How are they defined?

According to the Yoga Sutras, freedom, or samadhi (absorption) can be attained through yoga’s “twin pillars” of abhyasa and vairagya. In the words of BKS Iyengar, “Abhyasa is the art of learning through the cultivation of disciplined action.” It is effort sustained over time to attain a steady state of mind and body, encompassing the intense efforts of the ashtanga (eight-limbs) model of yoga, including the practice of asana and pranayama.

Vairagya is defined as detachment from desire, or renunciation, called by Iyengar, “the art of avoiding that which should be avoided.” Learning to control the (desires of) the senses and eventually withdrawing them toward introspection is the path to self-realization.

How can a yoga practitioner integrate these to enhance daily practice?

Bob demonstrates Uttitha Parsvakonasana

These principles are the elements, or the “stuff,” of all yoga practices, a steady effort balanced with a cultivation of detachment from the expectations and outcomes of our actions. Steady effort includes the disciplines of asana and pranayama, and the observation of the ethical precepts of the yamas and niyamas. Our regular practices should strive within and toward the evolution of abyhasa and the involution of vairagya.

Can you choose an asana and demonstrate the relevance of abhyasa and vairagya within the context of the pose?

These two principles, and their practices, are in evidence within the context of one’s asana practice on many levels. For example, abhyasa should guide and inform one’s approach of the poses which require application of tapas, or zeal–like the standing postures.

Savasana in Supta Swastikasana

The regular practice of savasana is the cultivation of vairagya,which is pursued and refined further in the recuperative poses and the practice of pranayama.

Bob, responsive and articulate as ever, was pleased to answer my questions:

What is a guna?

According to Hindu philosophy, the entire cosmos, including man and consciousness, are emanations of cosmic matter, called prakrti. These emanations manifest through the predominance of or combination between three different qualities or attributes, called the gunas. The gunas are:

1) Sattva: the quality of luminosity, clarity, serenity

2) Rajas: the attribute of mobility, activity

3) Tamas: the characteristic of inertia, gravity, stability

I find Parivrtta Trikonasa, Revolved Triangle, to be one of the more challenging standing asanas. Can you point out how/where in the pose each of the three gunas should prevail?

Bob demonstrates Parivrtta Trikonasana

As with all of the standing poses, one’s legs should provide a stable and steady base, firm with the earth element and the gravity of tamas. Passion, the fire element, should prevail in the revolving movements of the torso, reflecting the constructive qualities, the mobility of rajas. The face, eyes, tongue and brain emanate the clarity, ease, nobility of sattva.

Often, a beginning student will be light in the legs and heavy in the head. Regular practice of the asanas should cultivate the reversal of this tendency, and others like it, so that the gunas can be properly expressed within the asanas.

How does a yoga practitioner learn to balance the three gunas?

Through the rigors of self-study and practice, the yoga practitioner learns which thoughts and actions are prompted by tamas, and which by rajas, and works with unceasing effort to achieve a sattvic frame of mind. Within the context of asana practice, the yogi should observe that the qualities of tamas and rajas find appropriate expression.

While the attribute of tamas, or gravity, can lead to physical inertia or mental torpor, it can and should be expressed constructively as a firm foundation, or gravity, in the asanas; for example, steadiness and stability in the legs when practicing standing poses, as illustrated in the photo.

Similarly, rajas, unchecked and unbalanced, can promote greed, pride, ambition in the ego—but has a rightful place in the practice of postures. Constructively, rajas can fuel the fires and efforts to maintain a zealous pursuit of yogic practices. As well, the mobility provided by this second guna allows for correct and appropriate movement within the poses.

The ultimate goal of the yogi is to be free from the pull of the gunas, transcending these qualities through the rigorous discipline of practice and self-study.

Did you ever meet someone who demonstrated an extraordinary ability that was difficult to fathom? Sort of otherworldly yet at the same time totally grounded in reality. No? Then you’ve probably never met

In these challenging times, people from all walks of life seek relief from the stress and uncertainty of day-to-day life. In keeping with my focus on balance–environmental and beyond–meet Bill Farber, a gifted man who personifies sustainable energy!

What is an energy healer?

It is a very broad term that can refer to any number of different modalities. It will usually pertain to more holistic and even Eastern systems, ranging from acupuncture and acupressure, which redirect energy in a very physical way; to Chi Gong and Reiki, which use energy in a more subtle way. Over the last decade especially, literally hundreds of different energy modalities have been created, many of which are outgrowths of existing systems and many of which claim to be entirely new and unique. Because of the wide variety of techniques available, one may have to experiment and/or rely on personal referrals to find the most useful technique and practitioner.

My definition of an energy healer is someone who has a degree of natural ability to conduct healing energy to another, either in person or remotely, and who has had sufficient training and experience in one or more modalities. With some, as in my case, one’s own unique style can evolve over time.

