Daily Practice

The other day as I sat sharing my words of the week, "Daily Practice", I was speaking from the perspective that our practice is always in front of us. What we need to be practicing has a way of revealing itself and it's up to us to open our awareness and see what is sitting before us.

Can you think about the first time you stepped onto a yoga mat? Do you remember what your intention was? What had brought you to that moment? For me, my practice was just turning up once or twice a week. I had no idea of what "my practice" was or what it could look like. I simply had the intention of showing up and seeing what that particular session had in store. When the class was over, I'd leave and head back into the same frame of mind that I had before the class and perhaps feeling a bit physically different. And it was like that for quite a long time. I'd turn up, do the practice and wait until the next session before I did it again. I didn't have any awareness of the residue that would stick to me following each session. Yet, over time, it began to show itself.

The more times I came to the mat, the more insight I started to notice. My thoughts became as entangled in the process as did my physical self. I began to notice my breath (or lack of it) as well as how often I sat in self-judgment (and there was a lot of that). At some point along my journey, and I can't even pinpoint when, I saw my yoga practice leaking off my mat and into the time when I wasn't "in class". I started to notice my words more carefully and to bear witness as to the effect they had on others. I caught myself wanting to blurt something out and instead, pausing and deciding if it were wise and kind.

My awareness of being in practice off the mat accelerated when I started to delve into the philosophy of yoga and other wisdom traditions. I learned that a framework existed within the Sutras of Patanjali (an ancient text) that made sense to me...a way in which I could begin to live my yoga on a daily basis. What I do remember is having a profound moment of thought that if I were to be teaching these things, I had to be living these things. I couldn't ask others to do what I was unwilling to do. I needed to be connected to the practice (in my own way) both on and off the mat to echo and transmit a sense of authenticity.

You can't avoid it. Transformation happens when you step onto a yoga mat or sit down to meditate. It's inherent in the process but there is a caveat...consistency. In order for the magic to appear, we have to commit to doing the work. Every day and in whatever way it appears before us.

The more awareness we allow ourselves to open to, the greater our growth is along our ever evolving path. I refer to us having two selves: the evolving self and the un-evolved self. The evolving self is the one that sets the intention to attain a state of inner peace, connection to purpose, living with compassion and in a state of being with whatever is happening in the present moment. Our un-evolved self is the "old" us, the behavior that perhaps feels embedded from years of repetition. The behavior we'd like to change as it points us in the direction away from our highest and truest selves. The more we recognize our practice and work on it, the more quickly we recognize our un-evolved selves. We can feel it in our gut when our reactions are less than what we want for ourselves.

So my thought for the week is to keep at it. You may feel as though you're doing the same thing or not enough, but stick with as much as you can do. Notice your practice when you're not on your yoga mat or sitting on a meditation cushion. Let your life be your practice and to quote Pattabhi Jois, "practice and all is coming".