Interview: Leza Lowitz, Director of Sun & Moon Yoga Studio, Tokyo (Part 2/2)

Interview by Dylan Robertson.

This is the second installment of a two-part interview with Leza Lowitz, director of Sun & Moon Yoga Studio, located near Meguro Station in Tokyo. In Part 1, Leza and I chatted about her studio, her teaching, and how she sees the landscape of the Tokyo yoga community today. Here in Part 2, Leza and I talk about the Yoga Classics Input Project (YCIP) and Tibetan Heart Yoga (THY), which her studio is introducing to Japan. The interview followed Leza’s Wednesday evening Vinyasa class in October, 2009.

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In today’s class, we did some very interesting moves and poses from Tibetan Heart Yoga. Is Sun & Moon the only studio in Japan offering this kind of yoga?

Yes, for the most part. We’re always seeking to evolve, and Tibetan Heart Yoga is a natural progression of new approaches we’ve been exploring over the years—for me, over twenty-five years. To be alive, you need to stay fresh, to think outside the box, to break the mold. Because we were drawn to practices that went beyond the physical, we were the first studio to share Acro Yoga, Community Yoga classes, Partner Yoga, Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and now, Tibetan Heart Yoga in Japan. All of these practices signify a shift away from the body, be it through partnering with another person or in community, or through Yin or Restorative, moving to a more contemplative and deep inner approach. Tibetan Heart Yoga has it all—a wonderfully rich physical practice combined with a two-thousand-year-old systematic spiritual practice. The real jewels in the THY crown are the spiritual practices.

Who is teaching Tibetan Heart Yoga?

We’ve been really lucky that Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christy McNally, the founders of Diamond Mountain University and promulgators of THY, came to Japan. Geshe Michael was a monk in a monastery for twenty years, and one day his teacher said, “You need to go to New York and become a diamond broker!” His teacher said, “Take all the principles you’ve learned in Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan Yoga and start a company.” So he took $50,000 and made this company, knowing nothing about business. He grew it using only spiritual principles, and it reached annual sales of $250 million and this year, it was bought by Warren Buffet. Now, Geshe Michael is writing books and bringing out this ancient knowledge.

Yoga Studies Institute Staff Instructor Ted Lafferty was another one of the fantastic teachers who came over to share THY with us, and Venerable Nyingpo and Mercedes Bahleda, Yvonne Jaques, Anatole Nguyen, and Shyam and Christine Sperber. Masaaki Nakajima, who teaches THY at Sun & Moon, has been doing a wonderful job sharing THY through his classes and workshops in Tokyo and throughout Japan, and I teach some THY in my classes. We are very excited that Ted will be offering the first ever Tibetan Heart Yoga Teacher Training in Japan in January and February 2010. It’s almost sold out!

How does one progress through Tibetan Heart Yoga training?

THY uses an inner method and an outer method. The outer method is the asana practice. The inner method uses meditation to change our thoughts as we open our bodies. We practice Lovingkindness Meditation (Sending Others Happiness and Wellbeing), and Tonglen (Taking Away Other’s Pain), and many others, combined with asana, study, and Karma Yoga.

How does it work?

I talked a bit about the Onion of Karma last time. Basically, there are five layers, or koshas, from the gross to the subtle. You start by putting your body (1) into an asana such as triangle or warrior. Then you start to breathe (2), going to the next layer. Then the breath changes your prana or energy (3), so you start to feel better. Then your prana changes your thoughts (4), and you start to think happier thoughts. And then when you go into the world, because you do this yoga practice, you do kinder things, and you change your karma (5).

Can you give an example?

Okay. For example, before yoga class, I might be in the subway, and somebody bumps me and I might think about bumping them back—or I might actually do it! Tibetan Heart Yoga holds that every thought you have, every action you undertake plants a seed, which comes back to you. This is karma. So then I do yoga. I put my body in a posture, I go from the body to the breath, the prana to my thoughts. I shift and change. I relax, feel more peaceful, joyful and spacious. Then, if I go outside after yoga and somebody bumps me, I don’t care; I yield to them. Beyond that, I might actually wish them well. So I can change my karma and transform my life. And conversely, I can use the inner method to change the outer layer, too. I can go into class, or work, or home, with a good attitude, one that brings people together rather than separates people, and then I will have a good experience and help others. Have you ever wondered why two people can take the exact same yoga class and have a totally different experience?

Yes, I have noticed that. Why is that?

Because the seeds you plant now are going to come back to you. They’re going to bear fruit later in whatever comes up in your life. We know this, but on some level, we don’t know how to effect change. THY gives us the tools to change ourselves. Then that seeps into our relationships, family life, work. It’s very creative and it’s very radical.

What workshops or courses are available to learn Tibetan Heart Yoga in Tokyo?

Masaaki Nakajima is teaching a regular Tibetan Heart Yoga class at Sun & Moon, and offers regular workshops on the weekends.

Ted Lafferty is coming in January and February 2010 to teach two twenty-hour teacher trainings in Tibetan Heart Yoga 1 and Tibetan Heart Yoga 4. Tibetan Heart Yoga 1 is based on the Six Virtues of Buddhism, manifesting and sharing qualities like generosity, kindness, patience, and love. Tibetan Yoga 4 is the first recorded yoga sequence from the thirteenth century. It works with the Five Vayus, the winds of your body, and how to harness them. Both are really powerful practices. THY 1 is more basic, THY 4 is more advanced physically.

Is it a good physical workout also?

All the THY series are amazing physically, because when you work with the inner method, you have a much deeper experience of your body, breath, and prana. Tibetan Yoga 4 is really challenging with lots of arm balances and poses like mayurasana. It is specifically designed to be challenging to help you break through the barriers in some of these vayus. Each vayu represents a certain quality that we have like greed, competitiveness, or impatience. Because these afflictions are really deep inside of us, the poses have to be really challenging to help us get rid of them. It’s not just athleticism for the sake of athleticism. It’s to really see your ways of thinking, to shift your afflictions, to rid yourself of these ills.

Does it have set sequences like Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga?

Yes. There are ten different series in THY and each has a specific inner purpose and an outer method. They each have a meditation and mantra and set of poses. The YSI Staff teachers of Tibetan Heart Yoga have all been through extensive training and are really knowledgeable, not just about the mechanics of asana, pranayama, and meditation, but about Tibetan Buddhism. They’re really inspiring to be around. I call them superheroes. They’re an amazing group of people who have hugely open hearts and they really live their yoga. They practice compassion, loving kindness, and kinship to all. These are the cornerstones of the THY practice.

What is the best part of THY for you?

The beauty of Tibetan Heart Yoga is that it requests that we take responsibility for our actions as the road to peace. I think this is so important because at this time in our consciousness, the planet is really shifting away from a “me” sensibility to a “we” sensibility. People understand that it’s fine to do asana, but that it’s even more powerful to do asana combined with an inner practice, to take yoga beyond an individual practice and make it more beneficial to all of humanity. This is something I’m really heartened to see. I’m really excited about the future of yoga in Japan and am grateful for this opportunity.

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For more information on Leza Lowitz, Sun & Moon Yoga Studio and the Yoga Classics Input Project, please see the following websites:

• Leza Lowitz: www.lezalowitz.com
• Sun & Moon Yoga Studio: www.sunandmoon.jp
• YCIP English Site: www.yogaclassics.org
• YCIP Japanese Site: www.yogaclassicsjapan.org