What is Reiki?

Reiki is a combination of two Japanese words: “Rei,” which means something like divinely guided; and “Ki,” which is life force energy. Combined they mean “divinely guided life force energy.” I like to use the words “inherently intuitive” instead of divinely guided because the latter could imply that some religious belief is necessary to give or receive Reiki, which is not at all true.

Having practiced and taught Reiki for almost 20 years, I am still in awe of its simple, effortless power to uplift and heal in nearly all situations. It is equally as effective at long distance as it is in person. A Reiki session produces a deep restful state in the nervous system and brain. The deep restfulness allows for the maximum flow of healing and balancing energy that spontanteously replenishes the energy of the client in those areas where it is most needed.

What areas of a person’s life can benefit from Reiki?

All areas are addressed: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Reiki can be done alone or in conjunction with other modalities, both holistic and allopathic. For example, Reiki is a great benefit for chemotherapy patients in that it will dramatically reduce side effects and keep the energy of the patient at high functional levels. Dr. Mehmet Oz has used Reiki as a pre-op, during-op, and post-op modality for open-heart surgery for the past decade or more. He has documented dramatic improvements in the recovery time and reduction of pain, fear and anxiety in his patients.

What about reducing day-to-day stress?

Reiki is one of the most powerful and fast-acting stress-reduction techniques available. It has profound effects similar to deep meditation but the recipient does not even have to meditate because the energy automatically produces the effects with no “doing” whatsoever!

I can take a stressed out businessperson to a state of profound peace and stillness in just a few minutes, and this does not involve hypnosis or suggestion in any way. It can be done on the phone as well as in person. After Reiki training, a person can administer the treatment to herself. Doing the self-treatment regularly creates a strong immune system and a clear, balanced state of mind.

Beyond treating the individual, how does your Corporate Alignment Program work?

I custom design a Corporate Alignment Program for an organization to fit its specific needs. Corporate Alignment comes from a core group of aligned individuals within an organization. They are aligned first within themselves, then with each other; the alignment then spreads quite naturally throughout the organization.

After working for some time with a group of individuals within an organization, I then train them in energy alignment techniques; they utilize these techniques as a group. The energy applied in a specific way will reduce stress and improve the flow of creativity and positivity within a department or in relationships with clients.

Dramatic reduction of stress, along with increased vitality experienced by more and more people within a company will inevitably result in more productivity and reduced absenteeism. The benefits are obvious especially in the area of wellness.

Corporate Alignment can also be used to empower individual, departmental, and organizational goals. The atmosphere will be markedly improved creating a much better work environment.

What was the inspiration behind naming your firm?

I did not want the studio to be about Me (with a capital M); I wanted it to be about a movement toward better design. I would love to see the studio survive after I am gone, so that eliminated Nardella Architects as an option. It had to be something that could tell the story of our design ethic and what kind of work we wanted to specialize in. It also had to be something that would elicit ideas of nature and is native to pristine habitats.

We are both avid photographers and always seem to return from the same destinations with tons of close-ups of–you guessed it–moss. One day, flipping through images it clicked, and that was it: moss was the name. The final decision was bolstered by a characteristic of moss we found: mosses affect the community in which they live, as they supply shelter for living organisms. Well if that isn’t the very definition of what the studio should be, I don’t know what is! It also didn’t hurt that moss is literally green in color.

The term “green” building is all the rage these days. What makes a building green?

“Green” buildings have a wide array of definitions depending on whom you talk to. Some developers will tell you that their bamboo floors make them green, others will say the CFLs do the trick. This is what is now commonly referred to as “green-washing.”

The most popular regulatory outlets for “green” building include LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) which is a rating system administered by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) that allows a building to collect credits in five main areas: Sustainable Sites (site design and selection); Water Efficiency; Energy and Atmosphere; Materials and Resources; and Indoor Environmental Quality. After design and construction are complete, the design team submits the information to the USGBC for auditing and they award a level of achievement ranging from certified to platinum.

The other rating system is Energy Star, which is geared toward single family housing, focusing more on energy efficiency and paying less attention to building materials and site selection/design. Even the City of Chicago has entered the fray with its Chicago Green Homes rating system. There are a few other fringe “green” building rating systems but none of them have really taken off and LEED remains the front-runner.

So that is the technical response but, in my opinion, it is much simpler. A building, like a tree, should give more than it takes. That means a truly sustainable building produces more resources than it consumes. To achieve this we need a paradigm shift so that a building becomes a member of the landscape: collecting solar energy from the sun for its electrical needs, while sequestering carbon and producing oxygen; harvesting rainwater for potable uses and maintaining an edible forest; and supplying waste water to on-site wetlands. Since there is no possible way to produce infinite resources in a finite system, this is the way it must be if we expect long-term prosperity.

