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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY The Yoga of Connection |
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Week 46: Homework Just as many of us are nearing the end of this year-long class, others have just begun it (welcome the five new members of this online community). So I wanted to offer a homework assignment this week that is suitable for the beginning or end of a journey. For the last weeks of 2006, I would like the weekly emails to include your responses to the questions I'll be posing over the next two weeks. To start off this, two questions: 1) What does it mean for you to feel "connected"? 2) When was the last time you felt this--what was the context, what was your attitude, who was with you, what were you doing, and where was your attention? In other words, what conditions created this experience? 3) What do you think is the greatest obstacle to your experiencing this state of connection? I hope you will email me your thoughts so that I can send out a compilation. Don't worry about writing "good" responses. In my experience it's the writers who think they have nothing insightful to say who say the most. Now, onto the second part of your homework. I have a idea for you to consider, through observation of you own yoga practice. The idea is this: Many of the formal aspects of yoga practice exist to "satisfy" the qualities of your mind that usually keep you from experiencing connection in the present moment. The precision of alignment satisfies the part of our mind that is constantly looking for the one right way. The repetition of movements satisfies the part of our mind that is constantly seeking security and predictability. The physical effort involved in a practice satisfies the part of our mind that believes we must struggle to achieve. The endless sequence of increasingly challenging poses satisfies the part of our mind that believes there is a goal. The adoption of a "Yogi" or "Yogini" identity through formal symbols (i.e., buying things and wearing things that make us feel like part of the yoga tribe) can satisfy the part of our mind that believes we are stuck in the "wrong" world, and that another world (or culture, or group, or identity) can save us from suffering. At first, we tend to cling to these aspects of our yoga practice the way we cling to these qualities of mind. But through the pursuit of these aspects, their emptiness is revealed. Once they are emptied, we can fill them back up with the positive aspect of these qualities: precision becomes skillful action; repetition allows for devotion; physical effort becomes surrender; challenging poses become a way to practice patience and acceptance. The thing is, we all pass through the stage of pursuit and clinging before we see the emptiness. It can be difficult to see where we are still clinging, although the type of yoga practice you are drawn to can reveal this. When we see the emptiness, we can fill any "style" of yoga practice with the positive aspects of these qualities. That is why we find inspiring and authentic teachers in every tradition, every style, no matter how contradictory the formal trappings of the practice appear. Reflect on this, as you practice this week. Look for vessels that can be emptied, so that the practices are neutral. Take care, Kelly Share your reflections at http://www.openmindbody.com/discuss Explore the class archives and audio files at http://www.openmindbody.com/2006emailclass/archive.htm For both sites, use the Login: yoga and the Password: connect
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