Latest / Sutra Squad / Ep. 32 Sutra 2.38 on the Fourth Yama - Brahmacarya or Continence

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Ep. 32 Sutra 2.38 on the Fourth Yama - Brahmacarya or Continence · Sutra Squad

• Seth Barron: Hi Sutra Squad family. Before we start today's episode, we wanted to extend a special invitation for you to join us at Sacred India 2027, our pilgrimage along the sacred Ganges River in India. We'll be starting in Dev Prayag, where the last tributaries connect and the Ganga begins. We'll go down to the holy city of Rishikesh. We'll go on to Praya Graj, where the Yamuna meets the Ganges and this mystical Sarasvati River is said to join, and ending the trip in the holiest of holy cities. Varanasi, and every day we'll offer yogic practice. I'm gonna be offering power. I'll be offering satsang on the Yoga Sutra. And I'll be offering restorative yin and nature practice. Plus, if you've ever wanted to see the magic of the Sutra Squad podcast, we'll be recording a few special live episodes along the way. So all the information is live at sutrasquad.com. Click on the link for pilgrimage. You can find everything you need to know, and we really hope you'll be able to join us. On with the show. Behavior that only brings fleeting excitement, but not fulfillment or joy, or when it leads one away from their spiritual goals, that is a waste of effort and energy. That's gonna change my entire world this week. Hello and welcome to the Sutra Squad Podcast brought to you by One Deep Breath. My name is Seth Barron, and I am joined with the Superstar Sutra Squad Sarah Page Hall. Hi, y'all. Hi, hi. And Sally Moore. Welcome. Sally, what's one word that describes how you feel right in this very moment? Just right. Sarah Page? Empowered. Ooh. Step back, look out. I feel Actually feel more grounded than I've felt in the last like week or so. with a lot of other ground shifting beneath me, like this space, this setsong, like this study is just so deeply grounding. It's it's ⁓ it's it's really become a beautiful touchstone. And we hope for some of you listening as well. It is something that we count on, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. So we are we're deep in the good good of exploring exploring the Yoga Sutra. we've we've we've spent time in the first chapter of the Samadhipada and we've looked at some verses in the second chapter and now we're really like walking up the spine of yoga. And ⁓ we looked at the eight limbs, the Ashtanga Yoga system. And I should just say in this context, when we say Ashtanga Yoga ⁓ we're referring to the eight limbs of of the Patanjali Yoga Sutra. ⁓ Ashtanga Yoga also refers to a specific style of asana practice. and I just want to differentiate that, ⁓ because that is also not our ⁓ that is not the lineage of our of our practices, ⁓ in terms of like my sore Ashtanga Yoga in the lineage of Pratabi Joyce and his teachers and the teachers who follow in his footsteps. We are very deeply immersed in the Ashtanga Yoga of the Yoga Sutra, Yama, Ni Yama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi, to name them. Yamas, the moral observances. Sometimes I think of it as like the outward observances of the yogi. And then Ni Yama, the internal personal practices of the yogi. And then asana are seat or physical practice. Pranayama, the intentional con ⁓ direction of prana of breath of life force. Pratyahara, sensory withdrawal, or the turning in the bridge from the exterior to the interior. And then dharana to set our attention, to flex the muscle of our mind, to place our attention with intention, and dahyana to sustain that attention, or you might say meditation. And then samadhi, bliss, yoga, total, complete absorption, transcendus nirvana. And then In the Yamas, there are five principles, and we have looked at the first three of them ahimsa, to not cause harm or nonviolence. And as a reminder, that that is this the verse is that when one is firmly established in the practice of ahimsa, all enmity around them ceases. And it's like the truly eternal teaching of Dr. Martin Luther King, ⁓ darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. And so ahimsa is not just ⁓ not causing harm or not causing violence, but it's that sense of being met with him sick behavior and that in our practices of ahimsa toward ourselves, first and foremost, and then toward others, because you you can't be ahimsic Toward others without first starting within. Just like Mama Roo teaches, if you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an amen up in here? Hey. So ⁓ gurus are everywhere. And and then from so and it's like it's like when somebody's yelling at you and you're just calm and you just say, Wow, it sounds like you're really upset. And that person like it's like disarming, right? As opposed to the sort of like cultural moment we're in of like fighting fire with fire, but like all that fire with fire creates is ash. So it's hard, but sometimes it means that like we have to choose again and again that ahimsick, that nonviolent, non-harming path. And then satya, which is truth. And really like the highest spiritual truth, which is unconditioned by space, time, and context. The truth that is beyond this physical plane. Because in the physical plane, the truth is that everything changes. In the spiritual plane, the truth is. That constant. And so there's a fascinating paradox to sit with there. Not in any way resolved, by the way. It's sort of our journey as yogis is to be with those contrasting ideas, which are presented over and over and over again in the Yoga Sutra. Right? We talked about abhyasa and vairagya as one great example of this. There's a the twelfth verse of the first chapter of the Yoga Sutra, Abyasa Vairagya Biham Thannirodhaha, that the means by which we achieve. The restraint or the stillness of mind that is yoga is through both practice and detachment. So you like gotta get on the mat and let go of what it looks like. You've got to live your dharma and give up the fruits of your action to something bigger than yourself. So here we're talking about that like con that that paradox of s of material and spiritual truth. And then last week we talked about asteya. Which is not taking that which is not ours. Right. And we talked about all the different ways in which we we are in exchange with the natural world. Right. Like, are we taking more from the environment, the planet, than we're giving back? Are we are we with our friends and loved ones? Are we giving as much as we are able to receive? Are we receiving as much as we want to give? ⁓ And it's a and again, like there's no right answer to that, but it's certainly well, well, well worth the exploration because the teaching is that when we are firmly established in that practice of not taking be what is not ours, that jewels of wisdom are are are are almost like are confr we gain these we gain great precious jewels. And those jewels aren't just like a diamond. ⁓ it's not me it's not Sometimes again, like and we'll this is very pertinent to how we'll describe discuss this sutra. There is a truth that like when you don't steal, you gain like when you conduct business ethically. I'm a bigger believer that like you tend to be more successful because people trust you and it's sort of like the positive reinforcement loop of network effect. ⁓ But