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Embodied Health
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Beginner's Mind
A recent horoscope reminded me that the best attitude I could possibly carry over the next several weeks is beginner's mind. Act as if it's all brand new. Try to acknowledge and yet release judgement before it sets in and hardens the awakening spirit within.
(I'm a Leo, by the way. My birthday is coming up!)
That mindset is so easy to have in a brand-new situation, yet feels incredibly difficult when faced with experiences I have had multiple, if not hundreds or even thousands of times. For instance, I rarely experience wonder any longer at the act of brushing my teeth or at my ability to get dressed. I am certain that when I first learned how to put clothing on my body I was awestruck!
I have been an avid practitioner of yoga for 17 years, and have now taught for over five. In many classes I teach, there is someone in the room who has never stepped foot onto a yoga mat.
Simply remembering what it was like for me the first time I practiced yoga is not enough...partly because that was such a long time ago! I am challenged over and over by the presence of a beginner student to provide effective navigation through all of the skills yoga teaches in each lesson. I have become immensely grateful for this challenge.
Focusing on these skills has been the clearest way for me to retain a sense of beginner's mind.
One primary difference between classes I teach and classes at a gym or a chain such as Core Power Yoga is the focus on the component skills of a pose. I teach students how to notice the fullness of a pose on their inhales, and how to release deeper into the pose or relieve themselves of struggle on the exhale. I teach skills such as keeping the pelvic position in the forefront of a student's awareness during major hip openers such as Pyramid, Triangle, Pigeon, Half Moon, and Forward Folds. I teach skills such as observing the effects of internal or external rotation of a shoulder or hip joint during poses.
Another focus that sets my classes apart is a focus on yoga ethics and philosophy. The word Ashtanga is often associated with a powerful, core-focused form of yoga created by the late Sri K. Patthabi Jois. However, Astanga (pronounced the same) is the Sanskrit word used to describe the eight limbs of yoga:
1. Yama- ethical conduct that guide how we treat the world around us.
2. Niyama- ethical conduct and moral restraints that guide how we treat ourselves.
3. Asana- yoga poses (this is most often the only element of yoga taught in many classes)
4. Pranayama- breath practices (this is taught occasionally in classes)
5. Pratyahara- withdrawl of the senses (this leads to concentration and meditation)
6. Dharana- concentration
7. Dhyana- meditation (this is different from concentration and is a state that arises spontaneously- without effort)
8. Samadhi- bliss and union experienced on all layers of being. This state can arise spontaneously and go away just as spontaneously. In "enlightened" beings it will exist in synchronous presence with awareness of the surrounding world.
I try, as a yoga teacher, to include a tidbit or more in each class that goes beyond teaching poses and breath practices and basic concentration. I attempt to pass on the skills of yoga that heal our relationship to ourselves and others. This arena of yoga has been one of the most profound areas of growth and transformation in my personal practice, and of course has affected everything "off the mat" as well.
One reason beginner's mind is difficult is the amazing growth and transformation that yoga has brought to my life. One reason beginner's mind remains attainable is the astounding number of times (each day, week, year) that I am humbled by these lessons when I do things that continue to create suffering and difficulty for myself! Then, as a humbled person facing the crumbled ruins of a "mistake" I am able to see from the ground level of beginner's mind.
As you continue in your yoga practice and grow more and more capable, I encourage you to expand your ability to experience yoga with a sense of wonder and awe, just as you did when you completed your first practice.
Would you like to share a story about your first yoga class? Post it in the comments!
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Lessons from the Garden
Today, as I dug in fragarant earth and planted the first vegetables of the season, I was immersed in present-moment mind. It is a state of mind that comes on effortlessly as I move plants, prepare soil and clear ground.
Many lessons emerge from the garden. Profound learnings and simple, obvious statements. Tonight I share just one:
I was digging up the last bit of grass along the fence line. Out from one clump scurried a bright, shiny black beetle the size of my little fingernail. It raced for safety under my sandal. I continued to work, and then moved on to the next grass clump. As I moved along the fence line, the beetle moved with me...finding shelter under the trash bag I was dragging (full of grass clumps) and under my sandaled foot.
It struck me how often, as we race to protect ourselves from a perceived danger, we find shelter under that which threatens our very existence.
You see, one misstep could have ended that beetle's life. The beetle found safety under my dangerous human foot. In trust, in present-moment mind, in innocence, the beetle took a risk it wasn't even aware of.
I believe the risk, when we shelter ourselves in that which endangers our very fragile existence, lies in the possibility of either obliteration or illumination.
What husk shelters you? What do you fear? What could happen if you allowed yourself to be exposed?
These thoughts are the natural progression of yoga off the mat.
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What a Kick
It's pretty awesome to open up a major alt-monthly and see my business listed as one of your favorite places to be...thanks!
Embodied Health is an honoree in the annual readers' survey issue What Women Want, which hit newsstands today. I am grateful for your support and enthusiasm for the work happening at Embodied Health and the Seva Studio! As the business begins to bloom I know the strong stem created by all of you wonderful people can carry the amazing flower that's coming.
Enough with flower metaphors- y'all are awesome! It is such a privelege to work every day with amazing bodies, to be witness to your ability to grow, change, and transform, and to do the work that I love and am passionate about. Thank you for inviting me to share this work of bodywork, yoga, and personal growth with you!
Check out other businesses savvy women (and guys!) like you support and respect at http://www.womenspress.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=3613
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*wink wink smile grin*
Symptoms of Inner Peace
by Saskia Davis
A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment
A loss of interest in judging other people
A loss of interest in judging self
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
A loss of interest in conflict
A loss of ability to worry
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation
Contented feelings of connectedness with others & nature
Frequent attacks of smiling
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
An increased susceptibility to love extended by others and the uncontrollable urge to extend it
WARNING
Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many already have been exposed and it is possible that people, everywhere, could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what, up to now, has been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.
If you have some or all of the above symptoms, be advised that your condition of inner peace may be too far advanced to be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only at your own risk.
NOTE: I originally gave credit to an incorrect author. I have since learned the original content, as seen above, was created by Saskia Davis. She offers this ditty on her website and in poster form at her website Symptoms of Inner Peace.
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intersection: food, literature, and yoga
when sassafrass cooked she usually did yoga breathin exercises or belly dance pelvic contractions as she puttered around/ she got into the movement accidentally/ tearin the spinach she contracted on each pull from a stem n released soon as it hit the colander/ she wd breathe ten quick breaths out n ten quick ones in/ as she crossed the kitchen from the sink to the stove/ not wantin to waste a moment/ she wd do releves on alternate sets of ten contractions/ so it wd be contract-releve-release-down/ this went on for as long as it took to cook dinner/ as the mackeral came outta the oven/ sassafrass waz a bouyant n contented women.
(Sassafrass, Ntozake Shange)
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