Tag Archives: Yoga

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

This is the Body I Have

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It’s so easy to engage in body criticism, body shame, and body sadness.  Social scientific research, media reports, and everyday experience suggest that many of us engage in daily mental accusations against our own bodies.  This is  understandable, and as someone with a history of eating disorder, it’s certainly something I can relate to.  But, from a pragmatic perspective or a yogic perspective, such self-negation doesn’t do much that is good for us.  We can use constructive analysis of the body to help us focus our health efforts, but non-constructive negative self-talk only clutters our minds with more vrtti, places our focus on the physical over the emotional or spiritual, emphasizes the division between self and other, etc.  Yet, coming up with some positive things to say about and to the self isn’t always easy.  In this post, I present to you some examples of honest but positive affirmations related to the body that can become a part of the ongoing self-talk we all engage in.  Not every affirmation works for every person, as we all have different bodies, but we can all find positive things to say about the body.

My body is so miraculous.  It’s a cybernetic (self-correcting) system in action!

24 hours a day, I breathe and I don’t even have to think about how to make that happen.  That’s amazing.

I love that I can experience the taste of sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy food on my tongue.  Yay for my tastebuds!

I’m so grateful that I can get from place to place with my own two feet (or one foot or hands – whatever you use for locomotion).

This body I’m in allows me to hug, touch, kiss, hold hands with those that I care for and that’s a fabulous thing.

It’s so wonderful to be able to see, and hear all of the beauty in this world.

I’m so pleased for a digestive system that allows me to enjoy food that sustains me.  My gut rocks!

My eyes (lips, toes, knees) are so pretty.

Oranges, violets, and vanilla (or chocolate, roses, and beer?) smell so fabulous to me.  I love having a nose.

It feels amazing to run my toes or fingers through sand and water. I’m so happy for fingers and toes!

When I stretch, I feel like I’m opening myself up to the world.  That is so nice!

My skin is such a pretty shade.

I’m grateful for this body that allows me to interact online with others who love the things I do.

My body is one hundred percent unique!

Some of this may be a little too corny for you, but it’s really no more corny than the time we spend thinking “My butt is too big,” “I can’t do a backbend like Jill,”  “I wish I could run a marathon,”  “Why isn’t my hair curly?”  Why do we say things like this to ourselves when we would never ever think they are ok to say to someone else?  Treat yourself as lovingly as you would a child in your care.  What would you be willing to say to him/her about his/her body?

Tell yourself 3 good things about your body right now.  Do it again tomorrow and the day after.  Eventually, maybe you’ll believe it even if you don’t right now.  Eventually, maybe it will crowd out some of the negative self talk.

Namaste,

L