that's but that's a the very surface understanding. The the subtle, deeper understanding is that like when we're when we're grounded in this practice, ⁓ it is jewels that represent great, distilled, powerful wisdom and spiritual insight, vidya, ⁓ that we gain. And we could have done a whole second hour, by the way, on like yogic appropriation and cultural appropriation in yoga, which we chose not to do. Because that is another form of being firmly established in Asteya. And I actually think, you know, part of our collective intention here, I'll just presence this, is that like we care so deeply about being in an integrity of these of these practices. And that part of the reason we all came to this study was because we wanted to understand the depth of these, of this philosophy beyond just its physical practice in a in a yoga asana studio. ⁓ And and I think that's that is a a sense, and again, like the fact that we come here every week is one of our practices of asteya patistaya. And I think we can all say too that like we live the truth of that. Like when I think about when I said it I felt very grounded, part of why what that meant for me was that this is like a new foundation I have rebuilt in my life as a as a sense of like shatanam of refuge. But there is some, there are these, there is this lineage that is so many thousands of years deep that I get to just like touch into. And when I think about the the true jewels and gems of wisdom that have informed my life and made it so much more rich, so much more fulfilling that have informed my my asana practice. But my practice of like of sething, of life in this deeper, richer way. I think we can all say from personal experience that like this study, while like it's not just to be able to rattle off Sanskrit words and yoga in in class while we're teaching. ⁓ maybe that'll happen, but like it's much more about living the jewels of this wisdom, right? Truly like wearing them with pride, not to show off, but to but to truly wear them ⁓ with our with our full heart and authentically. And so this week we come to now the fourth of the yamas. And I I think I you know I wanted to offer that sort of like reminder because the these pr these principles build on each other. And we're at this now we're at a practice Brahmacharya. So let me just quickly say this is a word I hear fumbled with its pronunciation a lot. And it it's a couple reminders of this that when you see an H In the English transliteration of Sanskrit, it's a pronounced letter. In English, they're most often silent, or they show up in like a compound way, like S-H, like shh, or T H, like my name, th. Whereas in Sanskrit, they're pronounced individually. So in this case, the spelling B-R-A-H-M-A-C-A-R-Y-A starts with that bra. So it's brah. And then the C is a ch sound. So, to the best of my admittedly limited Sanskrit study, the word is pronounced brahmacharya. Brahma so like you like I've heard a lot of things, but it's to my understanding, it is brahmacharya. And the verse is Brahmacharya Pratistayam Virya Labha. So as we do every week, I'll chant this. And whether or not you understand the individual words, here's the good news it doesn't matter. Because you receive benefit, ⁓ you receive an energetic and a spiritual benefit from just hearing the sound of Sanskrit. Its vibrational transmission ⁓ has a positive impact, it said, on your energetic body, on your spiritual body. I find it amazingly calming to my nervous system for reasons that transcend any rational understanding. so. Consider that even if you don't know the words or if the these are foreign to you, it's okay. Just like let them wash over you and notice how you feel. And as we do every time, we'll start by taking a nice tall seat. And if you want, you could engage in a practice of ⁓ pratyahara and close your eyes briefly, just to turn your attention in for a moment. Maybe just notice like where and when in your life do you feel most alive? Take a deep breath in. Let it go. And for one vibration of om, inhale. Mm-hmm. Chanting Yoga Sutra two thirty eight. Brahmacharya pratist virya. Brahmacharya pratista virya. Brahmacharya Pratista virya. Just notice how the words feel as you feel their vibration in your ears, in your heart, in your mind, in your body. Very often the word Brahmacharya is sometimes literally translated as celibacy. And like so many of this study, that is not untrue, but it is also like not the whole truth. So it it often there are many contexts in with in which brahmacharya is used in a way that does connote a celibate life. One of them is A different reference. one of them is in reference to the the sort of stages of of life that are described in the in the Hindu system, Ashrama. So it starts with a student who is referred to in this like four life stage system as Brahmachari. And that's like you could think of that like age wise as like from ⁓ you know, birth to like, I don't know, early 20s, right? Where you're you're a student. And then you go from being a brahmachari to being a householder, a grihasta, when you are like living and making your way in the world in your career. And then vanaprasta, which is like when you retire, all the way until sannyasi, when you renounce. And at the end, so it's said that like it's like you're a student and then you go make the world you go make your way in the world and have a family. And And then once your kids are grown, you rededicate yourself to pr to your ⁓ to your guru, to your spiritual practice in that vanaprasta stage. And then if you go all the way before you die, you just renounce all material goods as a full sannyasan. And I'm glossing over thousands of years of historical context, but I think it's useful because like Brahmacharya or a Brahmachari is like a student at an ashram, is sometimes very often referred to as a brahmacharya. And they do often take vows of celibacy as part of spiritual practice. And that is, by the way, very common among spiritual practitioners across many faith lineages and traditions. Catholic priests are notoriously celibate. ⁓ Buddhist monks in many lineages are celibate. So there's something here about like the restraint of that vital life force energy, sexual energy, that is not untrue to the understanding of this verse. But it is not a literal expectation that in order to practice yoga or to live in alignment with yoga philosophy, you have to refrain from sex completely. We'll come back to that in a moment. I'll just go a little bit word by word. Then pratistayam, which we've talked about, it has that root st to stand. And so it's that sense of brahmacharya pratistayam, just like we've talked about previously. It's like when firmly established in the practice is is what that. Effectively means that there's this idea, Ahim says satya parigraha and now Brahma Brahmacharya that pratistayam so that you're firmly established. Like what happens? And I think Jagannath, Master Jagannath Carrera, Reverend Jagannath Carrera has a beautiful translation of this. In inside Patanjali's words, he do he uses this language on being firmly grounded. In a life of self mastery and liberation, one gains the power to endure, persevere, and succeed. I really love that. And it's and let me just read, I'm gonna read the Sachidananda trans where's that where's my all my books? The Sachidananda translation, which is a