Yin-Yang-Yoga

Tag: mindfulness

  • Meditation

    In meeting with several teachers and associates today, the topic of Meditation came up.

    Recently, Meditation has also been mentioned more often on SocialMedia and in other arenas of dialogue. Of course, this includes the voice of non-meditators, some of whom feel a sense of peer-pressure (if not the pressure of pure smugness and superiority) from the pro-Meditation crowd.

    Today’s conversations helped me appreciate the diverse possible approaches to Meditation. Certain systems of Meditation exist with specific instructions and time-tested methods. Some traditions and lineages of Yoga are examples of this, though Modernity has also spurred a large blurring of lines and borders between different traditions.

    In any case, if we were to avoid asking the adherents or advocates of a particular system or brand of Meditation, we would find that Meditation itself can be practiced and applied (or at the very least, conceived of) in many ways.

    There are Buddhist perspectives that suggest manual labor to be among the best of Meditations.

    Many Yoga classes invite us to use Savasana as a Meditation.

    TaiChi CHuan is often marketed as a “moving meditation”.

    These are all active attempts or efforts at Meditation;

    what of the inadvertent or unassuming Meditations?

    Riding a bicycle down a smooth road on a sunny day. Fishing a lazy stream in the late afternoon. Lounging, legs-up, on the sofa as gentle breezes whisper in the branches outside the window.

    Meditation might be more properly thought of as an Experience.

    Any Experience during which we are wholly (or transcendentally, to look at it from the other side of the coin) engaged, fully attuned, whether by way of keen mental-acuity, or that broader body-based proprioceptive perspective, being truly In-The-Moment is the bottom-line of Meditation.

    Surely an exception to the Rule might exist, but I believe Everybody pursues Meditation, whether they realize it or not.

    A Runner’s High. The first bite of a sumptuous meal. A job well-done.

    Meditation, in it’s truest form, is something that happens without our recognition more often than not.

    See if you can catch yourself meditating from time to time. The people who claim to not want anything to do with Meditation might find that they already DO meditate, and perhaps more often than many people who have bumper-stickers declaring their Practice.

    Meditation as a Practice in and of itself is certainly not Everybody’s cup of tea.

    Meditation as a general category of States-of-Being, however, is something inherent to the Human condition. It is simply a part of our Natural Experience.

  • Nurture Your Nature

    This is the principle I strive to convey in the class setting. 

    The Listening skill, being able to understand the Language of the Body, is the only way we can stay up to date with what we need in our Practice.

    The changing factors of our World impact us all in different ways. A hot summer day is the right time to play; fun in the sun, for some of us. Some of us find that a hot day is an indoor-holiday, or sends us looking for shade!

    The literal fact of the “Matter” of each individual Body suggests certain responses to various stimuli.

    Heat can feel refreshing and energizing to some, and oppressive and exhausting to others. 

    Likewise, it is, with the many manifestations of Asana Yoga. Let each session on the mat reflect what your Body is needing in that moment. 

    Cherry-pick the nine postures you truly need and use them to the fullest. Take Time to hone and stregnthen your Nature, but be sure to grow with Balance and Grace. 

    Take the Time to reveal your limits to yourself. Know where the line is without attatchment to the implications of what that means. It means nothing until you give it meaning. 

    If a pose happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t. This instance has no bearing on tomorrow’s attempt until you define that influence. 

    Try it once more quick just in case, then try again tomorrow. Modify the pose and take a stepping-stone toward the pose if you want to make it happen.

    Or let go of the notion and work on what you do want to make happen. 

    Choice is there.

    Knowing your Doshas can help support your efforts on the mat. Knowing your unique constitution, or Prakrti, brings valuable depth to your Practice.

  • What Happens Off The Mat?

    Some of us were discussing a number of these ideas today. Taking our Practice “off the mat” is not mere lip-service. It is, indeed, the proper aim of any work that happens on the mat. When we encounter Stress, or difficult People or Situations, it is important to remember that these are all opportunities to test our Practice.

  • On Progress

    Embarking on a TaiChi or Yoga journey often seems like stepping onto a linear path, but in my own experience this has proven to not be the case.

    Something about the Western Mind, in particular, insists on this sense of linear progression.

    Always forward, upward, onward…

    Lately, it has occurred to me that the more Time I spend on the Journey, the less linear it becomes. To speak in linear terms, there is a lot of backward, downward, sideways, and cyclical.

    We tend to like Asana practice and Forms practice because they give us the tangible and concrete sense of improvement, achievement, and progress that makes sense to the Mind.

    Although growth in these aspects has plenty of value, it is simply incomplete, if we are truly engaging with Yoga or TaiChi. We might accomplish a great amount, but it isn’t whole.

    If our Practice were about Color, progressing in Asana or Forms would be like trying to get really good at Red; we could be the Reddest Red around, but we have been offered an entire rainbow!

