Beyond Asana Blog

Though we usually think of time as moving in a linear progression, we can also see it as circular. The cycles of day and night, the seasons and years all circle back to a point of completion before beginning again.

In the cycle of the seasons, the Winter Solstice is such a moment of culmination, when darkness reaches its zenith, after which the days turn toward increasing light. Its the turning point, the transition, the pause in swing of the pendulum.

These days leading up to the Winter Solstice are the perfect time to take stock of where we have arrived at as the previous cycle moves toward completion and ponder what we would like to create in the next.

Not only does yoga practice provide the space to step back from the busy-ness of our lives where we can reflect on it all with greater clarity, yoga also offers specific ways to experience this tiny moment of standing still:

• Focusing on the space between breaths
• Experiencing the midline of the body
• Meditating on the central...

It’s the a-ha that answers the question we have been asking ourselves.

It’s the bright idea that floats effortlessly to the surface of our awareness.

It’s the creative solution to a problem that arises seemingly out of nowhere.

How many times have we heard or experienced this? The answers we seek come after we have let go of all effort.

Psychologists might give one explanation for this, productivity specialists another. But yoga has a particular take on how this phenomenon works.

In yoga, our mind is seen not only as our faculties of questioning, thinking, analyzing, reasoning and so on. Yoga recognizes there is also an aspect of our mind that connects us to our inner wisdom. 

When we disengage from solution-seeking part of our mind, the busyness of our mental chatter settles. Internal space clears. Then, as if silently summoned from the depths of our being, the voice of deep knowing can emerge, precisely because we have made ourselves available to hear what...

Subtle takes time.

In the space of sustained inner attention, awareness penetrates beneath the obvious to notice and capture insights in our practice.

Subtle can’t be downloaded or clicked on.

It’s delicate like the wings of a Gossamer butterfly.

Yes, practice gives us the opportunity to develop the strength of mind and sensitivity needed to refine our perception and grasp what might otherwise remain elusive.

The question is, how much do we value it? And more importantly, are we willing to unplug and simply stay put with our experience long enough for the subtle to emerge? 

A self-realized meditation master once said:

Hatha Yoga, Shmata Yoga. Even en elephant can stand on his front legs, but has the Ida and Pingala merged into your Sushumna? Is your courtyard filled with the fragrance of your own love?

I am paraphrasing here, perhaps quite liberally, but you get the jist of it.

It’s a question I come back to again and again. What makes asana more than a physical discipline, even one done with an awareness of breath and good alignment?

And the answer keeps coming back: it’s the context we give it, the intention behind it, and the inner trajectory it moves us in that brings asana into the realm of spiritual practice and part of a larger path of self-development.

All we do on our mats - the one-pointedness we cultivate, the strength we engender, the vitality we increase and even the more subtle awareness ourselves we cultivate – must be placed in service to our own evolution and to becoming a stronger force of love and goodness in the...

Is there anything more powerful than remembering death to clarify what is most important in your life?

In the Buddhist tradition, remembering your death is a daily practice. Not in a morbid way, but as a reminder of preciousness of this fleeting, transient existence of ours. The perspective it brings allows for a healthy detachment from the unfolding dramas of daily life.

 Our yoga practice should do us the same service. Hopefully, our practice environment (both inner and outer) gives us the space to remember again and again what we hold most dear and essential.

Remembering that each day is an opportunity to take hold of, to live fully and to learn from, practice supports us to become established, steadily and gradually, in our inherent goodness and share it with our world. These are the things to be remembered daily. 

The first “spiritual” book I ever read was Peace is Every Step by the Vietnamese Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh. This small book about mindfulness opened up a world of possibility for me, one where happiness and contentment could be cultivated from within.

 Recalling it now, more than 20 years later, I am reminded of the precious beginnings of my search, and the longing sparked an inquiry myself and what this life was all about anyway.

Remembering back to the early teachings that touched us and turned our attention toward living a more consicous life are landmarks to be honoured. They help us to acknowledge the yearning that ignited our search and that is still, when we can remember it, likely at the heart of our practice.

Whether or not you can join me for my upcoming workshop on 5 core teachings of yoga, I hope you'll take some time this week to reignite your love for yoga by revisiting the sacred knowledge of our tradition that has...