The journey of yoga is a journey into the interior, the sacred and the connected. Our modern world, focusing on achievement, quick results, and surface appearances leads many of us to feelings of alienation and separation. Yoga helps us because it enables us to embody a felt sense of connection, unity and freedom. The term yoga originally encompassed not just physical postures but a whole lifestyle including specific techniques such as meditation. Meditation is not a quick fix, but a skill that can be developed in the same way that a person can learn yoga asana or any skill such as sport or art. It is about opening to the present moment and diving into our hearts and minds. Often people are afraid of meditation, thinking that meditation is sitting without moving and having no thoughts. This is an incorrect assessment of meditation. It is as simple as sitting down and opening to what is here, including our thought filled monkey minds. The yoga of meditation eases the dis-ease that arises from the stress of feelings of disconnection, judgment and alienation. Meditation can increase spontaneity and creativity. It helps us develop a peace of mind that is not dependent on outer circumstances. It helps us develop a relationship with the deeper truth of connectivity. It helps us learn about our selves. Some of the benefits of a regular meditation practice include: Decreased high blood pressure. Drop in cholesterol levels. Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing. Decreased anxiety. Decreased depression. Decreased irritability and moodiness. Improved learning ability and memory.
"It's also helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that's sitting right here right now... with its aches and it pleasures... is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive." Pema Chodron Sometimes we compartmentalize our lives, thinking that spiritual practice happens only in yoga class or while meditating. We care for our bodies so mindfully and kindly during yoga asana class and then step outside of class and forget. Where did the mindfulness go? Where did the kindness go? Ordinary life is not separate from our spiritual life. It is through our relationships that we begin to see yoga in action. Yoga is about skillful relationship - our relationship to our bodies and minds, our relationships with our friends, families and co-workers. Does your spiritual practice make you kinder and more open? The first step in bringing practice off of the mat is "right intention". Right intention is the second step of the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. We must intend to act wisely. We must have the desire to cultivate generosity and loving kindness in our ordinary lives. Without this healthy desire to bring the spiritual practice into ordinary life, we find that life passes so quickly with us more often than not functioning on automatic pilot. After establishing the intention to bring practice off of the mat and cushion and into ordinary life, the biggest most powerful tool is mindfulness itself. We must be present, centered and conscious of what is going on around and in us. We must attend to what we are doing at any moment. We all have the ability to be present, it is a gift of being a human. Like any skill, it grows with practice. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali remind us that "liberation is near" (1.21) and that "how near depends on whether practice is mild, moderate or intense."(1.22). We grow what we practice. If you practice being present in your daily life, the "being present muscle" strengthens. The more you practice, the easier it gets. It is easy enough to be kind and generous when the people around you are kind and generous. Whose daily life is filled with only kind people? The spiritual practice is with all of our relationships, with everyone and everything in our lives. Liberation is not about leaving behind all the crud of human life, it is about being fully human, fully awake, and fully alive."Enlightenment is a direct experience with reality." Pema Chodron
I went to the Green Fest in San Francisco over the weekend. Aside from the obvious paradox of a festival promoting green/sustainable and shopping at the same time, the festival was fun. On Friday, Jill Bolte Taylor spoke about the science of mystical experience. Jill is a brain scientist who experienced a stroke in her left hemisphere. She gives a TED talk about this experience at: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html
