I received the following question via michaelgannonyoga.com from someone I have never met. Also included is my response (I answer most emails personally).

Hi! I’m 17-years old and I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on yoga and its benefits and have been quite impressed! Where do i begin to come close to where you are in your practice? I want to build strength, flexibility, and peace of mind.

thank you,

If you do, the strength and flexibility will come as a natural byproduct.

And don’t even think about peace of mind at this stage in your life. You will likely spend too many of your future years in life thinking, seeking, and pursuing such things. Only to find that it is unnecessary.

And that Peace of NO Mind will be much more useful.

Try everything, taste everything, do everything that you can NOW while you are young. Especially the things you wont/can’t do later.

Good luck,

Gannon

My response to Maya seemed very simple and obvious to me in this moment of my life. Although, it made me realize how difficult it was for me to process these questions when I was 17.  And when I was 27 and when I was 37 and even sometimes now, when I am almost 47!

I consider myself lucky that I was between 27 and 37 when I went through a similar thought process that she seems to be going through now. And I say lucky because I explored, experienced and adventured A LOT of stuff that I might not have “allowed” myself had I started searching for ‘peace of mind’ 10 years earlier.

During my hardcore satvic, holy, tapas, austere, disciplined, obsessed days I did miss my share of fun and adventure. And sometimes I find myself doing it now. I’m ok with this if it is because of something that I am truly committed to, believe in, gives me joy, helps me smile, makes me blissful, etc…

With this month’s Higher Practice,  I invite you to look deeply at your own Practices. Any of them or all of them. Yoga practice, fitness practice, spiritual practice, religious practice, eating practice, meditation practice, healthy practice, ritual practice or safety practices.

Because after all, if any of our practices are causing us to repress things in some areas of our life, are they really helping us, or are they hindering us in the end?

Michael Gannon

YogaDealer Christmas day message from Goa, India beach, after the 2011 Purple Valley Yoga Retreat is over.

At the 7^th Annual 2010 Yoga Conference in Mexico City, Gannon gave a talk called “Shiva Came to Mexico” which made a strong impact on the yoga community.   This month’s Higher Practice is a revised interpretation exactly one year later, as this11-11-11 Michael will again be teaching at the 8^th Conference (Encuentro) hosted by Instituto Mexicano de Yoga.

Today I want to tell you a story called “Shiva Came to Town”.

Shiva is part of the Hindu God Trinity – Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva.

Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the Destroyer.

When things are dead or dieing.   When energies are old.  When a process has run its course.   When the Universe needs space for something new.   When energy needs to shift for change of the greater good… Shiva transforms.   He becomes Nataraja, the King of Dance, or the Lord of Dance.

SHIVA

If we look at the image of Nataraja, we can see some interesting symbolisms:

- The drum in his rear right hand represents the rhythmic sound to which Nataraja dances.  The sounds of the Universe or Creation.

- His rear left hand holds Agni (fire).   This flame represents his powerful destructive energy, which destroys self-ignorance.

- Shiva’s right front hand is in the Abaya mudra, representing fearlessness.

- His left front hand sloping downwards represents grace and draws attention to his left raised foot.

- The left foot is raised in the position to give a blessing.

- Shiva’s right foot is standing on Apasmara, the dwarf demon, which represents ignorance.  In this way, he is holding back ignorance so that new knowledge can be born.

When Shiva transforms into Nataraja, he starts to drum and creates the thunderous sounds of creation.  He then starts to dance, which generates great internal heat (Agni).   This heat starts to generate the flame in his hand.  As he continues dancing, he starts throwing fireballs to all the places in the Universe (or within our Self) that need to be destroyed, and shit starts to burn.  Then things can be reborn, rebuilt and recreated.  So that everything can change, transform and grow.

Shiva comes to town whenever it is time, whether we are ready or not.  Whether we like it or not.  He doesn’t check in with us to see if we are ready or willing to dance.

We can associate Shiva Nataraja energy to many of the powerful transformations that are happening on the planet in recent years — Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Hurricanes.  We may also attribute this Shiva The Destroyer energy to the greatest personal life challenges, which affect our work, our family, our relationships and our lives.

When these great transformations happen, many people experience great loss.

People lose money, their business and their jobs.  Some lose their dreams, their nice cars, boats, and homes.  Some lose their peace of mind, their security, loved ones, and their health.

Most of us have great resistance to the changes that come with this type of destruction and with losing our things.  We become attached to the way we want or think things should be.  Or attached to our stuff and our life as we know it.  So it is not easy to deal with the changes created by these transitions.

I have created my own little mantra that I use in times like these:

ACCEPT…  LET GO…  ADAPT… EVOLVE!

Using this mantra, it becomes the process I strive to go through each time Shiva comes to town.

The sooner we can get to a space to ACCEPT the destruction of Shiva’s dance, the sooner we can be open to seeing the bigger picture or purpose.  To allow the rebirth and rebuilding that is now possible to happen.

Only once we have LET GO, can we start to rebuild, to transcend.