little bit more I don't mean this dismissively, it's a little bit more literal. And he says, by one established incontinence, Vigor is gained. And here he's saying that virya is vigor, strength, vital power, or life force, and labha is gained. And and Master Carrera gives a very similar definition to virya. It's like it's like vitality, it's like that ability to stay strong. And and now there are lineages that believe that like the literal preservation of semen. Is a way to preserve a a dynamic of spiritual energy. And again, there is something to be said about the fact that many great spiritual masters have been celibate. And there's something to be said that, like, when we remove the distraction of sexual energy, it allows space for deeper spiritual exploration. And I don't know, none of us are celibate Brahmacharya. So like that's not our ex lived experience. I'm kind of there. But but like the way I I sort of feel like, you know, again, like we've got to pull apart this word Brahmacharya, because Brahma is the absolute, the divine, the the the the the totality of creation. Or you could it's like it's often a placeholder term for God. And charya is like to be with, to walk with, to bring near. So it's like Are you aligning to divine purpose to gain that vitality, vigor, and perseverance is another way of thinking about this? And that's why I kind of really like the you know, Reverend Jagannath Carrera's translation of this verse, because it really gives us, I think, a little bit more space to consider all the different dimensions of Brahmacharya and the fact that like what we get. Is not just like that the preservation of vitality through the through the restriction of sexual expenditure, but it's more like when we put our attention, when we align our action to divine purpose, there's a kind of perseverance that is possible. But like I I've been talking a lot. So Sally or Sarah Page, who which like who which of you has a a translation of the verse that you found really interesting? Because this is such a provocative specific text. It's a t for me personally, it's it's the hardest one to discuss in in like a classroom situation, because Sally, I know that you teach to the sutras and it's always seen as, you know, sex. It's always very sexually, you know centered. And it's not. And this is what ⁓ Reverend Shaganath Korea says again and inside Patanjali's words, you did both of my both of mine that I was looking at. Thank you. But I also like what he says because brahmacharya is y it says life of self-mastery and liberation. self-master the master of your domain, isn't that from what was it? Seinfeld? I think there was a yeah, there's a reference. I'm sorry, I had to bring it back. But anyway, brahmacharya is usually translated as continence, chastity, or celibacy. But brahmacharya is not about not just about sexual matters. It literally translates as path to Brahma, which is why that is why the word has been translated here with the phrase to live a life of self-mastery and liberation. And then if you look at the Yamas and the Niyamas, Deborah Adele says, and I love this, Brahmacharya literally means walking with God and invites us into a an awareness of the sacredness of all life. I love that. And it's really it's so much. I'm glad you referenced Seth. Also, I just wanted to say, about the suchananda by one established it it sounded like you said incontinence like incontinence in so I just kinda wanted to clear that up because I was like where does he say that? I didn't I didn't see that. So it to d gentle listener in I in and then separate word, continence. Vigor is game. When one is established in space. Continence. Vigorous gain. So I just when you said that I was I had the book right here and I'm like, ⁓ no. That's funny. Yeah. That's very funny. There you have it. So anyway, that's those are my those are my little insights. Delicious. Well I had a little more from the commentary of Kerr from both his books. So from inside Patanjali's word, he went on to say that ⁓ Brahmacharya invites us to examine how we spend our days to a ⁓ assess every thought. facet of our lives, including our speech, our thoughts, goals, recreation, diet, and habits, to identify how what we do takes us closer or further from our spiritual intentions. And I really I really do love that. And in his other book where he actually in his book, ⁓ Inside the Yoga Sutras, where he did the definition he put is To one established incontinence, vigor is gained. But in his commentary, he said, when we don't waste energy, we gain vigor. It is not simply that we can have more energy, but the quality of it will be more subtle, stable, and healing. It is the kind of energy that ⁓ others will feel in our presence, naturally radiating like light or heat. You know, and I think it's intentional is a word that keeps coming, right? So it's, you know. intentionally choosing what we choose. I love that. And it's you know what also keeps popping up and I didn't realize it, you know, in the first five iterations of going through this these studies, but energy, energy, energy, wasted, energy, energy. And one of the other things that ⁓ Reverend Korea says is in its broadest sense, Brahmacharya is not about wasting energy. Energy's energy is wasted. When thoughts, words, or actions strengthen or give rise to ignorance, a vidya. Behavior that only brings fleeting exciting excitement, but not fulfillment or joy, fulfillment is not fleeting. Joy can be fleeting, but fulfillment or leads one way from their spiritual goals, that is a waste of effort and energy. So behavior that only brings fleeting excitement, but not fulfillment or joy, or when it leads one away from their spiritual goals, that is a waste of effort and energy. That's gonna change my entire world this week. Like, where am I wasting this? Is just wait ⁓ Well, ⁓ that's all I can do. Bite sized pieces, bite sized pieces. How do you eat an elephant? Yeah, one bite at a time. But I mean, think about it. How much energy do we give to the things that just Freaking don't matter. It's ego, it's a vidya, right? Asmita. It all comes back. All of this comes back over and over and over again. We talk about the ego with that asmita. Well, and I there was so much on this one to be from The Secret Power of Yoga by Nikola Joidevi, devoted to living a balanced and moderate life, the scope of one's life force becomes boundless. And in part of her commentary, I just thought, this is amazing. She was just we are now introduced to the concept of moderation and balance. Through this practice, we dance between our divine nature and our human nature. So it's like there's a little permission that we are divine and we are human. And then if I can just read a little bit more, because she compared this to nature. Each is fueled by vital energy that is generated as we emulate. rather than resist nature's patterns. When nature balance is upset, large amounts of energy are deployed and the repercussions can be devastating. A raging forest fire, a hurricane, a blizzard, a volcanic eruption, an earthquake are all dynamic yet destructive releases of nature's power. These flare ups are luckily infrequent, and most of the time we or enjoy Nature's changes with regularities such as day and night, summer and winter, sun and rain, our bodies, minds, and emotions also respond positively