Dear Friends,
I apologize for the lengthy silence on line . . . I have been overwhelmed with things in both my professional and personal life that required my attention, and limited my time to sit at a computer and write. Thank you for both your patience, and your willingness to read (indeed, I love to sit, think, and write).
First off, Sandy and I have booked a weekend for our next retreat for May 2013 - I know it's a while off, and we couldn't find anything of quality sooner, but I wanted to let you know so if it was a thought for you to attend our next retreat, it's May 24-26 - that is the weekend after Victoria Day in case you were concerned. It is still going to be hosted at Shanti B & B which is a fantastic facility to unwind, relax, and practice.
Speaking of practice . . . The Asana is the thing! Asana is the third limb of the 8-limbed practice, but very important because it is what initially draws people to the practice. The curiosity to sustain the practice usually comes quickly after someone's first or second practice. There is good reason for the curiosity because there is more than just physical work that is happening. When people often come to a class, they think "I want to float like that with my leg behind my head, and do headstands/handstands, etc . . . " This is normal - it is what we can see. It is a gross manifestation of what the practice can help people achieve, but the transformation that occurs with the discovery of 'Self' is much more profound. The asana is the gross form of meditation. What makes Ashtanga so profound is the set sequence with emphasis on breath, bandhas, and dristi. The constant repetition is there for the mind to sharpen its focus, and then eventually drop into a meditative state. With other 'improvised' forms of yoga in the West, the meditative aspect is lost as the mind is in a state of anticipation rather than concentration. This is another reason that Ashtanga has made a massive impression on me and the way I practice.
Asana also helps you to explore your relationship with the universe by exploring your very first relationship - with yourself. If someone has aggressive tendencies, they will be aggressive in their practice and eventually injure themselves by pushing their body too far (and it is normal for people to have this experience in their practice - I certainly have). Similarly, if they are aggressive in relationships with other people or in business, or the environment, they will injure that particular relationship (personal, business, environmental). If someone has passive tendencies, they will be passive in their practice and won't grow - this will permeate into other relationships and environments. It is normal to confront all of our humanity in our practice - our insecurity ("is everyone seeing how inflexible/weak I am"), anger ("Dammit, why can't I get this stupid pose?"), ego ("everybody look and see how good I look in this pose - look at my fabulous body in the mirror!") - and one of the keys to growth in the physical practice is to keep these issues in check, or be aware of them when then arise so that you can sustain your focus and concentration of just 'being' in a particular pose. 'Being in the pose' means - sound the ujjayi breath with calmness, hold the bandhas and keep the breath in the rib cage, and keep the eyes on the dristi - to hold all of those throughout the sequence sharpens the focus of the mind and lessens the room for insecurities, ego, etc . . . Our human weaknesses will eventually create injuries in the body - this is not a sin - it's a reminder to work on concentrating and focussing on purity. It's important to challenge ourselves in the physicality of the asana to learn to be conscious of how we challenge ourselves - being responsible for the amount we push ourselves, and the amount that we hold back .
As practice develops, the focus starts to shift and move deeper. If the focus is only on the physical, then there is an imbalance in the practice. The internal world of Bandhas, prana, ujjayi breathing, and dristi help us remain present, controlling our senses, and stilling the mind. If the attention is only on the physicality of the practice, then the ego is amplified, and serious injury along with personal frustration is likely to abound. For me, surrendering my personal preferences for ego-boosting poses has been a huge challenge, but this came from practising Ashtanga as purely as possible - surrendering to the guru of the practice - I am not in charge, I am not the teacher - I am the student surrendering to this invisible intelligence that is only made manifest when practising asanas as purely as possible.
Speaking of 'purification,' the purifying aspects of the asanas not only work to intensify the body's digestive and immune systems, but also purify the idea of the 'Self'. When we "shuffle off this mortal coil", what is left of us? We are cultivating that part of us that is not the body, but we use the body and breath as the vehicles to shift awareness to the Self and away from the Ego. The Self and Ego are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Working to perfect an asana for the sake of having a sexy-looking practice is opposite of working to perfect an asana for the sake of being in the purest state of being as possible.
Eka Pada Shirsasana (that's my teacher David Robson by the way)
The asana is the opportunity to practice holding a state of conciousness. It's a microcosm of how concious we are of everything that we do. I still find myself doing unconscious superfluities in my practice - it's normal to catch these regularly. Does the depth of the pose a reflection of the depth of Self-knowledge? If so, then circus performers would have all of us beat. It's not about how much you can contort your body. For example, a person who can't bind in a Marichyasana C twist can be much closer to Self awareness than someone who can complete the 4th series. If the person in the unbound Marishyasana pose is 'being' and keeping the ego at bay, they are more likely to have a deeper experience than someone with ripped abs, in eka-pada shirsasana who is holding the pose a bit longer to impress the girl 2 mats away. There's nothing wrong with holding a physically complex pose, it's the state of the mind in the body that matters - where is the Ego, and where is the Self.
How do we achieve this heightened sense of Self? I have to quote the Guru to answer this - "you take ujjayi breathing, bandhas, and dristi, and all is coming." All does not mean you will acheive every asana in the world (sorry to disappoint) - it refers to the deeper understanding of the Self - that which is not the body, but again, the body and the asana are the tools to bring us into the meditative state to experience glimpses of the Self.
I hope this email has brought some more insight on what you practice and how you practice it. Until the next email, I wish you much peace, love, and blessings this long weekend.
Mark
No comments:
Post a Comment