by Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein, MSW

Ophanim is a recently emerged kabbalistic yoga that helps people flow in harmony with the inner Tree of Life: “In the midst of the garden is the Tree of Life.” (Genesis 2:9)

Sefer Yetzira (The Book of Creation), the first and primary book of kabbalah (the Jewish mystical tradition), describes the tree as rooted in “32 wondrous paths of wisdom” that are engraved through all existence. These 32 paths are the foundations of the Tree of Life and the entire human body is the physical expression of these Divine attributes.

Ophanim was developed by a female kabbalah scholar and mystic in Jerusalem more than 30 years ago. After years of labor and research in which she immersed herself in the study of Sefer Yetzira and related sources, she discovered that particular movements of the body related to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The 22 letters are the channels of connection between the 10 sefirot (spheres) of the Tree of Life. Together, they comprise the 32 paths of wisdom.

Sefer Yetzira explains that ophanim are “angels of form” that are carried through the breath. The practice of Ophanim is an embodiment of these teachings and is helpful in opening the paths of our “inner tree.” The postures of Ophanim mirror the 22 letters and the breathing practice follows the path of the 10 spheres. It is actually a triple yoga that brings together the three elements of space, time and being into one single practice.

The yoga of space is present in the shapes of the postures; each posture or ophan is different in its spatial representation. The yoga of time is present by the fact that different letters are practiced on different days and relate to different parts of the body and their specific energy sources. The yoga of being is present in the breathing rhythm and the focus on its inner pathways.

The woman who developed Ophanim taught it to a young Moroccan mystic who began to teach it in the West about 10 years ago. He wrote this about this new discovery:

“The implication was that, for the first time, the wonder of Judaism was going to be witnessed in the world of bodies. Until now, according to the traditional view, the body was mainly elevated through not doing, or doing for the sake of religious prescription only. It seemed as if Judaism was mostly preoccupied with providing the soul a pure enough residence inside the body. Purification of the physical realm through restraint was the main channel to communicate with our souls. But now a new teaching was giving birth to a sanctuary of direct expression of the soul through the body. The body can now speak the words of God. The exile in the head was over.”

Ophanim is rooted in Sefer Yetzira, the first text of kabbalah. Its teachings and applications are universally applicable as the Tree of Life grows in all of us as it grows in all of life.

The kabbalah speaks of the body as divine and tells of how we are made in the image of the Divine. Through the practice of Ophanim , the body becomes a form writing the name of God. Anyone interested in opportunities to experience this practice can e-mail me at [email protected]. For more information, http://www.nefeshhaya.com/
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Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein, MSW, has been ordained by Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg of Jerusalem (1990), Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z’l (1992) and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (1996). He teaches Kabbalah, Ophanim, a recently emerged Kabbalistic Yoga and the teachings of Rav Kook in a variety of Jewish and non Jewish settings. He is also the author of MilaYomit: The Torah, Word by Word, a cyber learning circle that is going through the Torah word by word.

MEDITATION BASICS – (condensed version of article)
By Steven J. Gold, Founder/Director, Yoga and Judaism Center

Following is a condensed version of a longer article on this subject that can be found at www.yajcenter.blogspot.com

There are many different meditation techniques and variations to those techniques. For the sake of brevity, I am limiting these descriptions to one primary practice and slight variations to that practice that I have learned through my yoga tradition and experimented with over the years. This practice is generally categorized as a silent, internal, receptive practice, as distinct from many other meditation and contemplation practices that involve other elements, such as using external aids, chanting, guided visualizations, etc. I believe this practice provides an excellent foundation that can serve as a springboard for other practices, and can be utilized with internal visualizations or mantras in various languages and from various spiritual traditions. If sounds, colors or images come forward of their own accord during a meditation session, they may be worthwhile tools for focusing one’s inner attention.

Why Meditate? People who desire to learn how to meditate often want to learn to relax, de-stress, quiet down their noisy minds. Meditation will do all of that and more. It will help you address an inner call/yearning to connect with the spiritual essence that resides within us all. When that inner essence is contacted and magnified, the other benefits will follow, including becoming a more productive participant in everyday life.

