Myrtle) and remind ourselves that we are all one people.

But can we feel it in our hearts?

Here is a simple meditation. Close your eyes and meditate on the word ‘love’. Allow yourself to feel it in every cell of your body. If your heart is beating anxiously, breathe and allow yourself to come back to the meditation focus. If your mind wanders in another direction, bring your mind back to it.

A couple of days ago my friend Peter Himmelman beautifully summed up Reb Aryeh Kaplan’s approach to meditation: “Think of a thing. When you stop thinking of it, think of that thing again. Do it for 15 minutes”.

Back in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, Succot was a time of joint prayer for all peoples of the world, of all religions and nations. We all joined together as one.

Succot really was a time for sharing the love.

V’zot HaBracha. This is the blessing. This is the happy ending and the even happier beginning.


Sign up for your weekly Kosher Sutra at www.bibliyoga.com

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga, President of the Jewish Yoga Network, and currently lives in Los Angeles.

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October 7, 2011 | 5:35 pm

The Yoga of Yom Kippur

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Dear Friends

It has been amazing year. Thank you for allowing me to journey with you, and I bless you with an incredible year ahead.

The summer has been busy with the world yoga conference in Portugal, the launch of the Jewish Yoga Network in the USA (we had a great first seminar in LA), I’ve completed a new yoga teaching certificate from the College of Purna Yoga (alignment-based, Iyengar-style) and recently a filmed a new video (opposite. The beard has since gone…).

Now, the first sutra in a few weeks…


Kosher Sutra: No Day but Today (Yom Kippur)

Earlier this week the world lost a great artistic visionary. Most of our lives were somehow touched by his creations. In a time of great recession and job losses, he continued to create endless new jobs. His impact on business and technology is substantial. The ancient questions are more relevant than ever: What is your ideal legacy to the world? How would you like to be remembered? If today was your last day on earth, how would you live?

Many of us would love the opportunity to start again. To press the ‘reset’ buttons on our lives. To erase the hard disk of all of the things we’ve done that we’re embarrassed about, to think through those things that we wish hadn’t said and make them go away. In a nutshell, that’s Yom Kippur.

The yoga practice for Yom Kippur is a soul-focused deep meditation. We refrain from food, drink, physical relations and wearing leather skins that a creature had to die for (Mishna, Yoma, 8:1). We realign with who we are, and who we can be. What the yogis called ‘the continuous struggle to become firmly established in the stable state of the True Self’ (Yoga Sutras 1:13).

Yom Kippur. A day of atonement. Or, a Day of At-ONE-ment. Becoming one with our potential. Becoming one with who we really want to be. The Sanskrit word for retuning, reconnecting, becoming one with our ultimate self? ‘Yoga’. The Hebrew word? ‘Echad’. Hear, O Yogis, All is One.

The Rabbis taught: “All my life I have been raised among the sages and I have found nothing better for the body than silence” (Ethics of the Fathers, 1:17). Nothing better for the body than silence. I could add more, to explain this, but that would break the silence. The words speak for themselves. Enough talking, already.

I have found nothing better for the body than silence.

Over the next 36 hours, try a little silence. I won’t prescribe any yoga poses this weekend because your body already knows what to do, if you listen to it.

Wishing you a peaceful and blessed new year. May you be sealed in the Book of Life.

Marcus

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga, president of the Jewish Yoga Network and artist-in-residence for Jewlicious.

Coming soooooon.

LOS ANGELES: 8th October, ‘The Yoga of Yom Kippur’ 10am, free. Register at www.daysofawesome.com.

LOS ANGELES: 16th October - hosting/MC on stage at the Jewish County Fair, Malibu. Register at http://bigjewishtent.com.

INDIANAPOLIS: November, TBA.

INDIA: TBA.

PALM SPRINGS: 2nd-3rd January 2012, Pacific American Rabbis conference Bibliyoga workshops.

PALM SPRINGS: 3rd January 2012, Pacific American Rabbis conference - performance of ‘Solomon’.

LONG BEACH: February 2012 Jewlicious 8.0.

LOS ANGELES: February 2012, LimmudLA.

NEVADA: Performances & workshops in Henderson, NV.

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September 2, 2011 | 11:41 am

Kosher Sutra: Scaredy-Cat (Shoftim)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Photo

Hawkeye, Radar, Hotlips and the staff at the 4077th M*A*S*H unit. Klinger's the one dressed as a nurse.

Kosher Sutra: “Let him go and return to his house, that he should not cause the heart of his brothers to melt, as his heart.” (Deut 19:8)

Bibliyoga Focus: Banish fear, breathe in the light.

As a child I used to sit with my father javascript:nullo()and watch MASH, the original medical drama that was set in the Korean war. One of the funniest characters was Corporal Klinger who was so desperate to get discharged from the army that he claimed insanity by dressing up in women’s clothing. He wasn’t a transvestite and his plan never worked but he did wear a fine selection of dresses and hats.