to regular cycles and schedules. If we are fortunate, balance and moderation frames our lives and very little of our vital energy is spent making adjustments or restoring equilibrium equilibrium. And then one little bit more, I just thought Brahmacharya, the art of living a moderate life is is a challenging practice in our modern society. Because of technology, our activities no longer depend on time of day or seasons. Manipulating nature this way seems to encourage everything but moderation. If we live in moderation, we have plenty of energy to spend. Overeating leaves us feeling exhausted as does too much TV, computer work and even extreme Physical exercise, loud music, or even too much talking create an energetic liability. For our life force to remain strong and available, all aspects of our lives need to be balanced. I just was like, yes, we are I wrote down divine nature and human nature. Yeah. But you know what we haven't pu touched on very much in Desikachar. I love this book, So Much The Heart of Yoga Developing a Personal Practice by Desikachar Tv and he We're talking about you know too much, too much, too much. But then he says, ⁓ nothing is wasted by us if we seek to develop moderation in all things. Too much of anything brings problems. And then he says, Too little may be inadequate. And I like that. It it is about the balance because Well it's yeah, go ahead. It's like we we we we we go through these cultural moments like every couple of years there's like a new worst thing you could ever do and eat. Right. Let's just use let's use food as an example. It's 'cause it's a really interesting one 'cause everybody out here gotta eat. Everybody gotta eat, right? So sugar is delicious, right? It is it and in excess, it is toxic. It makes us fat. It makes it create I mean peop that's some people get diabetes, like we there's like it's actually shown like I mean like it's it's ⁓ it's tremendously flammatory in the body, like if you eat and have excess sugar and especially refined sugar because it's like this like sort of quick hit of energy to your system that we weren't like the system of the physical system, our body, wasn't designed to like take in that kind of energy. We've like we've like extruded and reconstituted and to like high frequency. Dosed like what is a a natural excuse me occurring substance that again like we need calories because like your car needs gas. The gas for your the equivalent of gas in your car is food in your tummy. Like you gotta eat. You gotta you gotta eat, says my Jewish mother. Right? Like you gotta eat. And and like Naturally, there are foods that have sugar, like tomatoes. ⁓ we're caught. ⁓ my God, I can't wait for like peak tomato season is like four to six weeks away. Like, and like, ⁓ my we're gonna hit summer stone fruit. Ha ha. ⁓ it's like one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. Anyway, like that, but but right. So like those are like naturally occurring, super rich and delicious. Fruit and and foods that are sweet. It is n like now, like there's like the calories when you eat a ripe peach or when you drink a can of soda are different calories. And there's science that proves all that proves this, right? Like the soda is full of like derivative sugar, right? Refined, like high fructose corn syrup. And And like whether you call it glycemic index or you call it like any number of markers now that have proven that like even the same volume of cal of caloric intake is processed by the machine, your body, very differently. And in moderation, of course, like sometimes if I'm not feeling well or ⁓ I don't know, sometimes you just like you just like have a taste for it. Like there is nothing like a real, like fully loaded. It's delicious. I can't believe yourself orange. It's delicious. I know. I just like it's literally a couple times a year. Like that for whatever reason, all I want. And so often it's like one of the Mexican Cokes because it's like the real sugar. But like I want like, or sometimes if I'm really sick and I can't eat anything and I just like need some calories, like it's calming to my stomach. My mom gave me with like a there was always like an emergency coke. Part of it is that psychological conditioning too. It tastes like it's a childhood taste. I was definitely from a Co Coca-Cola family, not a Pepsi family. And like we would never buy Pepsi. Only Coke. So, so like every like again, maybe twice a year. I just like have a taste for like a real, a real Coca-Cola. My mind is now blown. I'm gonna have to like sit with it. It's blown too. And I was on a walk with my daughter to I mean, I have a I have a taste for a lot of foods that are not really foods. But not bad. And I was on a walk today with my daughter and she was talking about having a Coke the other day. I was like, Who are you? I don't think I've ever bought one in my life. It is a thing. I mean, there's other things. I I think it's a childhood like attachment. I don't know why, right? So, like, you know, a couple times a year, I have a Coke. Well, and like, can I tell you why? Because Deborah Dell in the Yamas and N Yamas, it's perfect. She tells you exactly why. When a certain emotional attachment is placed with a simple bodily need, we can find ourselves in trouble without realizing it. We have required an addiction like need for the repetition of a feeling associated with that thing. And as we begin to peel ourselves out of the web of excess, it is important to check with the body's needs and get skilled at separating the body's needs from the mind's stories. We are here on this world. In part to feel enjoyment and pleasure. If we are in the pleasure and not the addiction, we are practicing brahmacharya. If we are fading our mental stories and have moved past the comfort, we are in addiction and out of harmony with this guideline. Non-access is not about non enjoyment, it's actually about enjoyment and pleasure to its fullest experience. But we also must be fearless in facing our sadness, grief, and disappointment. without needing to suit them with s food or sex. So similar and not similar, right? Well, I I have to be honest, since you've talked about Coke. It's ⁓ Coca-Cola. I have to be honest, I have I need to I probably put a little broth and try in my life in this regard. I've let go of the murder podcasts. I have not listened to the murder podcast. That was in excess. Is it is this what we talk about Dr. Pepper? No, I love a doc no, it's diet Mountain Dew. That's my Diet Dew. Yeah, Diet Mountain Dew. Every single day. Sometimes you still have Southern tendencies. You can take the girl out of you can take a girl out of Tallahassee, but you're never gonna take all the Tallahassee out of the girl. ⁓ heck no. Diet Dew. But every single day on my way to teach yoga or anywhere, I stop and get a large diet coke from the Wendy's. Every single day. I didn't do it today because I had a day off, and I was starting to get a little like. Twitchy. I'm like, I need my Diet Coke. But it goes to the, you know, it goes to the non ex excess, right? So what do I do? I get something that has a little bubble in it, get my seltzer out. I like that texture. So like we all find a way, right? Like you realize that like in excess, ⁓ it's unhealthy. Yeah. Right. Because by the way, like, you know, I I like there's also there's also like a