Hi There,
For those of you who are interested, here is a link to the poem I read from in class on Monday. Read it slowly, take it to heart.
http://elenabrower.com/listen-closely/gathering
How much energy is spent resisting?
If you ask me, more than I'd like. I can see the effects of resisting so clearly with my son. His whole body becomes rigid, immobile, heated - tears stream and face contorts. I see this also on the faces of new yogis and seasoned yogis alike - I see it on my own face. It happens quickly - an escalation of pressure. Either resistance continues and the torque increases, or there is a break - a surrender, one that is willing or one that is not - the end place is the same, the energy, very different.
In the case of my son, I can teach him to breathe in the moment. Children, as mobile and quick changing as they are can shift from total resistance to happy and clear in a moment. As a parent this is satisfying to witness.
As a teacher, part of me wants to wrap my mama arms around the strugglers and resisters and say, “It’s ok, you can let go.” But, my job as a teacher is to shine the light on where to look, but not what to find. My job is to reveal these stuck places, areas of resistance and ask, invite and encourage a letting go that happens when one is ready.
In my own practice, when I shift from resistance to letting go, I feel relief, a flow of energy that was previously blocked, and I find something that was not there before, freedom. The energy I spent resisting is returned to me. I receive nourishment, softness, peace, calm and renewed spaciousness. When I make the conscious choice to willingly let go, I am rewarded with a pathway towards joy.
May we regard resistance as an invitation to surrender. May misspent energy be returned to us and may we flow in freedom, clarity and joy. May we have the courage to surrender to what is now, to what is true.
Hi there,
I just put up two new pages!
The first is Banyan Botanicals - I get all my self-care oils, etc. here. I love this company! I am also a new affiliate, which I am really excited about and proud to be a part of.
The second is Recommendations - links to companies I love and small local Oshkosh businesses I support because they are awesome.
Take a look as you'd like.
With Love,
Kat
If you missed the Fall Cleanse LIVE, you can now get the a digital download! Use it whenever you want - the option to email me whenever (seriously) will also be available with the digital download. Win Win.
There are several essential elements to the practice of asana noted in the Yoga Sutras. What is surprising is that there are only 3 of 196 sutras dedicated to asana.
Asana is perfect firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence and benevolence of spirit.
sthira sukham asanam 2.46
sthira firm, relaxed, steady, steadfast, lasting
sukham happiness, delight
asanam posture
So when we practice, we are working towards, we are practicing being, firm, steady, stable both physically and mentally. We are also practicing being kind. The more we practice, the more we are able to access a stability, a clarity, an open channel of goodwill, kindness, and generosity. The more we practice finding stillness with in the poses, the clearer this channel of benevolence flows.
Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.
beingprayatna shaithilya ananta samapattibhyam 2.47
prayanta perservering effort, continued exertion, endeavour
saithilya relaxation
ananta endless, boundless, eternal, infinite
samapattibhyam contempletion, conclusion, returning to Source
We practice to connect to something, call it the Infinite, The Field, The Source, God Almighty, that is bigger then ourselves, beyond our capacity to truly grasp. In recognizing that we are part of this energy, we can then begin to surrender into it, relax and be held by it. We can then begin to recognize the connection that we share and let go of control and truly begin to trust.
From then on, the practitioner (the sadhaka – one you does sadhana or practice) is undisturbed by dualities
tatah dvandva anabhighata 2.48
tatah from that, then
dvandvah dualities, opposities
anabhighatah cessation of disturbance
As we practice and find “perfection” or mastery in a pose, we then begin to find a space between opposites thats broad and vast. As Miles Davis says, “I look for the notes not to play”, as yogis we are looking for spaces between the sensations, the feelings, the thoughts, the actions. Once we “achieve” that – perhaps its a split second, perhaps its several minutes of uninterrupted bliss, we can rest, abide in calm, be absorbed, find peace. And it is here, were we can feel or find a sense of freedom that flows unhindered, a peace that is undisturbed by the fluctuations and changes we encounter in our daily lives. We experience a non-dual way of being.
Asana postures are meant to be still and comfortable. Mastery or perfection of a pose occurs when there is effortlessness. From this effortless we experience a state of flow. We don’t simply float on a sea of bliss, we are fully engaged, yet fully relaxed.
Sutras and Sutra definitions are from Light on the Yoga Sutras, BKS Iyengar