8-12-13

Attachment creates suffering. Oh boy does it! It’s easy to see where we go habitually. It’s simple to figure out even what the attachments are. It is very challenging to let go of them.

Yoga philosophy advises us to not get attached to anything, whether it’s pleasurable or painful, because it will change, like the weather, like the seasons. We could appreciate the sun on our skin and the next minute the clouds come in and there’s no sun. We can appreciate the sun when we had it, or we can lament that it is gone.

Yesterday I taught a yoga class at Virginia Mountain Vineyards. What a glorious day! It was less hot and humid. There was a breeze and the ever changing blue sky with clouds floating by. The vineyard was full of vines laden with grapes, different from our last yoga class there. I had an idea what I would teach, the yoga we would practice on a hot summer day outdoors. We were covered with a tent top, and the vineyard owner had wanted some deep stretching. I aim to please, especially since she was gracious enough to share her lovely space and incredible view with us!

And, I realized on the way out to the vineyard and winery, that I need not be attached to what postures I would teach. Actually this one is pretty easy for me, as I teach rather intuitively anyway. I like to have a plan but then tailor it to the needs of the moment. Sure ’nuff-someone needed shoulder work, so we got that in with the hip, hamstring and back stretching. So I wasn’t suffering from that.

Yet I did ask everyone to consider letting go of attachments while we were there. We can be attached to our expectations. As a beginner to yoga, we can be attached to not “looking foolish” in front of a friend. We can be attached to having yoga in the same spot or occupying the same space in the yoga room.

What I found was that I was attached to how a relationship used to be. I was caught up in the past and couldn’t move forward. I have a friend, and I’m finding the relationship between us has changed. Our paths do not cross as often, especially as often as I want. Our communication and therefore connection isn’t as frequent or as close. What I have found is that I was so longing for the friendship to be the way it used to be.  I was so attached to my expectation that I couldn’t see very clearly what was happening. When I was able to open my eyes, I realized we have each moved on to other friends, and actually, that we don’t really have similar interests in activities anymore. Maybe the other person changed or maybe I have, but my expectations had to shift because I was in pain. I was mourning the loss of the relationship, the loss of the friendship as I had once experienced it.

I had expectations about the friendship. I have expectations about how a yoga class will go. I have expectations and desires about how my day will proceed. As the song says, I can see clearly now. My attachment is gone. Well, maybe. Again, it’s one thing to recognize our suffering and find the root of it. It’s another to let go and find healing. I’m working on it. It’s always a struggle, until it’s not.

I look forward to when it’s not. Letting go of attachments is about letting go of how we think things should be, and opening ourselves up to how they are. We make the shift from illusion to reality. It’s a process.

Meanwhile, I invite you to look at your attachments, to the “habits” that create your suffering or do you some harm.

Namaste

 

 

August 1, 2013

Yoga practice… practice…practice

 Say it 3 times and it’s yours! Practice yoga for 3 weeks and it becomes a habit- a good habit!

Or, consider these ideas about practice.

When I questioned a student-new-to-me one night in yoga class if he’d practiced yoga before, he said he’d done yoga before but not practiced it! I thought Ah! Yes! He’s tried yoga and done it a few times, but not engaged in the ongoing investigation of himself through the practice of yoga. What a wise beginner to the yoga journey.

Some thoughts about practice…for students new to yoga they don’t want to look out of place. They want to look practiced! And so they might have a fear of practicing yoga, being the new kid on the block. So there’s a seeming contradiction, as we want to be practiced, yet we have to practice to get that way.

How often should one practice yoga? It seems 3 times a week would be great, as is recommended for other exercise. Every day for 30 minutes would be nice. I know a practitioner who practices every day but Sunday. I think everyone needs to find their niche, their way of being successful at this thing we practice.