an equal, like, parallel in in this conversation too, around like you know, fake sweetener. Cause like it's hollow. It like creates the perception of the thing without actually being the thing. And then people think that they can just have as much of it as they want. And they drink buckets of diet soda thinking it's healthy. Even the framing of diet soda as if somehow it's appropriate when you're on a diet. And if you think about the way it was marketed to us was with sex. Because it was beautiful women in bikinis. Diet Coke, right? Like Or Tab back in the day. ⁓ Tab, sure. so but like if you've ever done the practice of you know, sometimes it's again like it like it is also a yogic practice to to go through to practice some austerities in order to sort of help help yourself like identify the contrasts. All these practices are deeply interwoven, right? We're looking at them one at a time, but they always exist in context with each other. So, like if you've never done this, you wanna you wanna rock yourself for just do it for a week, remove all sugar from your intakes. Push the pendulum all the way back the other way. Don't have any fruit, any tomatoes. Like look at every single label of everything you eat. And if it has any added sugar or even any sugar at all, just cut it out. Just do like a one week sugar cleanse. Your body, if you have a lot of sugar, it will freak out. You will have insane cravings. You don't even realize it. And then when you have something sweet again, it will taste so sweet. And if and and you'll start to also notice the difference between like the refined high fructose stuff and the stuff that is like that's the difference between the the sugar in like, let me think of a really good example of like a like a really junky candy bar. Snickers. Snickers. My favorite. Okay. I know a Snickers is really good. Snickers bar and a diet too. ⁓ my God. Okay. But the difference between a Snickers and like a gorgeous ripe in season nectarine or or peach, it is different. They will both taste like crazy sweet to you, but you'll also notice like one feels one will start to taste like chemicals and one will taste like The like the the goodness of the earth. Well I think it goes back to because right now in California the yummy peaches are here already. ⁓ I can't wait to be there next month. I get jealous of Sally's farmers market price. The truth is I was thinking when you were talking about it, because I am a yummy peach girl, so I will buy seven peaches every week, one for every day, while they're available. But the thing is, it is once again in season. Like the once again What if we could because I understand that, you know, many of us are lucky enough, we could get peaches almost year round in the store, but they're not the same. No, they're not the same. Strawberries, right? Not peaches. Watermelon all year. Not the same. The strawberries right now. ⁓ tomatoes, right? Like I made a gazpacho last summer that was supposed to be an intermezzo course, but I made it with these like super like days off the vine fresh Sungold baby tomatoes that I got at a farmer's market. And Like the friends for whom I made that dinner are still talking about the gazpacho. And it really was just because the tomatoes were so fresh. But like this is a great example of like Brahmacharya and how it bucks up against like our modern way of life. We have come to expect that when I want tomatoes, I can have tomatoes. When I want strawberries, I can have strawberries. I can have them all the time. Whether they're frozen and processed that way or they're just coming from a a a greenhouse somewhere in Mexico or and that's not to say that it's like never eat strawberries unless they're super fresh from like around the corner, but it's just to acknowledge that like out of season, we're sort of out of season. Like you're out of flow. And the question of Brahmacharya is like, how do you align? How do you walk with Brahma? There's something I really, really like what Adele Deborah Adel says here. It's like Are you eating the food or is the food eating you? And then and then she ⁓ says, or you know, whatever. Is this is the sex good or is are you, you know, craving, if you want to take it to the literal sense. The other part that she says, and I really love this because it goes to asana practice as well. ⁓ we have to be able to discern between what the body needs in the moment, in the moment, in the season, right? and the story that our mind is telling us. And it's exactly what happens in class. We've all seen it. What is you can see the student and the teacher at some point, probably, you know, are we really seeing our students, I'll just put it, you know, from eye. ⁓ am I seeing the students clearly or am I seeing what my, you know, what my mind is. Is it clear or is it a story that I'm seeing? As opposed to the real thing. But it's that, you know, non excess is not about non enjoyment. But I think Seth, you hit on something so interesting. And I really love this about the seasons, because I wasn't sure where we were going with the strawberries and the tomatoes for a minute, but I knew we would land the plane somewhere. So I was just watching. And then though when you went to the seasons, that made so much sense because that in and of itself leads it s leads us to non excess. You can't have too many tomatoes when they're out of season. You can't have any. You can't have any. You can't have any. And like Walking in flow of divine is like eating what's seasonal, eating what's fresh, eating what you grow. I mean, like we human beings have never been able to just like eat like our bodies aren't designed to like eat strawberries all year. I'm just gonna just play this example, right? Like and I'll grab another third rail of food stuff and talk about like so I I don't even like to say I am. I like to say I prefer to eat plant-based most of the time. Right? It's this funny thing, but again, we talk about being specific and intentional. So, like I am vegan is this like a attribution of a dietary preference to my whole personhood that I don't particularly subscribe to. How I choose to eat is just one dynamic of my yogic practices, and it is a yogic practice, among other things. And I'm not saying it's the right yogic practice for everyone. I choose to eat plant-based most of the time. Right? Now. You can eat j there's a lot of vegan junk food out there. There's a lot of ultra-processed vegan food. And like whether or not it's healthy, I'm making air quotes for those of you who are listening to me, right? Whether it's healthful is different from whether or not it's just like contains an the animal derivatives. They are like like some of the some there's really like There's a lot of vegan food that actually is very lacking in nutritional density and right. It can just like if all you're gonna eat is pasta and bread and you're gonna call yourself vegan, like I don't know. Like, you know I think maybe Oreos. Ma Oreos are vegan. Oreos are vegan and they're an ultra processed food. Right? Like beyond beef is not like cow meat, but it's also like ultra processed. And, you know. I don't particularly like, I'm not that kind of plant-based eater that like is constantly looking to like swap out a f ⁓ a vegan insert like replacement here for the real thing. ⁓ sometimes, again, in moderation, every