The Necessity of Mental Alignment

Tittibasana at Shakti House

Tittibasana at Shakti House

Lately, I have been working on handstand (and so impressed with my friend Greg Jamiel’s  daily progress). I have never been an inversion queen – even as a young child I was plagued with the fear of going upside down. Now as an adult, I recognize the validity of my fright and have decided to go heels-over-head anyway…and attempting to do so with a childlike abandonment. On a recent vacation, a dear friend told me that her secret to handstand was her drishti, her focus.  Ah, drishti. I had been concentrating on my arm bones, my serratus anterior, my core, my legs – everything but my mental concentration.

In so much of the yoga we do, there is a focus on the physical alignment. And I agree with this – without physical alignment our energy does not flow, we get hurt, and, when misaligned, often there is no room to breathe. The majority of yoga classes are sequenced to open the body into a specific, or peak, posture with a series of postures with a similar anatomical focus. We are guided through our class concentrating on our breath and how our bodies are positioned. We need the physical alignment but I feel the mental alignment is often overlooked. We are instructed to breathe, we are asked to find a focus point, we are told there is a mind/body/spirit connection but rarely do we, as students and/or teachers, bring conscious attention to the mental alignment necessary for each posture; Each of us can get bogged down with our physical limitations. Let’s be honest, downward facing dog and warrior II can be hard for the mind to settle into.

Mental alignment is building up our cerebral focus so that we have the ability to focus on a simple object or thought with ease so we are not distracted by the outside world or our inside turmoils. Think about when you are in bakasana (crow pose) – you can get your whole body into the posture but without the mental drishti, you will fall out of the pose or worse – not breathe. Yet, when your mind is still you move into the posture and however long you are in the posture, there is ease and security in the pose. There is a balance between your outer and inner worlds.  I have heard, as I am sure you have too, that the physical yoga practice is to prepare our minds and bodies for meditation. In the physical practice we are not only strengthening the body to sit; we are strengthening our own mental discipline to sit. Each posture is to move us towards that place of stillness. warrior 3

We are doing the postures ultimately for meditation, concentration, and focus. The physical practice is not about doing the hardest, most advanced, way-out-there posture but rather to be able to hold a posture with ease and contentment: to be present and well in each posture. The question is: can you maintain a posture as the pose gets harder? The more mental focus you have (of course, with bodily alignment) the longer you will stay in the pose with ease. As each of us knows, once we begin to think about how great we are, worry about tipping over, or check out that cutie to our left, we will fall.

So, next time you are in class – embrace the long holds and meditate in your flow…find your still, soft gaze as your body changes shape and you move steadily with an inhale and an exhale. Recognize that your mind and body are getting stronger so you can smile with the world, hold your dreams, and move with a kind and steady intention. That, to me, is joy and enlightenment. And that is Yoga.

 

Life’s Most Daring Adventure: Contentment

The  saying “the grass is always greener on the other side” sums up humankind’s tendency to grasp the external for pleasure, happiness, and fulfillment. Many of us spend our entire lives looking outside of ourselves to find inner peace. As we do this, we  see how other people’s lives and circumstances seem to look better than our own lives.  As a consequence, we begin to believe that happiness is about acquiring more: bigger houses, more clothes, fancier shoes, busier social lives. Yet, this insatiable quest to buy or acquire the elusive happiness only leads us to a place of discontent.

The second niyama (an attitude we hold toward ourselves) is Santosha or contentment. Santosha is to find happiness and peace in your present life and not to keep searching for something more, something external, to gain security, joy, and contentment.  Life is not about comparing yourself to your friend, your neighbor, or an ideal society declares your life should look.  Life is rich in experiences to aid you on your inward journey of fulfillment…and your fulfillment, your contentment, is the greatest contribution you can give to the world. When you live from a place of contentment, you attract beneficence to you, and find an ease in which to move through the world.

We are often told that life is not a destination but a journey. Santosha wants to be your companion on your life journey. Santosha does not mean that you are always happy with how things because, honestly, life can sometimes suck. But santosha asks that you embrace that time, realizing each moment will change and your perspective, your attitude will make all the difference in handling difficult circumstances. We are not to live looking for happiness but instead to recognize the gifts of the moment and find contentment within. When we spend our days yearning for something else – a different lover, to be single, to be rich, have more clothes, then we are unhappy. We are unhappy because we have come to believe that we need these things to have a sense of worth and happiness.

If you are not content with as aspect of your life – CHANGE IT. Seriously. Listen to your excuses why you cannot be happy. Listen to how many times you say “but,” “should,” or “would” when focusing on your ideal life.  Personally, I would like to write more but… I can come up with a thousand excuses why I do not write – and all of them are legitimate and hold weight. But the ultimate truth is I am too lazy and too afraid to change my habits to start doing what I really want. My challenge is to dig deep, make small changes to start writing. And those small changes lead me to santosha. Even as I write this I feel a sense of calmness and peace. I am not comparing myself to someone else, I am not berating myself, I am living my life as I want to live.

What in your life is not fulfilling you? What excuses are you making? What are your desires? Is anything keeping you from truly enjoying the present life you are in, or are you too busy making excuses about how you don’t have time? Do you tell yourself you are too busy with the kids, school or are broke? Will there ever be a good time? Right now is the only time you have and if you aren’t truly content, if you aren’t truly happy, it is time to sit with yourself and find out what it is you need from you. Being joyful, being happy, is a state of being, a perspective of the world. Alter yours to be filled with light and love and bestow all that wonderfulness and everyone around you. You are a magnificent being, accept your greatness, smile and shine.

I Define Myself…

PhoenixRising

I have been reading this declaration in my classes and people seem to really enjoy it. I discovered it on the Wild Woman Sisterhood site on Facebook. The author is unknown.

I do not define myself by how many roadblocks have appeared in my path;
I define myself by the courage I have found to forge new roads.

I do not define myself by how many disappointments I have faced;
I define myself by the forgiveness and faith I have found to begin again.

Read More…