Remembering

If yoga is to settle the mind into silence – to still the busyness of the mind so that you can know your true nature, then to practice yoga, in any form, is to remember that and return to the stillness, the interior silence moment to moment. The Sanskrit word Abhyasa means practice, and the practice is to renew your commitment many times each day. How will you remember to do this? When we had the yoga studio, just walking into the space was enough to put you into a very peaceful, quiet interior space. You walked in and you could feel all the jumbled up tensions, thoughts and feelings of the day dropping away as you prepared your space. Maybe you perched yourself near some plants or flowers and settled in to the relaxed atmosphere there. If you participated in classes at the yoga studio, at any of the three studios we had in that 15 year span, then you have a piece of the studio inside you. You participated in creating the amazing sense of expansion and peace that was so easily felt in that space. Let your life be an expression of what you care about and what you love. Let yourself be surrounded by the things that inspire and support your highest aspirations. You may keep an object in your car, to remind you each time you enter it, of your commitment to Presence. Some people like to begin their meditation with japa; the repetition of a mantra, usually with the use of mala beads. Having the beads to carry with you throughout the day can be a lovely tactile reminder to remain steady in awareness and not get caught in the dramas within or around you.

Create altars, and spaces of beauty to remind you and support you in your new commitment. You can use anything that reminds you to keep your mind and heart open: a picture of your teacher or loved ones, a picture of a person in meditation or in a yoga posture, or objects from nature. A simple, clean and serene setting in a corner of your living room might do it for you. You might begin by de-cluttering a space you see daily. And while you’re at it, you could also set up a little space for meditation. I have often marveled at how here in the US, most people have their living room furniture arranged around a TV set, as if it were some holy altar that they must pay homage to daily – many times each day, or even continuously. Is that the altar you want to invest in? Make little statements all over in your life that will remind you, the way the studio did, that there is, in addition to all the outer disciplines and responsibilities and enjoyments, an inner life that is waiting with nourishment for your soul and when you give it your attention, it will change the way you enjoy and appreciate the life you live.

Meditation: Take an active role in your awakening. Rather than passively sitting and absorbing information, filling your brain with stuff, take some time to empty out, to listen deeply to yourself, to begin to allow the chitta vritti (mind stuff) to settle. Sit quietly and allow summer to enter you deeply. You will not regret it.