If Klinger had been in the Biblical army of Israel he wouldn’t have had to go such sartorial lengths, but would have been sent straight home. Our Kosher Sutra comes at the end of a list of people who don’t need to go to battle: those who have just built a house, planted a vineyard, recently betrothed a woman but not consummated the relationship…or are just plain scared.

Nachmanides explained that this wasn’t just a suggestion or an easy get-out clause; it was a commandment! If you don’t want to fight, we don’t want you in the army. He went deeper to explain that this potential soldier is a spiritual and physical liability because their fear represents a lack of ultimate faith in God and as a result they could actually help us to lose a battle by weakening the spirits of other soldiers.


A little fear can go a long way. The yogis explained that fear is one of the key obstacles to attaining enlightenment. Abhinivesha, translated as ‘fear of death’ or ‘clinging to life’ is one of the kleshas (obstacles) which ignore our spiritual side and cause us to over identify with our body (Yoga Sutras 2:3).

This month is a period of intense spiritual growth, punctuated by the psalm “God is my light…who shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1). We focus on revealing and seeing Divine Light and reducing fear. If we allow just one fear to drive us, we can weaken our internal system. Everybody knows somebody who spends their life avoiding the pursuit of their dreams because they are held back by fear.

Just as the fearful soldier was banished from the army, we need to banish these fearful thoughts and be open to receiving the Light from beyond.

____________

Marcus is the president of the Jewish Yoga Network, artist-in-residence for Jewlicious Festivals, and creator of Bibliyoga. Sign-up to receive your free Kosher Sutra.



Marcus’s touring schedule…

LOS ANGELES: Private client sessions on a weekly basis - please enquire for further details: marcus@bibliyoga.com

PITTSBURGH: 15th, 16th,17th - Bibliyoga @ Pittsburgh Hillel

PITTSBURGH: 17th - Bibliyoga @ Rodef Shalom community.

PITTSBURGH: 18th September - Bibliyoga @ Beth Shalom Community

PITTSBURGH: 18th Sept - performance of ‘Elijah’ - Hillel.

DETROIT: 24th Sept - Bibliyoga @ Adat Shalom community

DETROIT: 24th Sept - performance of ‘Solomon’ - JCC

DETROIT: 25th Sept - performance of ‘Elijah’ - JCC

INDIANAPOLIS: November.

PALM SPRINGS: 2nd-3rd January 2012, Pacific American Rabbis conference Bibliyoga workshops.

PALM SPRINGS: 3rd January 2012, Pacific American Rabbis conference - performance of ‘Solomon’.

LONG BEACH: February 2012 Jewlicious 8.0!!!!

NEVADA: Performances & workshops in Henderson, NV.

ENGLAND: Sometime soon. Let’s do it. Tell me when. In the meantime, I’m running low on teabags so please could you post some over? They sunk all of them here.

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August 26, 2011 | 5:29 pm

Kosher Sutra: C B Yond (Re’eh)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Photo

Ultimate Yoga Day - just three spaces left!!! http://www.jconnectla.com/2011/08/ultimate-yoga-day-an-experience-for-the-body-soul/

Kosher Sutra: I set before you today a blessing and a curse (Deut 11:26)
Soul Solution: Freedom from pain through non-attachment.

It is almost impossible to know who wins the lottery. The person who has the correct numbers and receives the prize money is not always the winner. Dr Steven J Danish is a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and has spent the last 12 years counseling lottery winners who face huge problems after receiving their sudden windfall. Stories abound of how the sudden abundance of money can magnify existing problems and families descend into jealousy, arguments and self-destruction. So, we may think that we have lost by not winning, but we may well have won by ‘losing’.

There are ominous words that form our Kosher Sutra, as Moses relates the words of God: “I set before you today a blessing and a curse”. A list of blessings and curses follows, but Hasidic tradition reveals an underlying switcheroo. Likutei Torah teaches that the inner side of every expression is a blessing*.

The yogis were keen to stress the importance of non-attachment, vairagya, because it allows us ‘mastery over the mind and realization of the true self’ (Yoga Sutra 1:16). As we get into a yoga posture we focus on the actions rather than the result. It matters not if we can get into a handstand or drop into a backbend. What is important is that we commit to the action. We do not have to complete the full pose but neither are we free from refraining to start it.

Underlying everything is a sense of ultimate trust (Hebrew: Emunah) and this can be attained through non-attachment. Another way of thinking about this is the idea of process vs results. If we focus on the process, the results will take care of themselves. An actor cannot force an audience to feel something, but if they fully commit to playing the scene then the effect on the audience will take care of itself.

Think for a moment of an occasion when you’ve faced a huge disappointment but later realized that it was an unbelievable source of blessing. I was disappointed when I got waitlisted and then rejected from the universities of Cambridge AND Harvard (now that’s yichus!) but in retrospect I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m even grateful for sustaining a couple of injuries through a somewhat reckless yoga practice because it has led me to learn new forms of meditation and alignment-based asana that have totally transformed my understanding of yoga.

