It's only been a week and a few days but it seems like there has been quite a transition already: yoga has been part of almost every day and it's already evolved quite a bit from just the physical practice. I have been meditating every day, usually right after getting up in the morning. At first it has been very difficult for me to sit still and just concentrate on the breathing but then I figured out that I get more relaxed if I have done a few stretches before, so it's been easier. It's funny, I was talking to another student from my class today and she also said, the hardest part about doing the meditation practice in the morning is the fact that we are not supposed to check our emails, texts, facebook messages or whatever it may be before the meditation. Since I use my phone as an alarm, see that I have got emails in the morning but then I force myself to go to the bathroom, brush my teeth and do the meditation practice before actually reading the emails (not that it would be that exciting anyway, it's usually spam and ads, I only check my work mails after leaving the building in the morning). But isn't it interesting that this is the hardest piece for us? How addicted and dependent on our phones have we become? The best sign for that is that I tend to forget everything at home - even forgot to bring my computer to work once, but I have never managed to forget my phone - just because I am constantly on it and would probably notice just five minutes after leaving the house - five minutes, maximum. So yes, it's actually very good practice to first start to focus on yourself, do something good for yourself, the meditation and then worry about the rest of the world - not that that much ever happens on Facebook anyway...
Reading the Yoga sutras has also been quite enlightening to me - at first I was a little overwhelmed and thought it was getting too spiritual for me but by now - I am currently working my way through book 2 - I have to say, I enjoy them. I don't think I'll ever say that about the Bhagavat Ghita though - that just seems a little too dense for my liking but I'll need to start on that one too. The sutras are actually a practical guide to the yoga philosophy and contain so much wisdom, it's almost scary. An example that stuck with me today is the old story about the musk deer that has a spot on its forehead that secrets a scent and yet it keeps running around, smelling something and trying to figure out where this great smell comes from. To me that story is very illustrative of how we often act, chasing something we think, we need to possess or something we need to be, whether it's the next promotion or an expensive car but in fact what really matters is already within ourselves - we just need to find it. I have been thinking about this theme today and when I went to yoga practice in the evening, I actually realized that I have gotten stronger and I was able to do an arm balance that I never thought I'd be able to master. Ok, let's not say I mastered it - I somehow managed to do it for 3 seconds - but, hey, great progress from not being able to push myself up at all. I still don't quite know about certain poses such as headstand, handstand and forearm stand - I don't think I have enough core strength to pull myself up into either one of those but I do believe it is in me now and I just need to start believing more in my own capabilities.
With the whole charitable aspect of yoga, I am still not sure though- in our meditation call the teacher mentioned yesterday that we should develop an intention and meditate to that and this may well be a particular cause or person that needs our support. I guess similar to the praying that the catholic church prescribes, I'd say, wouldn't it be more helpful if you actually went up to the person or organization and offered up your support directly? I guess eventually it should lead to this but all too often it stops before getting there. Well, let's see where it takes me....
Ok, hope this doesn't come across as too spiritual. Namaste everyone!
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