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Illuminartyoga E-News
Issue # 18: May 23, 2005
Towards Calm, by Sue-Anne
The Four Paths of Yoga
During our yoga practice we tend to forget that we are touching on such a small part of an immense subject.
There are four main paths of yoga according to each person's natural tendencies:
Raja Yoga, the royal or complete path to purify the body and mind;
Jnana Yoga, the path of knowledge and wisdom;
Bhakti Yoga, the devotional path;
Karma Yoga, the path of action.
Karma Yoga: Selfless Service
The word 'karma' reminds us of the law of cause and effect. However,
karma yoga is the act of selfless service. The Sivananda Companion
to Yoga states:
"Karma yoga is the path chosen by those of an outgoing
nature. It purifies the heart by teaching you to act selflessly, without thought of gain or reward.
By detaching yourself from the fruit of your actions and offering them up to God, you learn to
sublimate the ego."
I like to think of volunteer work as a kind of karma yoga. Last Fall, I began teaching
yoga as a volunteer to eight blind, emotionally handicapped teenage boys at the Montreal
Association for the Blind. I had no idea what to expect and I learned by trial and error.
When I told them to stretch like a cat, I discovered that they had never seen this.
I learned to describe with as much detail as possible and was thankful for the two
teachers there to help them.
The boys are open and friendly and each has unique characters and charm. Once, when
they had their arms stretched up over their heads, one of the students, Luigi,
suddenly said "And release," in a way that sounded exactly like me. We all laughed.
Every class they progress and recently we started doing full sun salutations.
After each class they seem to become more relaxed and balanced.
Teaching them is a gift for me. It reminds me of what enormous challenges some
people face and how fortunate I am to be blessed with what I normally take
for granted.
Why not find small ways to practice karma yoga?
Usually the gift we receive far exceeds what we give.
Summer Yoga Session
Once again I will be giving two shorter yoga sessions this summer.
Special! May 31st to July 12th: 7 classes for the price of 6 = 90$
Bonus! Aug, 2nd to Sept. 6th: 6 classes for the price of 5 = 75$
Please call to reserve your place, 577-1963, or e-mail me at harmoni@cam.org.
If you know of someone who is interested in trying yoga, tell them their
first class is free.
Please forward the URL for this newsletter to them.
See you soon!
Sue-Anne
Vegetarian Recipe
These health food bars are much tastier than the ones you buy and they
freeze well (If they last long enough!). The recipe is from
Laurel's Kitchen by Laurel Robertson.
Sunshine Bars
1 cup orange juice
1 cup dried apricots, loosely packed
½ cup honey
½ cup oil
1 ½ cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins partly cut up
2/3 cup toasted almond meal
Preheat the oven to 350º F
Heat orange juice to a boil.
Put dried apricots in pan, bring
to a boil again, and turn off heat.
Cover pan and let apricots absorb juice until
tender enough to cut with a sharp knife, but not really soft.
Meanwhile, mix honey and oil. Stir oats, flour, wheat germ,
cinnamon, and salt together.
Drain apricots and add the juice to the honey-oil mixture.
Chop apricots coarsely and stir into dry ingredients along
with raisins and almond meal.
Combine wet and dry ingredients and press mixture into an
oiled 9"x 13" baking dish.
Bake about 30 minutes.
Keep an eye on them! Desserts made with honey brown quickly.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
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