Yogas Citta Vritti Nirodaha 1.2
Yoga is the stilling of the turbulences of the mind.

Often, Patanjali's second aphorism is considered the definition of yoga. My teacher Nicki Doane said, "It's the intentional calming and stilling of the self-judging, self-limiting tendencies of the Citta, our subconscious mind, that makes the difference. Without intention, yoga is merely physical exercise."

In other words, yoga is not really about the pose. It's about how quiet you can keep your mind while you are in a pose. Although our Western interpretation of yoga includes mostly the physical asana practice, Patanjali barely mentions poses in his text. Yoga asana used to be a means to strengthening the body to sit in meditation for longer periods. The intention always was to get a closer connection to God, or the Universal Consciousness.

Stillness is the cornerstone of any mindfulness practice. In "Wherever you go, there you are", Jon Kabat  Zin wrote, "Your mindfulness will only be as robust as your mind's capacity to be calm and stable. Without calmness, the mirror of mindfulness will have an agitated and choppy surface and will not be able to reflect things with any accuracy."

A restful mind is like the clear, calm surface of a mountain lake that perfectly mirrors the surrounding peaks. Thoughts are like rocks thrown into the water. They draw increasingly large, concentric circles, disrupting and distorting the view of the mountains. 

Just like the heart is made for beating, the mind is made for thinking. Therefore asking your mind to be quiet is like asking your pulse to stop. But with practice we can learn to slow down the frequency of thoughts. I haven't counted mine, but supposedly we have between 50-70,000 thoughts a day. That's like having all apps open on your smart phone. If you need your phone to work more efficiently, you need to close some apps. That's where meditation comes in or a slow, mindful yoga asana practice. 

The next time you roll out your mat,  attune your mind to the sound of your breath to still the monkey mind.

As Jon Kabat Zin suggests, "You cannot stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." 



 

Atha Yoga Nushasanam 1.1
Now, the practice of yoga begins.

​With the first of the Yoga Sutras, the Indian sage Patanjali reminds us that yoga doesn't happen in the past or in the future. It happens in the Now. It's a call to action, to wake up and to bring us deeply into the present moment.

This opening statement precedes almost 200 short aphorisms that describe the path to yogic happiness and it is often overlooked. It's kind of obvious, that if you open the book to learn about yoga, the first page is where it begins. 

But I believe it is a very significant reminder that in this very auspicious moment - the NOW - we have been blessed with the opportunity to follow the learned path of yoga. I cannot do that in the past and certainly not in the future. Eckhart Tolle wrote a book about the "The Power of Now."

He said, "Nothing happened in the past; it happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future; it will happen in the Now."

Tolle encourages us to "realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life." Ask yourself, what do I need right now? What does my body want right now? Listen in stillness to let the answer arise.

"Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy." When we realize that life doesn't happen to us but for us, we will miraculously transform our whole life.

When we bring our hands into prayer and say namaste at the end of a yoga class, we are saying "the divine in me recognizes the divine in you." We bow in reverence to the divine light inside ourselves and to the divine light that surrounds us.

I have seen cute t-shirts with a "nama-stay in bed" logo. I almost bought one. Then I thought that I really don't want to stay in bed. I want to get up every morning with a continued sense of awe and wonder - like how I felt when seeing Half Dome for the first time. 

I since have hiked in Yosemite National Park numerous times - mostly with a group of inspiring girl friends when we needed a weekend to get away from our obligations as moms of preschoolers. Nothing can beat the feeling of accomplishment when you get to the top of the massive granite boulder. Except perhaps the fun of slithering to the edge on your belly to look down the face of the mountain only to see the tops of helmets and extended arms of climbers coming up that way. Just thinking of that lifts me up.

Each trip leaves different memories, revelations and growth opportunities. Even when I thought "been there, done that" another lesson showed up. It's the same when I practice yoga. What keeps my practice interesting is my sense of curiosity and wonder. Both, about physical movement and the fluctuations of my mind.

Now even when I just look at my busy bird feeder on our iced over porch, I marvel with the same sense awe at the ability of bright red cardinals, dark-eyed juncos, and downy woodpeckers to persist despite the harshness of our subzero winter. 

In this season of change, weigh less, exercise more, eat healthier,  I decide that some things in my life need to stay. I want to stay - not in bed but - connected to the light inside of me and inside of you and live from a place of wonder, gratitude and amazement.

​namaste.