Day 135 Intention ~ Pull the Weeds

Day 135 Intention ~ Pull the Weeds

Out of my mind! Sure, there's weeds outside too, but today, I am just trying to find some clarity. Too many things have been yanking my brain one way & then another these days and focus has been a struggle. Hence, yesterday's post about not being able to stay in savasana lately. 

In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, one of the limbs of the yogic path is dharana. A single-pointed focus. Trying to focus on one thing, it could be a mantra or an image, helps bring clarity. This then leads to the next limb, dhyana, when one actually is meditating. Dharana is a great place to start, along with the breath to bring my mind back to me and "pull some of these weeds."

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 130 Intention ~ Practice Yoga Off the Mat

Day 130 Intention ~ Practice Yoga Off the Mat

I've been thinking about my yoga practice a lot lately. Although, I do some practice off the mat, when I really think about the eight limbs of yoga in Patanjali's yoga sutras, I try to think about adapting them to my daily life. 

How much are we all really practicing? 

For review, the eight limbs taken straight from my Yoga Sutra book translated by Sri Swami Satchidananda:

• yama (abstinence)
• niyama (observance)
• asana (posture)
• pranayama (breath control)
• pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
• dharana (concentration)
• dhyana (meditation)
• samadhi (contemplation, absorption, or superconscious state)

To really bring consciousness to my practice off the mat (most of us already get the third limb asana), I will start with the yamas today. This first limb has five parts to it and these are all things that we should abstain from in our behavior. 

The five parts of the yamas: 

• ahimsa: non-harming
• satya: truthfulness
• asteya: non-stealing
• brahmacharya: continence
• aparigraha: non-greed

As far as ahimsa goes, I eat a vegan diet so as not to harm animals and be a little less harmful to the environment. I try to be environmentally responsible when possible. And I also try not to harm others with my words, thoughts and actions.

Satya, that is easy. I try to tell the truth at all times...to myself also! Don't get me wrong, if the truth is a mean statement, I most likely don't say anything at all. 

Asteya, or non-stealing. This one seems pretty straight forward and easy. Don't steal! Even if it's a pen from work or stealing time from others. 

Brahmacharya: continence. Well, in the Western world we translate this into moderation. Live in moderation. I try to do this, although, sometimes when there's a bag of Terra sweet potato chips in front of me, forget about it! :)

Lastly, aparigraha, non-greed: just take what you need. (see last paragraph, I try!) Whether it's shoes, food, time, love, whatever it is, don't hoard it. If you have enough, save some for the rest. The less "stuff" you have, the clearer your mind can be. Less clutter.

So, there's my list to start working on! Just becoming more conscious of these things (we'll go through some of the other eight limbs in future days), can help us actually live our yoga. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 43 Intention ~ To Find Focus

Day 43 Intention ~ To Find Focus

Okay, this may sound like finding stillness like yesterday, but it's different. It's one of those multi-tasking days over here and quite frankly, I need to focus on one thing at a time or else I feel frazzled. Not really in an attempt at meditation, just in a way to get things done. 

In a yogic sense, finding focus is called dharana, the sixth limb in the 8 limbs of yoga, the fixation of the mind. It is a tool to help us actually start to find that single-pointed focus of the mind. You keep focusing on one thing, whether it is a mantra, counting the breath, or staring at the flame of a candle. Trying to bring your focus back to this until the mind becomes steady. Once we gain that single-pointedness, we are one step closer to actually meditating. Believe me, it takes a long time. Many of us will never even get there. But, we keep trying and we do find that we can gain more focus in our day because of practice. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 5 Intention ~ To turn off

Day 5 Intention ~ To turn off

As of 5:45 yesterday afternoon, vacation officially started. Woo hoo! Yet, my mind is still racing. I keep going over things that I need to do before we leave (of course-that's normal), but also thinking about what needs to get done when we return. I start thinking about bills that need paid, missing classes for a week, etc, etc, etc. 

It's been a little bit over a year since I started working mainly as a yoga instructor, and partly as a writer and a knit assistant, so I feel like I am constantly thinking about work. Although I am doing what I love and feel more fulfilled than ever before, I am not assured a set amount of pay each day/week/year or even class in a lot of instances. In that way, it's so different from when I had a full time salaried job. Granted, my happiness on a daily basis is much greater now, my stress about other things, like, how will I pay for this or that, is greater than it used to be. Is it worth it? Yes. But, the ability to "turn off" is more difficult. I am sure anyone who runs their own business feels this way. 

So, now that I am officially on vacation. My intention is to turn off and savor each moment. I know that doing this will refresh me and make my classes and other work better when I return. 

We all need to "turn off" at some point. To hit our internal "refresh" button. It's healthy for the mind, body and soul. Even if it's just a 10 minute break (although a full day or afternoon would be better!)

I guess going back to yesterday's thoughts on meditation and dharana, dhyana & samadhi need to come back into play, along with some pranayama to help soothe and calm the mind. 

I wish for you all to enjoy each moment & savor this journey no matter what you are doing. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 4 Intention ~ Stay Focused

Day 4 Intention: To stay focused. 

My husband & I are leaving on a vacation Sunday that we have been waiting months and months to go on and, of course, there are many things to tie up before boarding a ship and sailing off to sea for a week. 

That being said, I have a tendency to procrastinate...well, everything! So, today's goal is short and sweet. Stay focused. There is a renovation going on at the studio that I teach at normally on Friday mornings, so my class for this morning was cancelled. This made me think, "Oh, I have all the time in the world to get things done today." As I hung out on the Lazy Boy chair with my cat, sipping coffee and watching a show I recorded on the dvr, it's suddenly 11:30 am and time to get my act together today! 

Dharana is the 6th limb of Patanjali's 8-limbs of yoga, and it means to meditate with single-pointed focus or concentration on an object. This is the first step in meditation.  As we advance in our meditation abilities, we lose that separation between ourselves and the object on which we are meditating, coming into the next stage, dhyana. As we practice and practice meditation, we eventually lose any ego involved and fuse with the universe, and a higher power, finding the final stage, samadhi, also known as bliss. 

Practicing meditation, I have found, allows me to be more focused throughout the day and keep motivated. 

That being said, I am off to meditate and to regain focus before this day slips away.

Shanti, 

Marcia