Does the Dalai Lama Ever Get Mad?

In a large auditorium at the University of California in 1989 the Dalai Lama answered questions from the audience.Someone asked, "Do you ever get angry?"

The Dalai Lama laughed his impish, delighted laugh and said, "Of course! Things happen that I don't want to happen and anger arises. But it's not a problem."

Loosening the Knots of Anger

The renowned Viatnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hahn talks about loosening the knots of anger in his book Anger.

"The first function of mindfulness is to recognize, not to fight. "Breathing in, I know that anger has manifested in me. ’Hello, my little anger.’ And breathing out, ’I will take good care of you.’ "Once we have recognized our anger, we embrace it. This is the second function of mindfulness and it is a very pleasant practice. Instead of fighting, we are taking good care of our emotion. If you know how to embrace your anger, something will change... "The first few minutes of recognizing and embracing your anger with tenderness can bring results. You get some relief. Anger is still there but you do not suffer so much anymore, because you know how to take care of your baby. "So the third function of mindfulness is soothing, relieving. Anger is there, but it is being taken care of. The situation is no longer in chaos, with the crying baby left all alone. The mother is there to take care of the baby and the situation is under control."

In yoga as we lie in the stillness on our mats we are able to witness the emotions as they arise. We can use mindfulness, deep breathing and compassion to work with and embrace our feelings as they arise.

As we continue our practice we carry the same methods over into our daily lives.

New and Improved Web Site!

Be sure to take a tour of my Web site and notice all the new pictures that have been added and how the newsletters are now formatted in an easy-to-read manner.

Many thanks to Gordon Graham of Gordon & Gordon... award-winning writer, yoga student and good friend!

New Classes

You can find the January schedule on the Yoga page. Classes will be starting the week of January 13th.

Please forward this to any friends you have that may be interested in joining us in January. Please phone or e-mail me to save your place. And be sure to click mailing list to receive your quarterly newsletter of upcoming classes and events.

All the best for the holiday season, and if anger arises I hope it's not a problem!

I look forward to seeing you next year!