Month: April 2021

Spanda

Tim Brattan on

It’s been three weeks since Lulu, our 11-week old puppy, arrived bounding into our lives and home. Experiencing Lulu reminds me of the Sanskrit term, Spanda. Spanda is the primordial vibration of the rhythms of life. It’s the pulse that connects our own personal energies, the sacred tremor of the heart, with the energies of the whole universe.

In puppy terms, Spanda is movement and motion. Lulu moves from a state of passion and excitement (expansion) to ecstatic peace and a nice long nap (contraction/growth). In a Spanda sense, she embodies a bridge between energy and consciousness, and harmony.

Spanda is the thrill of existence. Lulu has reminded us of that and she is a joy to behold.

The practice that’s right for us

Tim Brattan on

One of the most iconic quotes by the late Guruji, K. Pattabhi Jois, is: “Yoga is 99 percent practice and 1 percent theory.”

What I think he meant is that the postures hold the secret of revealing what we can’t always see in ourselves. We can really only get that connection by understanding that the practice – the asanas – are more about doing than talking.

One of my early teachers used to say that we progress and open when we put in more miles on the mat. And if we truly connect with where we are, stay focused and don’t get ahead of ourselves, we are always in the practice that’s right for us. Om namah shivaya.

Supernatural

Tim Brattan on

Imagine our practice aiming us toward being a Siddha that nurtures shelter (structure) and sanctuary (safety/protection). Siddha is the accomplished one, or one who has achieved spiritual realization and supernatural power (a shift in the sense of reality and inner perception).

The only place this practice lives is in our practice. As we evolve in the practice, our supernatural power is to create a sacred space of deeper understanding of ourselves and in the dharmic sense, the right way of living. Each time we practice we give the practice power. In turn the practice gives us shelter and sanctuary that benefits ourselves and others, intentionally and in unseen ways.

It also prepares us to be ready for anything and everything.