Sanskrit – Holistic Yoga & Spiritual Guidance

Union

June 10, 2024 Jivani Lisa

Yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness.”
— Yoga Sutra 1.2, B. K. S. Iyengar translation

Yoga happens when there is stilling (in the sense of continual and vigilant watchfulness) of the movement of thought without expression or suppression in the indivisible intelligence in which there is no movement.”

— Yoga Sutra 1.2, Swami Venkatesananda translation

Basically, when the mind is clear and calm, centered and quiet, we experience Pure Consciousness – the True Self which we ARE. (Like the photo below, taken at Dream Lake inside Luray Caverns in Virginia.) The water is perfectly calm, so there is no distortion of What Is. This is Yoga. “Union.” Or “to yoke.”

Sanskrit, Yoga

The concept of samskara (a Sanskrit word) is important in Yoga because all the practices of Yoga are designed to train the mind, to clean the mind, to enable us to experience our truest, deepest Self. Samskaras are often visualized as grooves or ruts in the mind caused by habitual thoughts, speech, and actions. The more we repeat specific thoughts, words, and actions, the more deeply they become imbedded in the psyche — and the more difficult they are to change. All of this reminds me of a quote often attributed to the Buddha or to Lao Tzu (and repeated by luminaries such as Mahatma Gandhi and Ralph Waldo Emerson):

“Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

How does Yoga help change this sequence? Yoga teaches us to become fully, calmly observant of the present moment — each and every moment, one after the other. In this way, we become the Witness of our own thoughts, emotions, speech, and actions, thereby beginning to see that we are something More than all of these. We begin to notice we always have a choice about the kinds of thoughts, etc. we cultivate. When unhelpful or unhealthy samskaras come to the surface of the conscious mind (after continuing to exist for some time in the unconscious or subconscious mind), we learn to watch and breathe through them as we practice responding in new ways rather than rolling along through the old familiar ruts. Yes, this takes a lot of practice! This is also an example of the many ways Yoga can revolutionize our daily lives from the inside out.

Sanskrit, Spirituality, Yoga

Sanskrit Names

August 28, 2018 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!