Frequently you might hear me say in class, "Pay attention to the experience you're creating in this moment". I say this to encourage people to recognize what they are feeling as they undertake different poses, practice conscious breathing, or notice their thought. Ultimately, I want to encourage them to realize they are in charge of what's happening in their practice in each and every moment. So often, we attend a class of some sort and assume that the instructor is the person who will create what happens to us during the practice. I mean, they're in charge, aren't they?
Well, yes and no.
Many of us attend classes wanting to be given direction by the teacher. An effective instructor is able to create a particular environment through their use of language, their tone of voice, the lighting, as well as music and other things to accentuate a particular experience. However, I view my role as a teacher as though I've just given everyone in the class an essay topic, yet know that everyone will write their own story. I ultimately want the practitioner to be in charge of their practice and to feel empowered to make choices based on how they are in each particular moment. And therein lies part of the challenge...we need to be completely present and insightful to know what it is we need as our body and mind are in continual states of fluctuation.
The other layer to this is to recognize the harmonious relationship between our body and mind throughout the experience. Have you ever created your own suffering? Of course...we all have and I'm hoping to lessen suffering through my practice rather than increase it. So if we sense friction between what our mind is asking our body to do, we might best be served to listen and adjust. It redirects our focus to one of joy and positivity rather than a sense of dread during the practice. With that being said, it's paying attention to all sensations even the most challenging ones. I love the feeling of being out on the road bicycling with my legs working, heart pumping, hearing the sound of my breath. I feel the wind on my face and whatever the conditions may be I awaken to a sense of complete presence. I can create this connection to my experience by really allowing myself to be in it, even if it's hard. The moment where it feels like I'm unable to sustain the pace, I acknowledge that I've hit my edge and try to enjoy what just transpired.
And that's key...finding and creating the joy within what we're doing. As Anne Cushman in an article entitled, The Wellspring of Joy, points out: "As I flow through my practice, I am amazed at how often my mind reverts into the well-worn groove of looking for what's wrong-relentlessly pointing out the myriad ways in which I could improve my body and my practice (not to mention my career and my hair). It takes discipline, at first, to keep bringing my attention back to the joys I am actually experiencing in that very moment, not the imagined pleasures that would result if only I could whip my life and body into shape." We are so easily led to focus on everything but the moment of contentment, yet when we tap into the senses we are able to deepen our connection to the inherent pleasure gained when our mind-body find congruence.
If we are able to take it to another level when we begin to examine our current state, we also unveil whether or not we are living the life that we want. When we take a moment to explore our deepest desire, we uncover what that is and if we are acting in ways that affirm our intention. It has been said that we create our own reality and, this week, hopefully, we have been looking at that more closely. My hope for everyone is that what we find lightens our hearts and brings smiles to our faces.
👍 Yup!
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