Life as Ritual • Yoga With Kaya

“Everyday, wake up and ask, ‘what is one thing I can do today that helps me to do my dharma. Then do that everyday for the rest of your life.” ~ Śri Krishan Mantriji

Doing your Dharma, with Grace

In the Bhagavad Gītā, it is repeated that the way to live a yogic life, is to do that which is “in front of you to do”. Surrendering to your purpose moment to moment, as part of the fabric of the cosmic order makes life a meaningful ritual. We can call this “doing your dharma”.

But the reality is…. life is complex. Many different threads in the fabric of your life pull at you. The demands of your different roles, relationships and responsibilities can make it difficult to discern the “what” “when” and “how” of doing your “dharma”.

And beyond all of your mundane responsibilities… there are various healing practices, spiritual rituals, sacred studies and more that you hope to tend to.

On top of it… you want to account for your constitution, your tendencies, your desires… and maybe even the astrological arrangements!

Whew…

How to navigate it all in a way that feels full of grace, attuned to the cosmos, nourishing and easeful?

This is the nature of a question that came in recently…

I wanted to ask a question that has been on my mind for a while now regarding the karma yoga lifestyle. I find it can be tricky to differentiate what is truly enjoined upon me to do in a given moment, between external responsibilities and my internal responsibilities. For example, should I work late today because I have all these work tasks that are in front of me to do (that others are relying on me to complete), or should I spend that time with my loved ones since I also have stewardship over that relationship, or is it wisest to go take a bath and relax that way to take care of my body-mind, etc. I find myself wanting to make the “right,” “most supportive/beneficial” choices but feeling pulled in many directions, and feeling like although all of it is important work, I can’t do it all. I’ll cut right to the real question on my heart and skip the scholarly ones (per Friday’s class!): Am I still doing karma yoga if I feel like I am often blindly fumbling for which is the most dharmic action and like there will always be plenty of things left undone?

“Wake up early, do your devotional practices, and then spend the day doing your duties and contemplating the teachings of the divine”– Swami Tattvavidānanda

A Day in [Kaya's] Life

Here’s a glimpse into a day… each day in my life is slightly different, because of my varied work schedule, husbands schedule, kids schedules and so on. This is a Thursday. Kids were in school, husband was working with clients.

And yet, there are a few well-established “anchors” every day that abide. These are habits and rituals that have been established… one at a time… over the course of years.

Here’s my Thursday:

5:30am
Wake up.
Oral care, wash hands & feet.

5:50am
Devotional Mantra & Pūja Ritual

6:45am
Oil Face Massage
Supreme Release Yoga practice

7:45am
Go into the kitchen to help kids with making their breakfasts & lunch.
Large glass of hydrogen water + herbs + supplements
Family Time at the Dining Table

8:15am
Cup of Earl Grey + A Savory Breakfast
A little reading while kids brush teeth & get ready to leave.

8:45am
Kids have been picked up by school carpool.
Tidy & vacuum living room & dining room.

9am
A walk in the neighborhood

9:20am
Answer some emails & questions in the sangha.
Communication with my assistant, Charis

10am
Work on calendar for the year
with a mug of cacao + tremella mushroom tincture + pearl powder
In front of the red-light panel.

10:30am
Prepare lunch

11am-12:30pm
Prep for Teaching Bhagavad Gītā

12:30pm
Lunch with Michael, lentil soup & roasted vegetables with tahini sauce
+ a few more herbs + supplements.

1pm
Walk in the neighborhood with Michael

1:15pm
Prep for Teaching the Bhagavad Gītā
Cup of Genmaicha

2:45pm
Pick up kids & carpool friends from school

3:30pm
Tea & Snack & a Game of Backgammon with 11 year old
{7 year old is at basketball with Papa}

5pm
Infrared Sauna, shower & abhyānga
while kids have a bath & playtime

6:15pm
Dinner in our Pajamas
Miso broth poured roasted zucchini & squash [from lunch]
[kids had kale pesto on capellini]

7:30pm
Tea time & bedtime rituals with the kids
Cup of Herbal Tea

8pm
Read my book by redlight booklight while kids fall asleep.

9pm
Prep the altar for morning practices
Tidy office for teaching in the morning.
Flower essences & magnesium.

9:30pm
Bedtime

A few things about this schedule.

The key is in the anchors. For exmaple, our lunchtime and my morning rituals. Some other things are subject to change.

This is one day, amongst diverse kinds of days. This day has extras like time for a sauna & abhyānga. These don’t take place daily.

Some days have many more hours dedicated to work, some days are dedicated to a family outing in nature, some days we are handling household logistics like going to the co-op and farmers market, or working in the garden. – but I never sacrifice my anchors.

And not shown are all the little things that arise… drama between the kids, text messages to other parents coordinating carpool and playdates, tying basketball shoes and filling water bottles, and a quick phone call with my mother in law about travel plans.

