Yoga New Year: 108 Sun Salutations (1/1)

Led by Yoga Ambassador Stella Han, MSW

Buddhism is all about mental cultivation or bhavana, right? Who needs the body?

The fact is the wandering ascetic Siddhartha realized this human body is not "in the way." Like happiness (sukha), it is the way. At least it can be.

The first instruction toward enlightenment is? Mindfulness of the body -- breathing, postures, and so on. It's all detailed in the Satipatthana Sutra.

What is a "Sun Salutation"? It is a series of linked postures demonstrated here in 13 stages:

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What better way to move mindfully than the ancient Vedic rishi magic of "union" (yoga) with the breath (prana, spirit) and the All (advaita, our universal interconnectedness)?

• Yoga Gives Back: Stella Han's fundraiser

Party first: New Year ceremony vegan potluck

The martial arts are martial, that is, related to war and fighting. Qigong and yoga are about peacefully moving energy in the body. Even a very fat, unhealthy, other-abled person could do yoga (e.g., Iyengar Yoga) or begin to move chi (qi, kyi, prana) for health and recovery.

Average Janes and Joes might even be to the point where the practice of saluting the sun (Surya Namaskar) is a good idea. We'll start the New Year doing just that:

• New Year's Day 2025, noon-3:00 pm
• With Yogini Stella Han, MSW
• Kinship Yoga Studios ($25)
• 5612 N. Figueroa St., Highland Park
• Los Angeles, California 90042
• (213) 585-8451
• Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen B., Wisdom Quarterly