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Sanskrit, Spirituality, Yoga

Sanskrit Names

Jivani Lisa

In the United States, there’s now a tradition for the main facilitator of yoga teacher trainings to bestow a Sanskrit name upon the students at the time of graduation. This is often done at the end of a basic 200-hour training, and if not then, at the end of more advanced-level trainings.

I’ve always been intrigued by the beauty and meaning of Sanskrit names and felt disappointed when my class didn’t get names in 2011. As I was completing the Yoga of Recovery training at Yogaville in 2017, I inquired about Sanskrit names, yet didn’t believe any of the teachers or Swamis knew me well enough to choose a name for me. I knew these names are best bestowed upon a person, rather than chosen for oneself.

So, this past January as I completed a 30-day residential staff program (the Living Yoga Training, or “LYT” program) at Yogaville, I asked one of the Swamis who knew me well by that point about a name.  She asked me to write her a few sentences about what I believe my mission in this world is; she said she’d pray and meditate over what I write and allow a name to come to her spontaneously.

It’s believed that these names are divinely bestowed when the process is taken seriously and reverently.  The name that’s given represents something the person is already living to some degree AND striving to develop more fully.

Some common female Sanskrit names are :  Shanti (peace), Padma (lotus), Satya (truthful), Prashanti (ultimate peace), Anandi (blissful), Nirmala (immaculate), and Prema (love).

I wrote to the Swami (which means, through her, I was communicating with God) and told her I believe my mission in this world is to be an instrument of healing:  My work and calling involves helping people physically, mentally and spiritually; I genuinely want everyone to be happy and healthy and to enjoy life to the fullest.

So, after an evening of prayer and meditation, the Swami met with me and told me the name that came to her is Jivani (pronounced Gee-vuh-knee).  This means “vivifying” or “enlivening.”  It’s also a name of the Divine Mother who gives life.

The name, Jivani, is beautiful to me!  I am both proud AND humbled to carry such a name.  When people call me by this name it reminds me that I have the quality of “enlivening” AND I’m continuing to develop this quality.  It’s an ongoing process just as life itself is a continuing process.  There’s always more to learn, more to develop.  This can be – and hopefully is – exciting!

Yoga

Earth Yoga

Jivani Lisa

People who consistently practice yoga – even the relatively superficial exercises of hatha yoga – inevitably improve their relationships with people, things and concepts. For example, I just noticed that I’ve become intimate with my yoga mat!

Seriously, hatha yoga exercises require us to spend a lot of time on the mat. We get to know the color, texture and overall feel of our yoga mat(e). Our mat becomes an extension of us.

However, since I often practice without a mat, I become very aware of the floor I am working on – whether it’s wood or carpet. Every movement I perform requires me to either push away from the floor or surrender myself into it (or a bit of both).

This week in the middle of my practice, I suddenly felt intimate with the floor. I sensed myself having a relationship with the floor. This may sound odd but I think that’s what’s supposed to happen with hatha yoga. More specifically, since the exercises are meant to be practiced on the bare ground in a natural setting, the practitioner gradually develops a relationship with the ground, with the earth.

My conclusion is that yogis sense their deep connection to the earth. We love the earth and want to protect it; we can’t bear to see it polluted or otherwise harmed. I suspect that people who are drawn to hatha yoga either have a natural love for the earth or will inevitably develop a sense of love and respect for the earth with regular practice.

Through our mutual intimacy with the earth, yogis develop respect for each other as well. We want to share resources/knowledge and assist one another on the yoga path. Instead of focusing on our differences, we want to build bridges and enjoy our oneness with all.

Poetry, Yoga

Yoga Means

Jivani Lisa

Yoga means union
with the Divine
experienced as deep
joy, ecstasy, bliss,
happiness in life.
All this!
Those moments —
fleeting or more —
of freedom
from the modulations
of the mind:
Wanting perfect proof,
wrong understanding,
imagination,
sleep, and memory.
Abide in the union
of the inhale and
the exhale. Now.
All is found.