“I only recognize what I already know. But what about when the way you look is what changes and what you see is the new?”
Recognizing yourself today…
If yoga helps us to recognize the various nuances of our mind and its connections with life off the mat, what can we do to facilitate this to happen?
It becomes clearer and clearer to me that we don't do yoga but we are yoga. The practice does not end with Savasana. The experience of an asana (posture) is not just about effort and/or physical strength. And the time of 60 minutes of a class does not end in counting the hands of the clock. The understanding of the perceived changes, whether in flexibility, in greater self-confidence in positioning oneself in an advanced posture in a room with other students or closing one's eyes to meditate more deeply, does not happen immediately but in the delivery process. We become conscious and active agents of our own existence.
The other day I woke up with a slight scratch in my throat and getting out of bed for a day at work was not like any other. Still, I got out of bed, washed my face, took my homeopathy pills, made my morning tea and got ready for the Pranayama and Meditation class I take on Wednesday mornings. My body pulled me to lie down, my mind said “is this really what to do?”, but internally I heard “this is the way”. Practicing Bhastrika and meditating, with focused attention, made me find a new balance, visualize a new expansion of that chest that no longer felt asleep. The commitment to the class spoke loudly, yes, but the commitment to my daily awakening in the practice of yoga carried me through and rewarded me.
I recognized that taking one's own reins in conducting movements and actions, acting genuinely, in tune with what our essence points out to us and bringing full awareness to the present moment to fully experience it, is where we become stronger.
Just as in the practice of asanas we learn the concepts of Sthira and Sukham, effort and softness, action and balance, movement and rest, we also recognize that life presents us with dualities that can commune with each other and not fight with each other.
With love,
For your reflection:
- What did you bring into your routine today that reminds you of your commitment to yourself?
- How do you practice living in the present moment?
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