And each life is different. I am blessed to have a supportive spouse… who loves to cook, does a lot of the cleaning and with whom I trade off working and kid duties. I am not a single parent, I do not currently work 9-5 or outside of my home. I work a LOT of hours many days, and less other days. But I love my work.

And life goes through so many phases. There was a time in my life when we lived in one room. And then when we had square feet. There was a time when I worked full time as a nanny and also was teaching yoga, driving to multiple locations every week to do housecalls and get to our yoga studio. There was a time when I was a full time student in addition to working and teaching. There were times when I was doing all this while pregnant, or breastfeeding. There was a time when we were homeschooling both kids and working from home. There are times when a kid is sick, or emotions are running high in the household. There are many times when many things are happening all at once like a grand complicated symphony. But making the flow of your life feel like a sacred flow that you are choosing… allows the space for all of this to happen. The anchors that you set up for yourself become like the banks that hold the ever-changing and moving river of life.

But to me, the trick is to have these anchors… along with an openness to what arises in the moment. And the key is to build your “ideal day” slowly… implementing things in ways that are sustainable and do-able.

"No one, regardless of status or lifestyle can avoid action, because action is embedded into nature itself which is the manifestation of the Divine. Therefor, do what is to be done, with evenness of mind." ~ Bhagavad Gītā, Chapter 3

Be an Active Participant

“Do what is in front of you to do” can sound passive. And yes, some things in your life are thrust in front of you, and you respond. But you have a karmic momentum. The things you did years ago may be the reason that various roles and responsibilties are in front of you today. And the things you do today will create that which is front of you tomorrow.

So, the call here is to be an active participant in molding your life… whether you are envisioning your year, your month, your week, or your day. You don’t have total control over everything… but you do have choice. Because you have care for you will feel and be in the future, you want to enact your own choice for what you do today… tomorrow and the next day.

This is not about being overly disciplined… but about making your life a ritual. Then everything you do is an offering to the divine… it is an offering to yourself now and in the future. For example, prioritizing your sleep is something you do today, as an offering to who you will be when you wake up well rested tomorrow. It is also an offering to everyone in your life who will benefit from a well-rested you tomorrow.

Living life with this value for your own highest values that have a ripple effect in the world makes every action sacred.

Sacred Strategizing

Nectar of Time

Vedic Astrology | Divine Ritual | Sacred Storytelling

Questions for Kaya? Reach Out

“Everyday, wake up and ask, ‘what is one thing I can do today that helps me to do my dharma. Then do that everyday for the rest of your life.” ~ Śri Krishan Mantriji

Doing your Dharma, with Grace

In the Bhagavad Gītā, it is repeated that the way to live a yogic life, is to do that which is “in front of you to do”. Surrendering to your purpose moment to moment, as part of the fabric of the cosmic order makes life a meaningful ritual. We can call this “doing your dharma”.

“Wake up early, do your devotional practices, and then spend the day doing your duties and contemplating the teachings of the divine”– Swami Tattvavidānanda

A Day in [Kaya's] Life

Here’s a glimpse into a day… each day in my life is slightly different, because of my varied work schedule, husbands schedule, kids schedules and so on. This is a Thursday. Kids were in school, husband was working with clients.

And yet, there are a few well-established “anchors” every day that abide. These are habits and rituals that have been established… one at a time… over the course of years.

Here’s my Thursday:

5:30amWake up. Oral care, wash hands & feet.

5:50amDevotional Mantra & Pūja Ritual

6:45amOil Face MassageSupreme Release Yoga practice

7:45amGo into the kitchen to help kids with making their breakfasts & lunch. Large glass of hydrogen water + herbs + supplementsFamily Time at the Dining Table

8:15amCup of Earl Grey + A Savory BreakfastA little reading while kids brush teeth & get ready to leave.

9amA walk in the neighborhood

9:20amAnswer some emails & questions in the sangha.Communication with my assistant, Charis

10amWork on calendar for the year with a mug of cacao + tremella mushroom tincture + pearl powderIn front of the red-light panel.

10:30amPrepare lunch

11am-12:30pmPrep for Teaching Bhagavad Gītā

12:30pmLunch with Michael, lentil soup & roasted vegetables with tahini sauce+ a few more herbs + supplements.

1pmWalk in the neighborhood with Michael 1:15pmPrep for Teaching the Bhagavad GītāCup of Genmaicha

2:45pmPick up kids & carpool friends from school

3:30pmTea & Snack & a Game of Backgammon with 11 year old{7 year old is at basketball with Papa}

5pmInfrared Sauna, shower & abhyāngawhile kids have a bath & playtime

6:15pm Dinner in our PajamasMiso broth poured roasted zucchini & squash [from lunch][kids had kale pesto on capellini]

7:30pmTea time & bedtime rituals with the kidsCup of Herbal Tea 8pmRead my book by redlight booklight while kids fall asleep.

9pmPrep the altar for morning practices Tidy office for teaching in the morning. Flower essences & magnesium.

9:30pmBedtime