(CONTINUED FROM NEWSLETTER)

We can start by trying to rebuild what we had before, and if it works again, fine.  If not, also fine.  Then we ADAPT and do something different or we go someplace NEW.

So that we may EVOLVE and be reborn.  It is NOT the end of the world.  And if it is, …GREAT!  Then we have no reason to worry about anything!  We just fasten our seat belts, hang on, and enjoy the ride while it lasts …to the next world!  IF there is one?!

I don’t know about you, but I cannot control any of the dances that Shiva brings to town.  BUT, what I can control is my mind.  And if I can’t, at least I can learn to control it.  I can learn to control HOW those things affect me.  To control what I do, feel and think when Shiva comes to town.

Now, you need to be careful with this power of your mind!

In your effort to Let Go of destructive encounters, be sure to leave them in the past.  There is no healthy reason for you to dwell over it in the present.  As the only way they may return is if we invite them back… in our mind!

But, don’t make the mistake of repeating over and over in your mind, “no earthquakes, no earthquakes, no hurricanes, no hurricanes, …” because all the Universe hears is, “earthquakes, earthquakes, hurricanes, hurricanes …” and that’s what it sends you!  So don’t even take any energy there!

How can we prepare ourselves to better manage these surprise visits from Shiva the Destroyer?  How do we handle dancing with NataRaja?

Well, we can practice Asana to prepare ourselves.  We create challenging situations for our body on the mat.  We stretch, we twist, we fold, we jump.  We do balancing poses that are actually derived from NataRaja’s dance.  We struggle to balance, we fall.  We take a breath and try again.  We feel and observe what the practice is doing to our being –Physically, Mentally and Emotionally.

We can practice Pranayama to prepare ourselves.  Flooding the body with life force and scrubbing the mind clean to control the senses, we move into a state of Pratyahara, or sense withdrawal.

We can Meditate to prepare ourselves!  Observing our breath, observing sounds, observing sensations.  And when the mind wants to react to these sensations, we remain still, …present, …and balanced, so that we may develop equanimity.   These yogic practices are our tools and our training to deal with the more powerful sensations in life.  Even the sensations that come when Shiva Nataraja does his dance of destruction.

Then we can better embrace the change and transformation that we are experiencing in each moment.

We can even literally apply this mantra in our asana practices — ACCEPT…  LET GO…  ADAPT… EVOLVE!  We recognize and accept where we are in a yoga pose, and let go. Then, by Adapting and Evolving, we can start to rebuild our experience of that yoga pose… eventually achieving that pose.  OR, we may remain in the Accept/Let Go state of ‘maybe this pose is not going to happen for me now… Or for a while….  Or maybe even forever in this body.’ And that is fine! Then we can eventually move into the rebirth stage and get a different body.  More flexible, or stronger, or better balanced… or maybe not.  They are both fine!

I invite you to look inside yourself right now. Please stand up and close your eyes.  Try to find where you might be holding on to something in your life right now.  Or where you may be holding onto someone.  Or to a belief that is not serving you.  Maybe it is something that is dead or needs to be destroyed.  Resolve to Accept it and Let It Go.  So you may Adapt and Evolve.  So that something may be rebuilt anew.  So something different can be born or created… and you can grow.

If it is something that has happened in the past that you have not accepted, …resolve to accept it and let it go during your next yoga practice.

If it is something or someone that you are holding onto currently in your life, that you need to release,  …allow yourself that opportunity today.

If it is a belief about something that is not serving you, …allow your practice today to free you from that limiting belief.

Now, let’s rock out our yoga practice today and destroy some shit!

So that we can be REBORN on the other side.

Shanti Out,

Gannon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Once believed to be the culprit of distraction in our daily Yoga practice, the old adage “please switch off your cell phone” no longer applies.   Recent developments in smartphone applications have changed the way we feel about our mobiles.  There are now over 25 million iPhone users in the English-speaking world alone, with 400 different Yoga applications available from the iTunes App Store, and both of these numbers are only expected to grow.

This is great news for the new breed of Yoga practitioner that is just as busy with work and family, as they are with maintaining a healthy mind and body.  Beginner and advanced practitioners alike are simply setting their devices down beside their mat, and following along to a guided practice.  It is happening in homes, offices, hotel rooms and everywhere else imaginable around the world.

The latest and greatest to hit this virtual scene is Ashtanga Yoga with Michael Gannon (www.ashtangayogaapp.com) , the first Ashtanga Yoga App for Apple iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch devices.  In conjunction with innovative technology company Naked Buddha (www.nakedbuddha.org), world Yoga teacher Michael Gannon (www.michaelgannonyoga.com) has challenged the idea of how people are practicing Yoga.  Some traditionalists may not be quick to approve, but this is NOT just another Yoga application for your device.  In its first month after its worldwide release, almost 1,000 users in 20 countries have already sprung for the US$2.99 app, submitting 5-star reviews.  It has already received the highest (5-star) rating possible on the Apple App Store, is currently the #1 rated Ashtanga app and is in the top 10%of all genre Yoga apps worldwide.