maybe a couple times a week at one meal, like there are some vegan feta cheeses that are delicious. but like most of the time I would just rather eat real food. Right. Like I like the Michael Pollin prescription of eat food. Like ⁓ eat eat mo eat food, mostly plants, not too much. Is how he recommends it. ⁓ the the American journalist and author who's written a lot about food. But like I also say that because to be integrity with my word, there are a handful of times during the year when I will choose to eat meat. And like One of them is a Jewish holiday when I'm with my family and my either my mom or now, usually my brother in law, makes my mom's brisket recipe. Or when my mom makes chicken soup, which is her mother's recipe, which is her mother's recipe, which is literally like how my family made it when we were living in Steddels in Riga Latvia. I want some of that. I I need a container. I'll work on it. Thank you. I think that's the point. Right? The point is to understand what we're doing. It's funny because I've been thinking about it. It's like we're not being asked to be perfect. We're being asked to do our best, but we're also being asked to notice where we've fallen asleep. I've noticed I've been working at functional nutrit nutritionist lately, and this week for the first time, I d ironically, while we're studying this, she's like, let Just log your stuff. You don't have to say if you want, but I want to see it just so we can get an idea. What's your protein? What are your you know, what are you really eating? And what I've learned more than anything else in two days of doing that, how much I eat as I'm standing and doing something else. How often I skip making a bowl and a plate and sitting down. You know, and I've also noticed how lucky I'm am I think they're called the farm boys. These guy these two brothers that are so awesome at our farmers market and they pick the food the morning. They pick the food. So it's it's picked ethically by these brothers who love what they're doing in this small farm and their food is next level delicious. And I was like Because it's just it's picked with love. It's still my plant based heart. Well and it feels like no it feels like no harm is ha like they just are proud of it. And it tastes delicious. So there's a wonderful quote from Deborah Dell that goes right to that. She you know, ⁓ and if y'all don't have this at home, the Yamas and the Niyamas It's a good one. It's a good book. It's good book. It's a good It's a great reference. Super approachable. Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Deborah Dell. Shout out. Yeah, shout out. Do the best. ⁓ but she says, When gratitude and wonder sit in the heart, there is no need for excess. And what that says to me, Sally, is that when we look at our food When we don't fall asleep or we look at anything. I have an addictive personality. I you know, I grew up with two older brothers in the deep south where fried is a food group. And so it's like deep fried is a food group, and so is sweet tea, you know. And some sugar. If you go if you go to my home, if you go and you don't say, I'd like it grilled and unsweetened, it will come deep fried and it will come sweetened. But There is a place for that as well. Because I remember my grandmother making deep fried catfish, you know? And and it was with hush puppies. And it was and collard greens. And it was delicious because I was with collard greens. It was probably made with a ham hock, right? ⁓ hell yeah. Yeah, excuse me. But but this guy, you know, d my grandmother was from Dumplin, Tennessee. So it was like Like chicken and so it this is how but she made it to dumplin. It went to dumplin, Tennessee. And ⁓ she used to say, Well, it's bigger than softless, but god only knows what sofless was, but she was ⁓ she was raised, she was born in 1900, she was very poor, she learned how to tat how she had nothing in her life that was excess. It could not be. But when she cooked When she sewed, I have a quilt of hers from all of her scraps. And it's like wrapping myself up, I can see that's now I'm gonna get emotional. That is my eighth well, I was in the eighth grade. That dress was in the eighth grade. Part of that comes back to my grandmother made my clothes because I was heavy. So I couldn't get, you know, really fashionable clothes that looked good on me. And she could she was an artist. But talking about When gratitude and wonder sit in the heart, we didn't overeat at her table. We didn't have excess in her home at all. She made quilts because that's how you stayed warm. And those were scraps made from dresses and clothes that she made for myself, my mother, my cousins. ⁓ she tatted, she made homemade lace because if you wanted your dresses to be pretty and to be a little ultra, you put you made your own lace. You know, she cooked every meal at home. She never ate out. It was, you know, and and it just this is such a mom, Viola S actually Sullenberger. This is Brahmacharya, right? Like I was just thinking about it. It is an opportunity to experience like the spectacular in the mundane. Yeah, because that the the spectacular is think about those quilts that I have. I can pre every when I was eight years old, there's a dress that I see. And it's it brings me so much. There's dresses of my mother's. Right. This is it, right? That pratistayam, when you are established in aligning in in walking with the divine, then like everything becomes divine. Right? We become, we see the the glorious and the the mund in the mundane. Like And is it really mundane? Is it really what's mundane? Exactly. The whole world is alive. Like I I'm I'm going through a challenging time in one area of my life. And you know I said to somebody, like, it's very enlivening. ⁓ It's very enlivening. ⁓ as in, like, I feel alive as hell. I don't it's like not like it's a kind of intensity that wouldn't always be my preference. But like, but again, when we talked about before about how like, you know, part of what we hope to offer in this study is to say, like, what does it mean to actually like Really live this stuff. You know, Sarah Page talking about a quilt and Sally talking about the farm guys and like, you know, like and talking about my mother's chicken soup. Like, this is this is like we we are the we are the yoga nerds who are thinking about this, but like when you but this, but but especially this verse is is asking us to wake up, to wake up and look at your whole. Life, look at my life and what is in alignment to these to the principles. Right. We talked about this too. This is like pratipaksha bhavanam. Remember because we said like there's this practice of discernment, this and that, of ⁓ or as I as I as I c now affectionately call the exercise after a prompt with an amazing ⁓ practitioner with whom I work, like the exercise is rug table chair. Like that's a rug. That's a table, that's a chair. I have I have a call to live my in alignment with yogic values and principles. I can discern what is in alignment with those and what is not in alignment with those. Brahmacharya is the practice of walking in alignment with Brahma, with the divine. in alignment to those values, whether that is with the intentional direction of vital energy and sex is very vital energy for sure. So is food. Right? Like we're talking like like is my sensory intake In