Wisdom from Suffering

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This post is dedicated to any readers who are experiencing suffering, loss, or difficulty at this time. My heart goes out to you. 

Know that you are not alone. Namaste.


A practice that can lay the groundwork for drawing wisdom from our own sufferings is to be present to other people’s suffering. To witness. To see how many are the ways people dealing with suffering. To learn how suffering can elicit creativity or deepen hope or resilience or understanding. 

Some people recoil from others’ suffering—don’t like to visit hospitals, don’t know what to say, wish they were somewhere else, or could just send flowers. 

But a willingness to show up, even in our uncertainty about how to behave, may not only be a gift, it may help us learn to enter the places of darkness with confidence and trust, not needing to know how, or to predict outcomes, but to be fully present to whatever the moment calls for.
-Marilyn Chandler McEnryre

Patient

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Photo via MyMorningCoffee.
Patience is a long and winding road, don't you think?

Lately I've been trying to be patient with myself, but I find it's hard. I'm searching for new job opportunities and finding it takes more time than I expected. I'm also trying to giving myself space and time to heal from past hurt, and to be open to letting things happen as they are.

What helps when you need extra patience?

Advice on Advanced Postures

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Photos via Pinterest.

I got a very wise piece of advice from a senior teacher about what to do if you're struggling with a difficult posture. Next time you see someone doing it, say to yourself, "That's me in the pose."

Imagine, instead of distancing yourself from the teacher as if he or she were capable of one thing and you were not, that you are that teacher. The body you see in the pose is your own.


This will help you internalize the pose before you even realize it. Genius, eh?

Tortola Yoga Retreat

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Photo via Fort Recovery Tortola.

Wouldn't it be lovely to spend a week in sunny Tortola for a yoga retreat?

 The open sky, the bright water, the fresh air... gorgeous.
Photo via Pinterest.

Right around this time of year is when I wish I could afford to be somewhere tropical, laying out my mat at the end of a dock and getting ready to soak in the sun as I practice.

Extreme Yoga (And a Reminder to Vote)

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Photos via Sweaty Betty and Yoga Votes.

Just when I thought my yoga was extreme... I come across these photos of yogis practicing on top of mountains! (On Mont Blanc in the Alps, to be specific.)

Now that's some steadiness and balance. Eeeps!


In other news, here's a friendly reminder to hit up your polling place tomorrow and rock the vote! Your voice counts. Make sure it's heard.

Transformative

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Today I have been contemplating my life before yoga.

The things I used to long for: living out of love instead of fear, a body I could be proud of, a calm heart.


I practice new habits now. I regularly give thanks for the blessings in my life. I am used to the sound of my breath in the back of my throat, that careful wave of ujjayi a constant reminder to be present. I do not mind waiting in line at the post office or the grocery store for it provides me a few minutes to meditate.


Sometimes I awake from savasana feeling like a wholly new person. I walk out of class, refreshed, light, wondering where the old me is, fine with the fact that I am new.

The Yoga Sutras

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I'm reading Alistair Shearer's translation of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a foundational text of yogic teaching.

The opening is both beautiful and sparse:

Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence.

When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded consciousness.

How to Do a Headstand (And Learn to Overcome Your Aversion to Inversions)

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Headstand is tricky. It's a pose that takes practice and patience. 

Not only are you working on overcoming gravity, but inversions can also bring up fear, a gripping in the mind. I find it helpful to remember that there are many stopping points along the way into headstand where you can pause. Listen to your body. 

Where are you today in the pose?

It doesn't make you any less of a yogi to stay in position 1, your head cradled in your hands. You aren't considered more successful by finding the full expression of the pose.

Remember this sense of patient awareness as you approach headstand.


Start seated on your feet. Cross the arms, pressing your palms into the shoulders. Lean your elbows forward onto the ground, and open the forearms shoulder-width. Cradle the head in your hands, scooting your head forward, your hands like a retaining wall.

Place the crown of your head on the floor (anywhere between the top of your head all the way forward to the hairline). Unshrug the shoulders, pushing them up toward the ceiling. Be sure to keep them away from the ears, strong and engaged throughout the pose.


Next, push your hips into the air, as if you were doing downward facing dog pose. Come onto the tiptoes, walking your feet forward. Continue tiptoeing your feet toward your face until your hips are above your head.

You may need to bend your knees if your hamstrings are tight. Generally the feet end up about 6 inches from your face, closer than what you see in the photo above.

If you're just beginning to work on headstand, feel free to stay here as you build strength in your neck and shoulders.

The next step is to lift the feet off the ground, using core strength to bring them together. Bend the knees and bring them in toward your chest. Tighten the legs, squeezing the knees together.

Again, unshrug the shoulders. As you find stability and balance, begin to bring the knees in line with the hips horizontally, then slowly and carefully bring the knees above the hips.



Keep your gaze focused on one spot as you bring the feet all the way up. Reach the balls of your feet toward the ceiling. One trick you can use for additional stability is to push your chin slightly toward the floor, which straightens the spine a bit.

Again, press down firmly into the shoulders and forearms.



To come out, reverse the steps, moving through each stopping point. After your headstand, be sure to rest on the floor in child's pose.

Enjoy the way the pose empowers you to see the world differently. Enjoy the calm, steady feeling afterward. Namaste!

Floating

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Photos via The Ballerina Project.

Visualize yourself living a beautiful life.

Imagine effortlessness.

You move gracefully. You treat others well. You find balance.

Feel into this now; experience it here. Become present to the reality you wish to create.

The future is now, with you floating in it.