Posture. “Head, neck and trunk in a straight line”. My spiritual father, Swami Rama, never tired of saying this. There are a variety of seated positions that accomplish this. The most important point is to get the body in a position with this basic alignment that is comfortable, so that bodily discomfort is not creating a distraction. In this form of meditation, the primary concern is to leave bodily awareness and external sensation behind, which can only be accomplished if the body is comfortable and not a cause for distraction. (Zen meditation is quite different, where bodily and external sensory awareness is heightened. In contrast, the traditional yoga meditation involves withdrawing awareness from external sensation, freeing up this energy to focus within). It is also emphasized in this traditional yoga practice that the aligned head, neck and trunk need to be perpendicular to the ground in a seated position, and not lying down.

If sitting cross-legged on a cushion on the floor is not comfortable, then sitting in a firm chair is the next best choice. A second important aspect is to sit in a manner in which the posture itself supports the back, without the back leaning on anything else, like the back of the chair. So, if utilizing a chair, sit forward, away from the back, and find a comfortable posture with the head, neck and truck aligned. It is helpful for the feet to be comfortably touching the ground with the soles planted on the ground, for the thighs to be roughly parallel to the ground and the lower legs to be roughly perpendicular to the ground. For short people whose feet dangle from a normal chair, use cushions under the feet. For tall people whose height prevents the thighs from being parallel to the ground and the lower legs from being perpendicular to the ground at the same time, stretch the legs out in front until the thighs are parallel to the ground and cross the legs at the ankles, right ankle over left. If for any reason it is not comfortable to sit without external support to the back, then use whatever support for the back that will make you comfortable.

Sense Withdrawal. As discussed above, this meditation technique is designed to aid in withdrawing the expenditure/dissipation of energy through the external senses, and redirect this energy within, to aid in the unfoldment of inner dimensions. The eyes are gently closed, thus easily eliminating the sensory expenditure involved with sight. Concerning the distraction of external hearing, meditate in a quiet space. It is also easy enough to select a space not prone to strong odors, minimizing exposure to stimulating smells; and it is recommended that you meditate on an empty stomach for many reasons, including that by doing so, there is little chance of any lingering tastes in the mouth that may provide a distraction. Concerning touch, positioning of the body in a still, comfortable posture as addressed above minimizes the sensations of touch.

It is worth noting that for every external sensation, there is a corresponding internal sensation that may be experienced during meditation and may help provide a point of inner focus. For sight, there is inner light, colors, images, visions; for hearing, there is inner sound and music; for taste, there is inner flavor such as a taste of nectar/ambrosia; for smell, there is inner fragrance; and inner touch usually takes the form of a sensation of inner heat, although other inner touch sensations are possible. While these inner sensations may be pleasant and assist with inner focus, they are not to be considered the goal of meditation, but only guideposts and tools along the way.

Breathing. Although there are techniques that promote exhaling through the mouth, this practice emphasizes breathing only through the nostrils on both inhalation and exhalation. So to accomplish nostril-only breathing, as described earlier, during this technique the lips should remain gently sealed. Breathing should be at a comfortable and natural pace, allowing the bodily intelligence and needs to set the rhythm. It should be done diaphragmatically, coordinating the movement of the abdomen and solar plexus area with the breath: the abdomen/solar plexus region gently expanding during inhalation and gently contracting during exhalation. This is deep but gentle breathing, utilizing the internal diaphragm muscle located in the lower rib cage/solar plexus region, as distinct from utilizing expansion of the chest. Only the lower portion of the rib cage should expand and contract just a little to assure optimum use of the diaphragm and minimum use of the chest. There should be no extended pauses between inhalation and exhalation, just a natural continuous flow with that split second of suspension as it transitions from inhalation to exhalation, like the waves of the ocean coming onto the beach, turning, receding out, then turning and flowing in again. The breath should be smooth through the duration of each inhalation and exhalation, without any halting or jerkiness.

Visualize with each inhalation that your body is like an empty glass being filled with the breath, first pouring down to the bottom and filling it up as it goes. Likewise, with each exhalation, the glass is emptied first from the top (being pushed up and out from the bottom), with the last bit of exhalation coming from the bottom. A slight variation is to visualize/sense a circuit of energy flowing into the body and up the spine during inhalation, and flowing out and down the front of the body during exhalation, creating a circuit running up the spine and out through the nose and down the front of the body, then up the spine again, and so on. A further visualization is to imagine the release of stresses, toxins and obstructions with each exhalation, and replacing those with nurturance, healing and well-being with each inhalation.