alignment to these values and principles. And that is not like a fixed point of answer, but it is a lifelong journey of constant exploration where every part of our life can be considered. And we can ask ourselves: like, what would it mean to practice moderation, to have some continence in the way we eat, in the way we choose sexual partners, in the way we walk the this planet, right? In the way that what do we consume? All that we can consume. I mean, like don't get I won't get on the soapbox about like, you know, trash television and like, and look, we all have our moments of escapism. ⁓ I think some of them are more Escapist and others. And I'll leave it at that because it's Murder podcasts. Murder podcasts. I mean, you know, I did tell Sarah Page I thought they were tomosic. it's it's it's age. I did. I just said I think it's very tomosic for you and for your mind. And I said, It's because I love you. I know, I know. But I still watch, I still listen. It just somehow I think I got I was not I don't know. Listen, I don't know what's right for you, right? I I I just like but I but again, like I think what you like we could go down another hour, but like what you watch, you want to get curious about your practice of Brahmacharya? Write down your like your your your shows and your consumption habits and like what media are you consuming? Or are like who with whom do you keep close association? And are those people who are lighting you up? Are those people who are like empowering your path? Are they like celebrating and cheering you on? Or are they the ones who like I have like a former group of friends who when I got really deep into yoga and I stopped drinking a lot of alcohol and started eating differently, they would like get like excited when I would cheat. And I would be like, I'm not like it was weird to me because I was like, first of all, I didn't sign a blood pact with anybody that I chose like when I stopped eating meat and I didn't like commit to some like big like I didn't I didn't get sober when I stopped drinking alcohol. I just thought it felt like sh dirt. when I drank and I noticed that I didn't feel like dirt when I didn't drink so much. So I stopped drinking so much. And it was just that simple. Right. Like and I'm not that's not to say that you can never have a glass of wine again. Like alcohol's a great example. Like s for some people, truly, there are people for whom, like if you're a in recovery, one drink is a bottle and that's it and it's over and you need and that is your practice of moderation. For a lot of us, like I just noticed how much autopilot I had drinking. Cause like I live in New York City and I'm a gay man. And you know what gay men do as a default for social life in New York City? They go out for drinks. And then what are we gonna do? Let's have drinks. And like, what's the first thing you do when you get to an event is who wants to drink? And like I just noticed how like how much of that was just a default. And like how I didn't even really want the drink, but I was with the people and like that's just like what we were doing. And when I stopped, it was like very disruptive and like it was really weird that they got all like excited when I would cheat. And I remember even saying, like, why do you guys care so much? And like, what's the big deal? Like, and it was weird. And you know what though? Like, we're not friends anymore. You what? I gotta I gotta jump in here because there's a lot of content creators out there, yoga content creators, where in what they are doing sounds quote unquote funny. And it's not. If you really listen. There's some people out there who say really Tomastic things. Yeah. But I think it's really st it's about their students. And I I No, and it's but it's not like it's it's just making a face if you can't see me on the podcast. Like there is this whole subset of like, you know, shit yoga teachers say, excuse my language, but like and like I find that really weird. And but again, I don't know, maybe it's in good fun, maybe it's or maybe it's just not my preferred source of fun. And I don't mean to be self serious. But like I I don't think it's I was listening to Sonny and Seth, you you actually referenced it and you said there seems to be an underlying nastiness or meanness to it. I was just unconsciously listening to it and thinking, Yeah, that makes sense to me or whatever. And then all and then all of a sudden I thought, Go deeper, Sarah Page. Go a little deeper. It's not nice. This is a really beautiful opportunity to really just get super curious and look at every part of your life, everything you consume, really like and and and ask yourself, like, is it in alignment? Is it bringing you closer to the divine presence or not? Is the way you eat in alignment with a sense of values that enliven you or not? Like is is the content you consume, are the people you follow on social media, are they Are they aligned to these principles? And and no one knows the right, like I don't know the right answer. That's not our place. That's not what we're trying to do. We're trying to, we're trying to invite you into the questions that will help you live and embody this wisdom in a way that is hopefully empowering, enlivening, and also compassionate and caring. So every week we we wrap up with ⁓ some inquiry and some teaching tips. So let's do teaching tips first this week. Sarah Page, what's a teaching tip that is inspired by our conversation about Brahmacharya? Notice where you're adding too much crap in that you don't need to. Just notice where that's coming in. I had I talked to them early about this. I had such a fun, wonderful day teaching ⁓ a 90-minute practice. We practice JIP, Journey into Power, Baptiste, and it is written as a 90 minute practice. It is What we call yoga krama, it is point to point, it is cute, it's no excess at all. It is breath, no music, just the poses, just asana pose. Try it on. Try it on. No just no excess. No drama. Yeah, no extra handstands, no extra shenanigans, buffoonery, tomphoonery. Got binds, birds, and flips, and just just do the thing. Yeah. Try it on. Love that. Sally. I have found myself very influenced this week in looking at this by Goldilocks. And so I'm gonna invite I'm telling you I read a lot of children's books, but I'm gonna invite you to ⁓ find equanimity through the physical practice. Not too little and not too much in each moment, each posture. Keep coming back to just right. Yeah, I was going down the same path around sort of like, you know, I like I used to ⁓ I used to have a very sweet student. I don't know, I think he I think he dropped his membership, he told me, but I was teaching in a gym and this guy would just throw every handstand and he would try to do every extra and he would make up more extra to my extra. And there were times where I would actually just walk over and be like, just do one Surinamoscurbi with nothing else. Just do Surinamemos scurvy. And he would look at me and I was like, I know what you're trying to do. But like take all that energy and effort and just put it into like a super deeply integrated warrior one. Instead of the handstand jump, instead of the all this, like and and like the way in which you might cue that as a couple suggestions and like what Sally's talking about, the Goldilocks is like notice where you feel