We cannot always see the bigger picture, but then again, our job isn’t to run the world. We just have to commit our best to each passing moment, to enjoy each breath and let the result take care of itself.

**: 28th August 2011 - JConnectLA & the Jewish Yoga Network present Ultimate Yoga Day: An experience for the body & soul. Featuring classes with Marcus, Zack Lodmer (Om Shalom Yoga) and much more!!! Click here to book online. Advance tickets: $40. On the day: $50. Only 4 places left!!!!***

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August 19, 2011 | 11:36 am

Kosher Sutra: EAT LOVE PRAY (Ekev)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Kosher Sutra: EAT LOVE PRAY

Kosher Sutra: ‘Eat, be satisfied and bless…’ (Deut 8:10)
Posture: Gormukhasna/Cow-face pose
Body Benefit: Open your heart space
Soul Solution: Lift up your heart

To almost everyone’s surprise, praying has come back into fashion. It’s called different things because praying is no longer a phrase in vogue, but whether you call it ‘manifesting the universe’, ‘setting an intention’, ‘submitting to a Higher Power’, it’s all pretty much the same thing.

A key element of yoga practice is gratitude, and that is the essence of our kosher sutra. To appreciate the food we have had and to say thank you for it. But that is not enough. The key element is that we enjoy it. ‘V’savata’ says Deuteronomy. ‘And you shall be satisfied’. We actually have to be happy. What a total drag.

The yoga teacher Aadhil Palkhivala, one of Iyengar’s senior teachers and the founder of Purna Yoga, focuses on the attitude of bliss in his book Fire of Love, where he focuses on the ‘inner smile’:

“.. illness is a function of the loss of the inner smile… hidden deep within the veiled recesses of the Heart Center is a smile that emerges from a sense of connectedness with all things. This unifying feeling is true love, far removed from the physical…Bliss is the connection with the heart, and is not to be confused with excitement. Most of us equate bliss with a thrill, and that is part of the problem. Bliss is a calm inner state, the manifestation of inner connectedness, while excitement is merely a passing fever” (Fire of Love p201-202).

When we find this satisfaction, we automatically lift ourselves to a higher place. A few lines on from our Kosher Sutra is a caution lest we miss out the vital element of saying thank you: ‘then your heart will be lifted up and you will forget God….’(Deut 8:14), and we find ourselves in a place of arrogance. There is a difference between opening our heart centre, our heart chakra, the place the Kabbalists called Tiferet, and becoming arrogant. In most yoga asanas (postures) we are aiming to open and lift our heart, but to do so in a spirit of gratitude and humility.

There is a famous Talmud imploring us to enjoy the world around us, and saying that if we get to heaven and we haven’t enjoyed our world, we will be asked why.

So what are you waiting for? Go and have a good weekend already. Just don’t forget to say thank you.

******
GORMUKHASANA
i. Sit in Staff Pose with your feet straight out in front of you.
ii. Bring your right leg over your left and aim to have both feet pointing backwards, with your ankles in line with your hips.
iii. Inhaling, bring your right arm over your back, your left arm under, and hold both hands together.
iv. With every inhale, lift your head even further and maintain the energy.

Variation: Sit on a bolster or evenly-folded blanket to make the knee bend easier, take hold of a strap between your hands.

****

Marcus J Freed is president of the Jewish Yoga Network and creator of Bibliyoga. He is teaching next week in Los Angeles for the Ultimate Yoga Day - An Experience for the Body & Soul on Sunday 28th August. Check out the line-up and booking details here:
http://www.jconnectla.com/2011/08/ultimate-yoga-day-an-experience-for-the-body-soul/

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July 10, 2011 | 1:58 am

Shalom Prince William: An unofficial guide to Southern California’s language and culture

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Dear Prince William and Duchess Kate

Welcome to Los Angeles! On behalf of the Jewish community, we hope you have a great time. Please come for tea if you’ve got any time before you leave; I think that Victoria & David should be stopping by at some point so it’ll be nice if we can all hang out.

as ever, your loyal subject-

Marcus of Watford.

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June 13, 2011 | 12:53 pm

Skid Row, LA: Adventures in The Kosher Sutra

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Photo

Jewish Federation LA's volunteer day at the Fred Jordan Mission, Downtown LA.

Last Sunday I had a profound experience in downtown Los Angeles. Skid Row is the poorest district in LA, and the setting for The Soloist. I was there as part of a volunteer day at a homeless shelter and got more than I bargained for. 150 homeless African Americans were in attendance for a meal served by volunteers and at the last moment I was asked to address their sunday chapel service. The filming quality is basic, but you’ll get the gist. I shared my favourite Kosher Sutra du jour - “Serve God with joy” (Ps 100:2) - along with a question - how can you feel joyful if you’re not in the mood?

www.bibliyoga.com

Artist-in-residence for Jewlicious Festivals. Check out Jewnfest this week, 14th-15th June.

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