We are all so glib about how we practice yoga. I think we are. Someone recently told me I didn’t need to worry because I practice yoga every day. I did practice that day. I had a good practice, where I went inward and my body slowly flowed without me thinking. I was able to meditate and sit in the early morning sun on the deck, overlooking the Smoky Mountains as they meet the Blue Ridge. But it’s not always that easy, or successful.

Here’s a dictionary definition of Practice: Habitual or customary performance. to perform or do habitually or usually: to practice a strict regimen. I don’t think this definition fits exactly because to me the word “habit” implies we just do it, like we drive to work the same way every day, out of habit. And yet that’s without thinking, without consciously choosing a way.

Here’s another definition: to perform or do repeatedly in order to acquire skill or proficiency: to practice the violin. Here’s the one! We practice yoga to become proficient at it! We practice to do it better, to be able to hold posture longer, to receive the benefits of strengthening muscles and stretching, balance and focus.

 Guru Pattabhi Jois had several quotes that he used over and over to answer questions about the yoga method he espoused. "Practice and all is coming" is one of his most famous quotes. This quote, though certainly flexible enough to answer any number of questions, applied to students who questioned the effectiveness of asana practice as a method to achieve enlightenment. It also encourages a long-term, consistent practice such as Ashtanga –about yoga.com

"You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal you to you.” - unknown

How can we practice yoga? By doing a little every day. By making it a habit. And yet a habit that is a conscious decision and a conscious performance.

Practice doesn’t mean simply on the mat. It doesn’t mean only the physical practice. Practice isn't always what you think it will be or even desire it to be. My practice one night…was letting go, letting go of what I had been holding on to, and changing the energy. I have had some run-ins with a neighbor. I’m not sure we’re on the same page. In this particular instance my tree cracked and fell down in her yard, just missing a vehicle and barely hitting the edge of the house. I called her to see if everyone was okay. She was not at home and heard the worry in my voice. I was right here, at the computer when I heard the crack and saw it right after it had fallen.

Well, neighbors were out and it was sad to me, that some neighbors were talking bad about others in our ‘hood. We were all without electricity due to trees fallen on the power lines at the corner, so there was a commonality among us. Yet there was some tension, and some words spoken, some of which spread toward me, like I was at fault for the tree falling, that I had been neglectful. I spoke with the insurance agent and felt reassured, and yet…I awakened at 4 AM one night. I woke up in fear, feeling very threatened by my neighbors. As I tried to calm myself and go back to sleep, I found that I needed to let go of the fear and let love in. In fact, I sent love to my neighbors, the ones I was feeling threatening vibes from. My practice became this, letting go of fear and sending out love. That was a new one for me at 4 AM!

From Rick Faulds, a Kripalu Yoga teacher and author of Kripalu Yoga: A Guide to Practice on and off the mat (I highly recommend this book!) new CD about Kripalu traditions, a student shared that discipline is freedom. Whoa! That’s a big one. Think of the times when you have wanted to practice your yoga and did not. Remember how you felt…imprisoned? Our yoga practice can be a way to set ourselves free. That’s a whole other topic. So for now…

I keep practicing being patient. I am getting more disciplined about it. I think I’m getting better at it, more proficient! My computer and email have had issues since early May. It’s been 2 months of dealing with these problems, finding a new computer person to work on my computer, and then a month ago, changing to a new website host, which created some new challenges. As it is still being worked through I sit in my chair, allowing the process to unfold in its time. Truthfully, I have a hard time when things don’t happen in a timely fashion, which for me, is….immediately. And so, practicing patience has helped me feel more calm about what is happening, or not happening, as the case may be. I feel less a prisoner of my own emotions.

Practice takes all forms. It can simply be getting out your yoga mat and thinking about postures. It can be setting the timer to sit and meditate. Mostly I think practice is actually doing it and not just thinking about it. It is an active thing, this practice. It’s a conscious decision to practice. Allow your practice to be conscious as well. Be awake. Be well!

I wish you best of luck on the mat and on the meditation pillow!

Namaste