The beauty of our current predicament is that most sustainable design features are essentially free–given that you design it well–and have been proven by the builders of past civilizations. Too much of the “green” building movement has been about consumer products, forcing you to have to buy your way into the trend. However, this is diametrically opposed to what sustainability is at its core: to use less stuff. With that in mind, you actually should spend less money and effort to become more sustainable.

As for buildings, proper site planning and orientation are crucial to long-term efficiency. For example, instead of installing the most energy efficient, largest and most expensive air conditioner on a traditional, let’s say, tract house; why not reinvent the design of the house so you don’t need as much cooling or any at all? The story I love to tell is of the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings built by the Pueblo natives around 1200. The dwellings were oriented south under the overhang of the cliff above. This would allow the low winter sun to warm the buildings, while in the summer the sun would be shaded by the cliff, helping to keep the dwellings cool.

The same principles could be applied today to any new building at no extra cost. And this is just one design element; there are plenty more which I refer to as the non-consumer’s guide to sustainable design.

What elements of sustainable design might you incorporate into an existing property? And how, in the midst of a recession when up-front dollars really count, would you “market” your design?

Dealing with existing properties is tougher. Often it is not feasible, economically or structurally, to make major changes to a building in the effort of sustainability. However, I think it should start with the passions of whoever is occupying the space. If someone is interested in reducing energy, then installing solar-thermal panels for hot water is an inexpensive start; or replacing windows would have a great impact. If someone is concerned that they are using too much water, they can inexpensively add aerators to plumbing fixtures to reduce flow; or collect rainwater for irrigation. If you like local food, convert your roof or yard into a native, edible landscape, which is something we have done at our office.

We have assisted people with all of these measures and more. You would probably be surprised how much energy is wasted in a typical building and how much could be harnessed. I think the point here is that we all have an incredible ability to vastly curb our impact on the planet through our lifestyle habits. According to “Earth’s Law,” Earth does not care much whether we can afford to make a change or not; it will proceed as it sees fit. We have to be interested in long-term results, not short-term gains.

Upon launching my blog earlier this month, I invited a number of professionals with whom I’ve worked throughout the years to contribute timely posts for my Guest Book. In light of the just-passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, attorney David Grisamore sorts out some differences between the new economic stimulus law and the earlier version passed in 2008; and suggests you consult your tax advisor…

There is some good news for first-time home buyers with moderate incomes this year: The stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama contains an $8,000 home-buyer credit for calendar year 2009. This credit is a somewhat revised and extended credit from that contained in the stimulus legislation passed in 2008 and signed into law by President Bush. Since there are some significant differences in the old versus the new credit, it is worthwhile for readers to review the details.

How it Works

Assuming the transaction qualifies, the taxpayer may deduct the available credit from their taxes owed at the end of 2009. Thus, a taxpayer owing $6,000 in federal income tax would have a tax bill of $0 after the qualifying purchase. Even better, the revised version allows the purchaser to claim and receive the remaining $2,000 of the credit as a “refund.” For taxpayers with payroll withholding, the refund would be much larger, since the IRS would already be holding the bulk of the refund as payroll withholding from each check.

First-Time Buyers

The tax credit is available to first-time home buyers who purchase a primary residence from January 1, 2009 - November 30, 2009. “First-time home buyer” is defined, surprisingly narrowly, as any person who has not owned a home in the previous three years. Thus, a purchaser who last owned a home in June of 2006 (with a closing on June 30, say) would be eligible for the credit on a residence purchased and closed on between July 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.

Limits

The credit is available for up to 10% of the purchase price of the home. Thus, a property costing $80,000 or more will be eligible for the maximum credit of $8,000. In a market like Chicago this will obviously cover most home purchases.

There is an upper income limit of $75,000 for a single taxpayer and $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly, but this is only for utilitization of the full amount of the credit. For incomes over $75,000/$150,000 filing jointly, the credit is phased down. The credit is not available for incomes above $95,000 or $170,000 filing jointly.

No Repayment

Under the former legislation the credit was “recaptured” over 15 years. The new law does away with this IRS claw-back and no credits will have to be repaid. EXCEPTION: If the home is sold within three years, the entire amount will have to be repaid in the year of the sale.

Bottom Line

For a qualifying purchase this credit is little different from an IRS gift of equity. All you have to do is wait for year end 2009 to get your check.

David Grisamore is a graduate of Knox College and De Paul University College of Law. He has been in private practice since 1996 handling real estate and commercial litigation matters. For additional information please contact: Law Offices of David T. Grisamore, 53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite #1643, Chicago, IL 60604; tel. 312. 913-3448; dgriz67@sbcglobal.net.

Thank you to my son, Dylan, who took the photo that accompanies the interview by Lee Crandell of Carfree Chicago. Thank you, Lee!