Stillness and silence remain in the midst of all this activity and sound.
Yoga and meditation draw us into the former while in midst of the latter.
Yoga and meditation, rather than being retreat from life, are ways of connecting all the more deeply with it, ways of becoming more awake and alive with it!
A standard teaching in yoga is to practice ahimsa, being non-harming–care with oneself, others, and nature to do no harm….
Care with thought, words, and actions to do no harm,
Out of love and respect for life to try to do no harm to it.
It’s a practice…
Ahimsa, being full of care.
Ahimsa, honor life!
Like the nose on our face, we have repeated stories that move both consciously and unconsciously through our mind spinning over and over again like a hamster on a wheel.
These stories that constitute our world view usually serve us well and are “helpful” and not a “problem.”
However at times as we practice yoga and meditation, some of these stories or fragments of them may be expunged or extricated.
Like a splinter being pushed out from behind, the expansion of yogic energy, light, and joy may literally push out that which is limiting its expansion, that which occludes our more direct experience of the incredible lightness of being.
Sweet silence is priceless.
Tell that to the rich man.
Sweet silence is peaceful.
Tell that to the constant worrier.
Sweet silence smiles and is happy.
Tell that to the angry woman.
Sweet silence is relaxing and refreshing.
Tell that to the workaholic.
The meditator and yogi know the value of sweet silence.
So can you!…
There are all kinds of things in life we are not comfortable with, we seek to avoid, not pay attention to.
Meditation can help us pay attention to these “discomforts,” to work with them and navigate with their “information,” to work with them rather than against them.
Stillness and silence are both the field from and the witness of all activity of the mind arising and subsiding.
In a plane, you pass through the clouds and the weather to reach the still and all-expansive blue sky.
In meditation and yoga, we have to pass through all of the activity of the mind to reach stillness and silence.
Some days are much clearer than others.
Exercise yoga is the buzz these days.
A stronger more flexible body certainly contributes to a happier life.
But yoga is so much more!
At its heart is a journey to align with that which uplifts you and those around you.
It is a path consisting of a wealth of practices–poses/asanas, breath work/pranayama, meditation, chanting…–all of which can do their part to align us.
Though possibly a pleasant by-product of our practice, the real prize in yoga is so much more than good abs or being able to do a headstand.
Just like everyone, I need to remind myself to keep my eyes, and heart, on the prize!
Like an unrelenting alcoholic clinging desperately to its bottle, the ego clutches to your attention to feed its insatiable desire for attention and power.
Through meditation and yoga, the ego’s maniacal grasp on our mind and attention may lessen as we come to know the truly amazing, wondrous, and blissful life force that flows through us and all of creation.
Humbled and in awe, the ego comes to know, respect, love, and serve this true greatness and begins to align and identify more and more with that.
In yoga and meditation, we can learn about faith from the breath and the silence that unequivocally and steadfastly accept and support us and everything about us, even those spaces of physical and emotional discomfort.
In the the show To Tell The Truth, there was always a line-up of imposters with only one person telling the truth.
In the seemingly endless line-up of yogas–Vinyasa, Hatha, Restorative, Yin, Ashtanga, Anusara, Iyengar, Bikram… Sivananda, Kundalini, Jivanmukti… and Buti Yoga, Nude Yoga… even Goat Yoga–are there any imposters?
What resonates with you?
You will know the “real” yoga for you by your inner compass–that which draws you into a deeper happiness based on great love and respect, that which reveals to you unfettered bliss.
There can be no denying this is real!*
I personally practice a mix of styles of yoga that includes Pantanjali’s 8-limbs of yoga.
The Every Day Yogi 