Focal Points for the Journey Within. Once you are settled into your seated posture and have closed your eyes, begin to focus on the breathing as described above. To assist with establishing a comfortable breathing rhythm, first focus attention on the gentle expansion and contraction of the abdomen/solar plexus region coordinated with the inhalation and exhalation of the breath. Once a steady, comfortable rhythm is established, move the focal point to the tip of the nose, and observe the sensation of the breath as it moves in and out through the nostrils. This process aids in relaxation and moving your awareness from bodily awareness to breath awareness and the more subtle awareness of the life force (“prana” in yoga, “ruach” in kabala) that rides with the breath.
Once the attention is steadied on the movement on the breath at the point at the tip of the nostrils, you may move your focus of attention from the tip of the nostrils to either the “third eye” point between and above the eyebrows (the center of the mind), or the region of the heart (the center of the emotions). Moving your focus of attention is similar to moving your sense of identity. The idea is to locate the higher quiet mind (as distinct from the lower chattering mind) or the higher quiet heart (as distinct from the lower emotive heart) and rest your attention/identity in one place or the other. The lower heart and lower mind are very noisy and chatty, creating a seemingly never-ending emotionally-charged inner soundtrack/dialogue. By locating and maintaining the focus on the quiet higher inner heart or quiet higher inner mind, the chattering starts to cease or at least recede into the background. The image I often use is that of a hurricane: the eye of the hurricane remains calm, even while the bustle surrounding it continues. Meditation is about locating and remaining with our inner eye of peace and serenity.

Eventually, if you keep at it long enough, this profound sense of inner peace attained through regular silent seated meditation stays with you, and you can take it with you into the external world of everyday activity. That is what is called “meditation in action”. You will become a more centered, peaceful, yet dynamic and productive participant and contributor to everyday life, and experience a deep sense of fulfillment and existential meaning and purpose. So now we have come full circle and have concluded with the answer to the question posed at the beginning, “Why meditate?”
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A Few Last Details. Recommended time: 20 to 30 minutes, twice a day, on an empty stomach; best first thing in the morning, and either late afternoon before supper, or before bed-time. Locate a quiet place in your residence for meditation sessions, and commit to doing your sessions regularly. Meditation practice has a cumulative effect if done regularly. If not done regularly, the effect is diminished. It is that simple. The above are optimal conditions, but meditation can be done in a variety of less than optimal settings, including on buses, trains, planes, airline terminals, etc. Bon voyage! Om Shalom.

by Matthew Gindin

I had an insight into Kabbalah today while reading the words of a Japanese sage, Shunryu Suzuki. Suzuki Roshi (as he is called by his North American students) was instrumental in bringing Soto Zen spiritual practice1 to the United States. I have some slight connection to his lineage, having practiced Zen meditation with students of his lineage- Peter Levitt2 and Norman Fischer3. Like many people in North America who have practiced Buddhism (perhaps most) I have read Suzuki Roshi’s beloved book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Today, however, I was reading a lesser known book of his called Branching Steams Flow In The Darkness. It is a transcription of Suzuki Roshi’s teachings in the 70’s on an ancient Japanese poem called the Sandokai, which can be translated as “The Interpenetration of The Ultimate and the Relative.” This, like all of Suzuki Roshi’s teachings, is marked by gentility, humour, maturity, and an enticing combination of nuance and directness. As I read it I am struck both by how I resonate with many aspects of his teaching and not with some others, which don’t fit my own deepest intuitions. In any case, as I read it today I was struck by something which shot like an arrow through my mind and hit a surprising and seemingly distant target: a teaching by Rabbi Isaac Luria, the 16th century Spanish-Israeli Kabbalist known as the Arizal, who reshaped Jewish mystical teachings in his brief life (1534-1572). The Arizal was also much concerned with what could be called the “interplay of the ultimate and the relative” or the interplay of the being of God, “The Endless One Blessed Be” and the being of phenomena- “materiality” or “the concealing shell”.

The passage from Suzuki Roshi I was reading is this one: “Kai means to shake hands. You have a feeling of friendship. You feel that the two of you are one. In the same way, this one great whole being and the many things are good friends, or more than good friends because they are originally one.”

