Today marks the end of my first complete week back to teaching and being a participant of my life. I say a participant of my life because it felt as though I've just been in a fog of some sort trying to figure out where I fit in again. Simple tasks like walking the dogs, daily chores, and teaching classes seem to feel so strange. I spent the better part of 7 weeks being selfish in a way. Napping was no stranger, doing many hours of asana a day, sightseeing, getting to know new people and even reading novels is how I spent a lot of time. I say I was busy, however there was plenty of down time in which I was left to look directly at my Self.
That is the part your never ready for. The quiet moments where your thoughts cannot be controlled. They are negative, anxious, judgmental of pretty much everything and everyone. It is a very uncomfortable place to sit in. Think of it like being in your sleeping bag, your so cold and all zipped in, you have to pee, your scared to leave the safety of you tent and your skin is crawling at every sound, but it's hard to move because your all zipped in! That's what it feels like.
Even though this process of uncovering the layers of you can be awkward and sometimes agonizing, it is worth it. To see what we are truly made of. What is under all the stuff we have learned throughout of lives. If only we kept the innocence of childhood until we are 90, that would be so much easier. When following the path of yoga, meditation, or even a life of spirituality, we are constantly trying to become more humble, more compassionate, more forgiving, more open to the possibility of what we are capable of and even able to see what others are capable of. It is almost as if we have to break our hearts wide open and cry, scream, hide from it before we can get to the next step. Of course, it is never ending and when we think it is complete, it starts all over again.
This is what makes the journey of self discovery so worthwhile. Today, go out and be kind to a stranger, remember you never know what the other person is dealing with. Instead of screaming at the car in front of you or getting angry about how you think you were wronged, say the mantra, "I forgive you. Have a good day." See how that feels instead.
"Yoga is a friend to those who embrace it sincerely and totally. It lifts its practitioners from the clutches of pain and sorrow, and enables them to live fully, taking a delight in life. The practice of yoga helps the lazy body to become active and vibrant. It transforms the mind, making it harmonious. Yoga helps to keep one's body and mind in tune with the essence, the soul, so that all three are blended into one." -Preface from Light on the Yoga Sutras-BKS Iyengar
This man was at the top of a log walk. At the top, a temple, a few men, a cat, and a couple dogs. This guy was my favorite:-)
That is the part your never ready for. The quiet moments where your thoughts cannot be controlled. They are negative, anxious, judgmental of pretty much everything and everyone. It is a very uncomfortable place to sit in. Think of it like being in your sleeping bag, your so cold and all zipped in, you have to pee, your scared to leave the safety of you tent and your skin is crawling at every sound, but it's hard to move because your all zipped in! That's what it feels like.
Even though this process of uncovering the layers of you can be awkward and sometimes agonizing, it is worth it. To see what we are truly made of. What is under all the stuff we have learned throughout of lives. If only we kept the innocence of childhood until we are 90, that would be so much easier. When following the path of yoga, meditation, or even a life of spirituality, we are constantly trying to become more humble, more compassionate, more forgiving, more open to the possibility of what we are capable of and even able to see what others are capable of. It is almost as if we have to break our hearts wide open and cry, scream, hide from it before we can get to the next step. Of course, it is never ending and when we think it is complete, it starts all over again.
This is what makes the journey of self discovery so worthwhile. Today, go out and be kind to a stranger, remember you never know what the other person is dealing with. Instead of screaming at the car in front of you or getting angry about how you think you were wronged, say the mantra, "I forgive you. Have a good day." See how that feels instead.
"Yoga is a friend to those who embrace it sincerely and totally. It lifts its practitioners from the clutches of pain and sorrow, and enables them to live fully, taking a delight in life. The practice of yoga helps the lazy body to become active and vibrant. It transforms the mind, making it harmonious. Yoga helps to keep one's body and mind in tune with the essence, the soul, so that all three are blended into one." -Preface from Light on the Yoga Sutras-BKS Iyengar
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