Evelyn Neaman of West Side Tikkun Yoga Centre demonstrates Viparita Karani, also known as the Legs Up the Wall posture. "No matter what's happening on the outside, you'll feel this nice, strong core on the inside," she says.

By Lori Kittelberg

Tikkun yoga combines Jewish and Buddhist spirituality - and it may be just what stressed-out shoppers need to unwind whoever called this the most wonderful time of the year? I stress about how much cash I'm spending and not spending. I cram in as much work as possible so I don't feel guilty about taking a few days off. I realize I don't have one iota of holiday spirit, and ask 'What will make me better?' Yoga. And not your athletic, compete-with-the-pretzel-on-the-mat-next-to-you type of yoga. I'm talking the real thing, complete with what I ultimately crave: spirituality. With this in mind, I head to the West Side Tikkun Yoga Centre (e-mail tikkunyoga@shaw.ca), the home studio of Evelyn Neaman. Tikkun is a Hebrew word meaning 'to heal, mend or repair.' Neaman integrates Jewish and Buddhist spirituality with her practice, and though I am not Jewish (many of her students are, but it's not a prerequisite), I come to see Neaman during Hanukkah in hopes her unique brand of yoga will lift me from my funk.

For Neaman, combining Judaism with yoga comes naturally. "I see that yoga and Judaism are different paths towards the same end," she says. "Yoga means 'union,' and the idea is to find practices that help unite us with ourselves. And Judaism, to me, is a religion of consciousness... which is what Buddhism is - an awakening." Her class begins with a meditation on a candle, a tradition rooted both in Jewish meditation and yoga. The physical part of the class focuses on forward and back bends that stretch and relax. During many of the postures, Neaman circles the room, tucking blankets around everyone to keep us warm. By the time we reach Savasana, I am certain I hear someone snoring softly.

"I focused on two themes," Neaman tells me over tea after the session. "One is light - inner light at the darkest time of the year, the idea that we are light and that we are on a soul journey. This is the time in Hanukkah that you determine where your soul journey is. The other [theme] is about miracles, because they say that the candles were only supposed to burn for one day. They lasted eight nights and that was the miracle of Hanukkah.... Restorative yoga is what I chose today because it's about moving in stillness and being that inner light." Indeed, it was that stillness that moved me more than anything else. As Neaman lead us through the candle meditation, she instructed us to think of our ancestors and all they did that lead to our being here. I started crying. It wasn't sadness; rather it was the first time since the helliday insanity started that I had taken the time to truly think about and appreciate my family. With the tears, I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

"I've been involved with yoga since I was 11, so I've watched it permeate into so many different things," says Neaman. "Now it's reached the level of popular culture, and it's exciting in some ways, because more people have access to it, but what's happening is it's being diluted. "There's still incredible benefit for people doing yoga at any level, but what they miss is that mind-body connection." If you're stressing and have minimal time, Neaman suggests trying Viparita Karani, or Legs Up the Wall posture (see photo). "I call it my pre-dinner-party pose," she says. "I would never go anywhere or have people over without lying on the floor and putting my legs up for at least five minutes."

Breathe deeply into your back and, Neaman says, "No matter what's happening on the outside, you'll feel this nice, strong core on the inside, and that's the essence of yoga."

Despite many apparent differences, Yoga and Judaism, are two spiritual traditions, that share a rich history of meditation practices. Jewish meditation dates back to biblical times. It continued as a tradition with the prophets, who engaged themselves in meditation practices in order to uncover their conditioned thinking, and to produce a clarity necessary to understand the potential dangers facing the Jewish people. In the 18th century, meditation became tied to the Chassidic movement. For centuries it was a hidden aspect of the Jewish tradition. Today, it has emerged as a spiritual practice bythose interested in exploring the internal world of spirituality. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan played a key role in helping 20th Century Jews understand the art and science of Jewish meditation practices.

At the centre of all of these practices is the desire to open one's heart and find a silent sacred space to feel g-d's presence and access the state beyond all states- "Ayn Sof". "Ayn Sof", a state difficult to define, is what exists beyond all things, a state of nothingness or wholeness, the infinite point of zero. In this state one touches "Dvikut", the Hebrew word for divine perfection.

While prayer can be defined as speaking to g-d, meditation is said to be listening for g-d's presence within. It is said than when we meditate, we not only heal and repair ourselves through this connection to the highest power, but we heal and repair the world. This is known as "Tikkun Olam", an obligation set before every Jewish person that can have a multitude of forms.

There are several types of Jewish meditation;

1. hitbonenut-(contemplation)
   Contemplation on an object which brings the mind into a particular focus allowing the mind to transcend itself. The object could be a flame or other physical object, or a mantra (the repetition of a chosen word).
    
   
2. hibodedut (inder -directed)
   One directs his or her mind and watches the thought processes rise and fall or watches the breath rise and fall until one uncovers the constant state that lies below thought or breath.
    
   
3. non directed-
   This is an advanced practice where one accesses pure consciousness without any external or internal focus. It brings the meditator directly to "Ayn Sof".
    
   

Each Jewish new year begins in the fall with the holiday of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). The month of Elul (Often between August and September) which precedes the new year, is a time known as" tshuvah". Tshuvah has several meanings: One meaning is "to repent" for past actions, another meaning is "to return to your source". I like the latter meaning as it connects me to why I love and practice yoga, that is to unite our worldly selves with our higher selves through sacred practices.