    This is not to suggest that practicing only the physical aspects of Yoga or TaiChi is bad. Progress in these areas is absolutely valid and measurable, which is precisely why it is, in fact, good. To leave Asana or Forms training out of the picture would be equally problematic.

    But it’s easy to get lost in that linear-mindset. Our Type-A neuroses, our pathological Desire can easily creep in and undermine the Internal work which occurs often just outside of our field of awareness.

    It has been my impression lately that the expansion of that awareness is a more useful measure of progress. The longer we keep at it, and the deeper our Practice becomes, the more we realize how much mountain there actually is to climb and how deep the Rabbit-Hole really goes.

    Our perspective begins to take in more and more of the picture, and we zoom out rather than zoom in. It’s not about climbing the mountain at all. Just look at it!

    Linear progress suggests that we get to leave behind, or graduate from what we’ve learned. Progress in Practice is expansive. We don’t leave anything behind. We assimilate the old and the new simultaneously, perpetually, and wholly, and they always inform each other.

    We come to know the “basics” in an intimate manner as we are able to apply them across a broader and ever-broadening spectrum. Progress spreads outward, and we can grow in our Practice because we are always still embracing step-one.

    Find the Center, keep the Center. The TrueSelf resides there!

  • If You’re Bored, You’re Boring

    One of the best things about both Tai Chi and Yoga is that no matter how long you Practice, no matter how skillful you are with the postures or movements or principles, you never truly outgrow the Basics.

    This is precisely what attracted me to these disciplines.

    There is no Finish Line.

    My Tai Chi practice as of late has been simplified to just the first few moves of the Sun 41 set. The more attention we pay to the Internal aspects, the less need we find for dozens of postures.

    This is not a knock on things like Sirsasana (Headstand) or lightly flowing through a Tai Chi set.

    The same attention to detail, the mindfulness and Presence, can be exercised in these ways too. It’s just that our achievement-oriented Minds often believe that progress is only measured by accomplishing a more difficult posture or learning the next sequence of forms.

    I am fond of suggesting that if you’re bored, then you’re boring.

    If you’ve run out of things to discover in Tadasana or the commencement form in Tai Chi, then you’ve probably actually stopped paying enough attention.

    I’m not sure if it’s Restlessness or Entitlement-Culture, but many of us, myself included, are so busy striving and believing that we are ready for The Next Big Thing that we miss the Beauty of more simple achievements.

  • Yoga is a non-Doing

    What is Yoga?

    The very Existence of the Mind and Body is a manifestation of Yoga.

    Before there was Jon Doe, there was Yoga.

    What is happening just below the surface of your Awareness? What do you see when you peek beneath your sense of “I” or “Me”? Yoga is what we find there. The True Self (Atman) is this Yoga. You Are It.

    Practice.

    The Eight-Limbed Path of Yoga helps us to See this Yoga.

    As we become more skillful at achieving Stillness, as we develop the skill of non-Doing, we can more clearly See this Yoga both on and off the mat.

    Relax is an Active.

    Relax does not mean turn off your Body. Most People do not want that!

    Relax means to not strain. Continue to do whatever you intend to do, but don’t create fake work. If Work is required, we do it, but we keep it in perspective. If you hope to do a handstand, hard work may be required, but there is no need to rush or run yourself ragged. Do a little bit Today, and try again tomorrow too.

    and Remember, even at Rest, there is much going on. The Body is always working. In Yoga Practice we are learning to let the Body do its work, and to help it run efficiently throughout all of our various activities.

  • Remember

    There is no standard.

    Do as much as you can.

    Do as much as you want.

    Do as much as feels right in that Moment.

    Even the most acrobatic yogi on Earth may just lay on the mat some days.

    Have goals, but let go of Expectations. We come to the mat to take the small steps. The giant leaps are actually little surprises that often show up when we least expect them.

    If a certain posture or physical achievement is your goal, Practice with all due diligence.

    If your goals are not so physically inclined, Practice with no less Intention, but know that, of course, your work may look a little different than the Athlete or Dancer.

    Our Practice is inherently unique based on our own objectives and experiences, but what we all share when we roll out the mat is Being, Here, Now, with The Breath.

  • Technology Loop

    Ever get stuck in a so-called (as shown on Portlandia) “Technology-Loop”?

    Compulsively switching back and forth to different devices and apps and other tiny distractions. These often very tiny tasks, by virtue of being endless, keep us so very busy.

    I myself had just moments ago turned off my smartphone to dive into a Digital-Detox and immediately realized I wanted to play the drums to some music and the phone was powered on again, not more than a minute into the endeavor.

    But, true to the Technology-Loop, I now find mySelf Here on this site; though I am hopeful that in just a moment I will be rocking out.
    After I read this tweet.
    Uffda.

    Technology isn’t Bad.
    Just use it wisely.
    be Mindful.