Category Archives: YIOM

Teaching – So Sweet

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Yep, I looked JUST like this!

I taught my “final teach” today in yoga teacher training.  It’s hard to believe that we started the program at the beginning of October, because it seems like just a few weeks ago, and here we are wrapping up.  Even having taught a couple of practice classes, I was a nervous bunny going into the class.  I knew that I “knew” my plan, and I really didn’t want to look at my notes, but I worried that I would trip myself up, be unable to recover, and then … but, it did not go that way.

After arriving and setting up the music, there were already a couple of students (and friends) there, so I got to chat a little, which was great for some grounding.  Danielle even brought some pretty flowers to celebrate!  Time went by pretty quickly, more students arrived (I think we were missing four of the original 11, but two additional got to come, so there ended up being a total of 9), and it was time to get started.  The opening segment, with a brief Aesop’s fable, connection to aparigraha, and some pranayama went well.  My chant was a little off in melody, but the crowd was game, so that was fine.  And with an om, we were off!

When the moving started, it was really time to think “on my feet.” I found that some things took longer than in practice (i.e. the warm-up) and had to be reduced here and there, and other things took less time than I had thought.  I had my first big oops right off the bat when we got to our feet to start the flows.  It actually was a blessing in disguise, because once it happened I felt freed from thinking about getting it perfect, recovered in process to make things generally work, and then moved on.  At that point, I was able to just chill about whether I was doing “good” or “bad” and just teach, looking for adjustments that could be made, trying to keep a pacing that seemed to be working for the students, closing the curtains when the creeper was looking at us like fish in an aquarium, and being my usual slightly goofy self.

Class went by very quickly – of course, I wasn’t the one in forearm plank, so….   It seemed to be almost no time and savasana was coming up.  I felt a little teary at just how wonderful it was to be a part of the practice of such lovely people (and there was probably some plain old relief in there too).  When all was done, those fabulous Yogawood friends gave me a little round of applause.  It seemed like thank you wasn’t nearly enough to express how grateful I felt at these yogis having shared this 90 minutes with me.

Wow.  This is good stuff, eh?  And, I passed, so that was pretty sweet too.  ; )

Namaste,

L

Believe in the Process

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Image by CatDancing on Flickr

Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings.
~ Victor Hugo

Life is always going to throw you a few curve balls.  That’s the nature of being.  If you have a Type A leaning, and I do, you might find this a little difficult.  You might plan things to the Nth degree, attempting to calculate any possible difficulties and figure out how to deal with them – preparing in advance for any occurrence and getting all your ducks in a row.  And yet, at the end of the day, where the rubber meets the road (I think three metaphor cliches in a series might be all I can do), you can’t control how things unfold.  The world is populated with beings who take actions that ripple out and create changes that are unexpected in ways that are almost unimaginable.  In the end, you have to do your best and then trust the process.

Sometimes, this is easier than other times.  Those gut-clenching, nervous-energy-producing, cold-sweat-making events in life – those are a challenge.  They are a little bit different for everyone.  Many people would put public speaking in this category.  For others, it’s the job interview.  For some, it might be a cocktail party with the investors.  Maybe it’s meeting the in-laws-to-be for the first, or 40th, time.  It could be the big exam, the major race, or the opening night.  Regardless, all that can be done is to give your full effort – virya – to the process and then trust that how it unfolds is how it is meant to unfold – and remember that no effort is lost.

And now, I’m going to take my own advice, go run through my final teach a few more times, and then believe in the process.  It’s all I/we can do!

Namaste,

L

Oy! Mega Chitta Vritti Day

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From the art of Umut Kebabci

Yep, check out that linguistic mash-up.  I probably should have thrown a huevo frommage! in there just to cover more bases. It’s that kind of day.  In my particular case, I’m pretty sure it’s a combination of very little sleep, some large and small worries weighing on my mind, and too much to do.  And, did I mention that I haven’t slept much recently?  Yeah.  So, there is that.  But, we all have days like this – the days when the mind is a whirling dervish of thoughts, pleasant and unpleasant, often focused on the past or future.  How does this serve us?

It’s easy enough to think that chitta vritti is all bad, but is it?  Many philosophers argue that the fact that we, as humans, think about (almost constantly) the past and future is a big part of our humanity.  I’ve never been positive that I buy the argument that animals never think in that way, because I don’t have a dog brain and thus I’m just not sure about it.  But, regardless of whether it is a unique feature of humanness, it’s certainly a characteristic of the human experience.  So, we shouldn’t be so quick to assume it serves us in no way.

The constant fluctuations of the mind are, in part, what help us to plan for situations in our lives – planning that is required for success in many instances.  They are also what allows us to experience our rehearsal of past events, through which we develop our understandings of the world, the self, and the self’s place in the world.  These understandings allow us to function in the world, as it is understood and created culturally and socially, on an everyday basis.  Through communication with others, and then our processing of that communication, we develop understandings of “obdurate reality” that create the potential for pragmatic efforts in coordination with those around us.  If we are unable to reflect on and understand the lines of distinction between objects and beings in our social world, we might be extremely enlightened, but we would probably have a heck of a time holding down a job.

And yet, as we learn in yoga philosophy, part of the practice of yoga is chitta vritti nirodhah, the cessation or control of the fluctuations of the mind.  Yoga calls upon us to be present in the moment, experiencing the sensations of the body without attaching to them, letting go of the distinctions between self and other, encouraging our understanding of the divinity and peace that is always already there.  This requires a stilling of the thoughts about what is and what should be, what will be and what has been.

Thus, like everything else, we seek a balance.  The chitta vritti help us to be “in the world,” but we cannot allow them to overtake our ability to be “in the moment.”

Namaste,

L