According to the Kabbalah of the Arizal, when the Holy One, Blessed Be created the universe it burst into a million fragments racing madly away from eachother. From an original point which was so unified, so whole, that it transcended our mode of existence entirely, came being and being implies beings4. These quanta of being raced away from eachother, sparks of light becoming enclosed in the “husks” (klipot) of materiality. These energetic threads thus spun forth to become a great web of interdependent moving, humming, transforming strands of materiality concealing divine light within. With the birth of phenomena of greater and greater complexity came, paradoxically, greater and greater individuality for each compounded phenomena. This apparent individuality is the essence of the Arizal’s idea of klipa as understood by the Alter Rebbe5. Klipa conceals Divine Oneness because it appears to be independent phenomena.

In the world of the senses- the sensual universe which reveals materiality to us- we perceive a complex field of disparate objects with no obvious relation to eachother besides contingent functional relationships. Our toaster and our running shoes appear to be unrelated inanimate objects with seperate origins and purposes. It appears that way to me even when I consider the existence of the running shoe a miracle- why does it, or anything, exist at all?-or reflect that every moment, according to Torah, the whole of creation is willed into being by the Creator. The individual objects in my perception still seem alienated from eachother. But perhaps they shouldn’t.

Rashi6, commenting on the story of the Garden of Eden, asks why we are told that Adam was formed “from the dust of the earth”. He answers “To tell us that we all have a common origin- no descendant of Adam can claim higher rank.” In a similar way, all material phenomena- the running shoes, the oven, the flower on the table- are all united by a deep internal bond. A familial bond.

According to Lurianic Kabbalah all of the phenomena of our world were born from the same “singularity”- the singularity of Hashem’s willing of the Creation to arise in the womb created by tzimtzum7. In that sense all things, no matter how high or low, are one family, deeply intimate with eachother, sharing an infinite bond and identical internal signature in their hidden recesses- much like human beings. This was what I was struck by while reading Suzuki Roshi’s comment “the great whole being and the many things are good friends…because they are originally one”.

If we reflect on this we can remove the illusion of being an alien in the universe, trapped in an expanse of lifeless, impersonal objects. We can contemplate the truth of the kinship of all things, that they are “all good friends”. Our apparent individuality is a common inheritance from a common parent.

We are united in our common origin in a way deep beyond our imaginations. In the end, paradoxically, even the fact of our individuality, as well as its nature, unites us as something we share.

Matthew Gindin

http://mgindin.wordpress.com/

1Soto is a sect of Japanese Zen Buddhism. Zen emphazises waking up to the true nature of mind and world in a way which liberates from afflictive emotions and suffering. Soto emphasizes doing this through sitting meditation where one simply sits and is lucidly aware while not grasping at or rejecting any phenomenon which arises.

2Peter is the teacher of the Salt Spring Zen Circle on Salt Spring Island, BC Canada. He is a student of Jakusho Kwong Roshi, a spiritual heir of Suzuki Roshi’s.

3Norman Fischer is also a teacher of Jewish meditation and spirituality.

4For something to be it must not be something else.

5Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Rebbe of Chabad (1745-1812)

6 Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhak, great Torah commentator of Medieval France.
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7Tzimtzum: Lurianic Kabbalah teaches that in order to create the world the Infinite One had to contract her infinitude and create a wombal space where she was not and the world could be.

“Keter” means “crown” in Hebrew and is the name of a new studio in New Jersey, writes Aviva Melissa Frank.

For those seeking female only yoga classes a new studio has opened in West Orange, NJ. Keter Yoga, is a women’s only studio offering daily classes, except on Fridays and Shabbat, in asana (poses), pranyama (breath) and meditation. Jacki Routhenstein, founder and teacher, has a background in reiki, ayurvedic medicine and sound healing and incorporates these modalities and aspects into her private and semi-private classes.

Many women prefer to practice yoga with only other women. This could be for religious or modesty reasons, female empowerment reasons or that classes are slightly catered more to the x chromosome audience. This phenomenon has been seen across the fitness and wellness spectrum, from female only gyms (Curves) to female only 5ks and half- marathons (Divas).

http://www.keteryoga.com/about.html
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http://jewishlinknj.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6958:womens-only-yoga-studio-opens-in-west-orange&catid=160:business-spotlight&Itemid=572