the breath get away from you. Too much tira. Notice where your mind starts to just sort of like drift away, a little too much sukha. And you need to recommit. You need some stera. So like dance with it. Dance with it and take the practice as it's offered. And just get like super curious for yourself, moment to moment, point to point, on like how do you practice in that in the pocket of challenge? Of of ease and effort, right? ⁓ we'll get we'll get to it. It's eternal, it shows up in all these things. and let's and let's ⁓ give some inquiry, right? Which is like just some structured ⁓ suggestions to think about journal on or just sort of keep in your mind as as you think about like what does it mean to start to think about Brahmacharya in my life and what a practice of it looks like. ⁓ Sarah Page. Where is the excess and get real clear about it? Get real clear about it. I'm gonna try and, you know, back off of the diet cokes. But it's like there's but there that matters. What are you watching unconsciously? What are you listening to unconsciously? What are you eating unconsciously? What are you drinking unconsciously? Wake up. Sally. I just want to tell a quick story. I just was laughing and was thinking about my son. I have two girls and a boy. Two girls worked really hard, got mostly really great grades. And then my and everyone would be stressed out. And he'd come into the house and he'd say, ⁓ y'all sees get to Greece. And I just was like, I don't know if that's Brakhmacharya, but it is like this level. I don't know why, just thinking of the things that Tanner has said to me in his life, which remind me of the Yoga Sutras. So anyway, ⁓ and it's a little in line with my inquiry. Actually a little side story, he got recruited to play football. I think Stanford called first when they could. And Stanford said C's don't get you to Stanford. So Anyway, sorry, I just says but not all degrees. Did he go to Stanford? No. But I mean he did actually go to a good school, but we just kinda laughed 'cause it's kinda his attitude. Work hard but don't like make yourself not too much Maybe a little bit too little, but just enough. Anyway, so good doting mother. I went sideways. But ⁓ my inquiry here is ⁓ in the doing of your practice or your daily life, do you find yourself feeling that you need to do more to be more? And where could you invite moderation? How is it that moderation sounds like a dirty word? Well, because in our current culture it is. Right. Right? Too much is never enough is the underscore of like the current Pop culture moment we're in, certainly in the US. Certainly. Right? It's like one of our worst exports back to the world is a culture of excess, bigger, more faster than Elon Musk is now a trillionaire. You know, what is he gonna do with all that money, right? It's it's an insane, it's insane. give me a couple. Come on. ⁓ no, for like for for less than half his wealth, every single human being on the planet could eat. I would say for inquiry is like maybe just pick like one point of like either consumption or expenditure as in like food or or internet, like you're like social media or like content. Look at your like do an audit of your screen time. ⁓ no I can't. Well, and also like get to the why, right? Like, and that's my point. Like, is in to wake up. You cannot wake up from what you will not see. So, so my suggestion for the inquiry is like, and notice, like maybe, maybe you're not ready, but maybe the place where you feel the most resistance is where you should start. And like think about one of those dynamics of consumption or like expenditure is in, like, you know, by the way, exercise can be a tremendous point of bypass. And and I think all like if you've been around yoga spaces long enough, you've seen students who come in and you really have to wonder. And I don't know the answer, except that I've certainly had the question of like, how much are you practicing and is this really actually healthy for you? Like to pr like to like multiple classes a day or I I just I'm just not sure, right? I just not sure. And it feels like there's a there there and I don't know what that is, and it's not for me to know, and it's not for me to diagnose or But I what like like like expenditure and consumption are are you know pretty related. And so it's like pick something where you notice like a little like resistance and give yourself just some compassionate space. Don't even take any pressure to change it. Just notice it. Maybe just log it somehow. And and see what that illuminates for you, because it might help shift the choice. From the default subconscious to like the intentional, conscious, or maybe like conscientious. Because only when we do that can we then say, all right, well, then I have to be clear about what is and is not. What am I doing? What am I eating? What am I watching? What am I listening to? What am I, how am I spending my time? Who am I spending my time with? Right? Whatever it is. Like give yourself one little space to do an audit like that. And then ask, then because what will arise? Like you don't even have to push it that far. If you're if you're following along for our journey, dear listeners, like this will arise for you, which is you will start to ask yourself, like, is this what I say I'm about? Is this aligned? Am I who I say I am? As Sarah Page says it. Am I who I say I am? And maybe you'll decide to say something different about who you are, or maybe you'll decide to try to, maybe you'll decide to shift those behaviors. But not from a place of shame, not from a place of like cause you want it to be for somebody else. No, because like you see that there is a divine flow and you know in your heart what it feels like to move with that flow, to walk with that flow versus to walk against it or ignore it. And the more we integrate toward it, whether that's in our sexual morality. Or in our food consumption habits or any number dynamics in our life. Those are all practices of Brahmacharya. And you will gain vitality and resistance and persistence when you when you feel into and allow for that flow. I I believe that with every fiber and cell of my being. I love both of you with every fiber and cell of my being. Same. And I And again, like, you know, again, this practice is is a practice again of many things. But Ahmedarya is certainly one of them because this helps me get so curious and really think about. I say I want to deepen my practice of yoga in this like really big, big way. And like this practice is feels like we're we're like we're like holding our hands out together. For and with each other and for with every single one of you who's listening, and taking a step toward God. The God of our personal understanding. Right? Not as a fixed point or destination, as an intention and a clarity of of divine purpose. So with that, if you have found any value in our in our voices tonight, ⁓ we are so grateful for your time and attention. Please consider rating. subscribing and maybe even sharing this episode with someone who you think would find it useful, provocative, or interesting. For now, I'll say thank you and I love you, Sarah Page and Sally. Love you both. And we love you, dear listeners. We're so grateful to you. until we hear and speak to you soon, Namaste, and have a beautiful time until our next time together. Bye for now.