Version 1.0 of the Ashtanga Yoga App includes videos teaching the key principles, easy to follow descriptions and high quality images of all postures.  There are two guided practice functions of the complete primary series, for both beginner and intermediate users.

Gannon shares his idea of the most impactful part of this new application: “We have eliminated the excuse, ‘I don’t have time to get to class today!’ Anywhere, for any amount of time, you can do your Yoga practice.”

iTunes App Store Review SAMPLE:

“I have been practicing Yoga for over 10 years, and Ashtanga Yoga for around 4 years, and have been lucky enough to study with some of the best teachers in the world.  However, until this point there has simply not been a Yoga app that matched my expectations or experience in a class, and especially not an Ashtanga App.  As a result I’m extremely happy to finally download this and see the impressive quality of the product.  The design is fantastic, and Michael’s guidance is both soothing and challenging (in all the right ways!).  I can’t quite believe this is a few dollars/pounds, incredible value, thank you so much.  Namaste.”

About Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga means ‘eight limbs’ and is described by the great Indian sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, written 2,300 years ago, as the 8-step path to true Yoga (union of body, mind & soul).  By practicing correct Vinyasa (breathing movement system), the body produces an intense internal heat and purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs.  The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body and a calm mind.

Ashtanga Yoga practitioners include Madonna, Sting and Willem DaFoe. Ashtanga Yoga is so popular because it combines a dynamic form of exercise, with a powerful detoxing and purifying effect, which also has major benefits for calming and balancing the nervous system.

About Naked Buddha

Naked Buddha is a London-based technology company founded in 2010 by Tim Bichara and Alex Howard.  It brings together the team behind top Apps such as Top Gear and Dr Who for the BBC, and The Optimum Health Clinic, one of the world’s leading integrative medicine clinics, with patients in over 35 countries.

Apple, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch are registered trademarks ™ ® Apple Computer, Inc.

Saying Goodbye to My First Guru

By Michael Gannon

August 20, 2011, 3:00pm

ButchJi and Michael; Hilton Head, SC; November 2008

I’m writing this while sitting in room 323 at Hilton Head Hospital, in South Carolina.

Song after song of my classic country music collection pours from my laptop -Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride, Elvis Presley and Sonny James.

This background music sings of a bond my Father created between us long ago.  I grew up listening to it with him over and over as a child.  Even in the car as a pre-teen in the 70s, this music powered our road trips together.  I loved punching the button on the car’s 8-track cartridge player.  Some of these songs I have not heard in over 30 years and the lyrics still come to me as I sing along.

Over my shoulder, in a hospital bed, lays my Father in what appears to be the final hours of 69 years of life in this body.  It is easy for me to separate Father from this body, as the body beside me, which is scarcely breathing, is far from the beautiful Being that I have known and loved for over 45 years.  The last few years have been challenging times due to the final stages of dementia (Alzheimer’s).  And now that he lays in hospice, it is just a matter of time that his eternal spirit slips out of this tired body and on to whatever comes next.

The mix of melancholic music and my emotional state brings back a limitless flow of memories.  Most of these memories are of childhood and adolescence with my Father. As the memories play through my mind like a movie, there is a reoccurring theme of Love, Support and Freedom.  He is teaching me how to ride a bike, attending hundreds of my baseball and football games, and cosigning a bank loan to buy my first car.  He is supporting my plan to be the first in generations of extended family to leave home to study at university.  As a world traveler, he is always interested in where I go and what I am learning along he way.

My Father’s love was always combined with freedom.  And that is a tough combination to come by.  All he wanted was for me to have the things he never did.  To live with the possibilities he never had.  My friends that felt they could not follow their desired life path, due to their father’s plan or expectations, always puzzled me.   My Father was always proud of my choices as long as I was happy.   Even when I turned to a life of Yoga, something he had never even heard of, he was supportive.

Two years ago, I said goodbye to my yoga guru of 10-years, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois.  His students always knew him as “GuruJi”.  In India, the “Ji” is added to the end of a name or title to show respect.  It’s typically used for Teachers, Gurus, Spiritual Guides, and other types of senior personalities.  When GuruJi died, I had a similar movie mind experience, remembering so many things that I had learned by his side.  Recalling this, makes me realize something important about my Father:  He was my first guide in this life.  He was my first teacher.  He led me through the formative years.  My Father was my first Guru!

Today, I will say my last farewells to my first Guru, Harley Robert “Butch” Gannon, my Father.  I leave the room saying goodbye to his Spirit, not knowing if it will be the last time (it was).  Like many times with respected Gurus and Spiritual Guides in India, I intimately touch both of his feet with both hands, and then bring my fingertips to my heart, repeating it three times. Then again, from his feet to my third-eye, three times.

One last time, in his living body’s presence, opening my heart and my eyes to all he has shared with me. Sucking in that essence of his unconditional love and support that will stay with me for as long as I remain in this body.

To my first ever Guru… who guided me through my youth… from the darkness to the light… ButchJi, I bow to You.

Harley R. Gannon “ButchJi”
July 30, 1942 – August 20, 2011

Thanks, Dad!

Rest in Peace.

I love you!