Self reflection and self improvement are obligations of every Jewish person. One of the traditions during the 30 day period of tshuvah, is to hear the sound blown from a shofar, a ram's horn, each day after the prayer service. The sounds that come from a shafar are startling and intense. It is said that the shofar can wake you from your unconscious slumber and attune you to what your life's work is. L'eshapher is the Hebrew word to beautify. The shofar reminds us of our inner beauty and it is a call to allow that beauty to come from within and materialize in the world. Each year we are expected to grow and change and become more of who we are meant to be. Elul provides us with a space and time to do this inner reflection.

There is a story about tshuvah..There was once a Jewish woman who went to synagogue to pray at the Jewish new year. An old friend approached her and said, "You look great, haven't changed a bit." While at first this seemed like a wonderful compliment, it soon began to bother her a great deal. Here it was, a brand new year and it seems that I am no different than I was last year. Is it possible that I have not grown and changed? She began to give serious thought to this compliment. In the context of a Jewish life, it was no compliment at all.

The Jewish tradition assumes we will change, and that these changes are the product of inner reflection and tshuvah. How can you both change and return, you might wonder? Having the courage to acknowledge how and where we have strayed from a path of the Jewish commandments, the obligation of "tikkun Olam", or healing and repairing the world, and charitable deeds towards others, are the framework in which we can measure our changes.

The process of tshuvah allows each of us to see where we are "off the mark" in relationship to ourselves, to god and to others humnas. It then prescribes a series of four steps towards becoming a better marksperson.

The four distinct steps of tshuvah were developed by an Egyptian Rabbi and physician named Maimonide s in the 15th century. He explained that the first step in tshuvah is acknowledging where you are off the mark. The second step is to feel regret for having gotten to this place. The third step is to apologize to yourself, others or the creator. The last step is the most difficult, making a commitment to change in the future. This is a soulful process which is both painful and rewarding.

So where does yoga come into the tshuvah process? This is where the yoga and Judaism connections becomes rather interesting. Hatha and raja yoga are most useful tools for assisting us in the "returning process." While the Jewish tradition acknowledges the body as the temple of the soul, there is no recognized tradition of physical practices that helps us attune our bodies and keep them open and whole. As we have all experienced the asanas can help us connect with deep emotions that we carry and store within the body. The practice of hatha yoga can be a very useful barometer of where we are off the mark with our physical and emotional being.

However it is through our sacred breath that we return to our souls. In Hebrew the word for breath is nishmah. This comes from the root neshamah which is the Hebrew word for soul. Pranayama, or the practice of conscious breath control is a wonderful tool for beginning this process of returning inward so that we can begin to reflect on where we are off the mark and how we can re-pattern our actions and thoughts. Pratyhara is the turning inward of counsiousness,which can result from these yogic practices to assist with this inner work. Dhyanna or meditation can provide us with the sacred space to hear our inner voices that helps us understand the essence of our souls work in this life, how each of us can heal and mend the world we live in. Without this information how do we best set our targets? These yogic practices provide invaluable tools for tshuvah.

For me Judaism is a religion of consciousness. I do tshuvah each year hoping and praying that when I run into that old friend he or she will say "you look great, my how you've changed!"

mcleans.ca

To the observant, the small ceramic mezuzah at the front door, its Biblical verses rolled tightly inside, marks this quiet Vancouver address as a Jewish home. The scene in a basement room suggests another story. Half a dozen women in exercise gear lie on the floor, backs on the sand-coloured carpet, legs propped vertically up the walls. Small blue satin pillows cover their eyes. New Age choral music floats through the room as Evelyn Neaman, 42, invites her Monday morning yoga class to focus on breathing. But then she reminds her students that in Hebrew the idea of breathing, nishmah, is related to neshamah, the soul. Speaking softly, she invites each person present -- one a lawyer married to a rabbi, another a university Russian prof -- to choose a kavvanah, another Hebrew word that means "direction" or "intention," to focus on during the two hours of gruelling exercises to come.

For Neaman, a self-described "pick-and-choose Jew" with degrees in anthropology and education, wedding the Indian practice of yoga to the faith of her family seems natural. It was a Jewish summer camp that first introduced her to the rudiments of yogic physical discipline at age 11. As she studied both traditions more deeply, she found new similarities, and when she opened her own yoga centre six years ago she named it in Hebrew, Tikkun. "Tikkun Olam is the ancient obligation of every Jewish person to participate in the healing of the world," she says. "We can use yoga to begin that healing process."

It's not the only expression of her faith. Neaman, twice married with a blended family, attends synagogue periodically and goes to two Jewish study groups. Her belief that Judaism calls the faithful to social engagement finds fulfillment in her day job: developing public legal education programs for a non-profit group. For her, "yoga is not a religion," although its teachings include principles for ethical behaviour. But it is through yoga that Neaman has found a channel to her faith which is beginning to attract others. About 40 students, all but five of them women and most but not all of them Jewish, come to her home weekly for exercise and a little something else. "People get stretched, people get opened up physically," Neaman says. "But my intention is to open them up spiritually as well."