From Amit Ray: Exercises are like prose, whereas yoga [asana] is the poetry of movements. One you understand the grammar of yoga, you can write your poetry of movements.
Our asana practice is a tool for bringing us into discerning but non judgmental awareness again and again to inquire into what is actually unfolding in the moment. Just as the yogic ethics (yama and niyama) are descriptions of our being and becoming as we deepen into the practice, our postures are meant to be poetry, not simply things we do.
From Amit Ray: Exercises are like prose, whereas yoga [asana] is the poetry of movements. One you understand the grammar of yoga, you can write your poetry of movements. Often, we are not actually present in our life - ruminating on the past, perseverating about the future, "doom scrolling" the news... Our practice of yoga asana, breathing, meditation, yoga nidra are all designed to help us BE and feel NOW instead of being caught up in our stories and mental 'whirlpools' [citta vrttis]. They offer us the possibility of being more aware and honest with ourselves about who and how we are, and can help us respond to the world in the most skilful and compassionately courageous way
From Ravi Ravindra: Yoga practice can make us more and more sensitive to subtler and subtler sensations in the body. Paying attention to and staying with finer and finer sensations within the body is one of the surest ways to steady the wandering mind. Yoga's repeating theme is being, and noticing who we are below/behind all we have believed ourselves to be. Who am I that is aware of the body, breath, mind, emotions, experience is the constant question, and our practice can help us sense the lived experience of the answer.
From Baron Baptiste: Go from a human being doing yoga to a human being Yoga Happy exploring! This week, we'll continue working with shoulders, neck, upper back and being rather than doing our practice. Remember that the purpose of our practice is truly being where we are with increased awareness of previously unconscious patterns and only then inviting the body [mind and heart] in the direction of new possibilities...
From Mastin Kipp: ...where you are right now is perfect. There is nowhere to run to, there is nothing else to do except be in this moment and allow what is to be. From that place of radical acceptance, major change can happen. The first step in a transformational experience is acceptance and surrender to the present moment, the way it is. From that place we have the awareness, humility and power to change what is. Yoga is inherently about the paradoxical nature of life; our own existence as both human and Spirit or Life force, and an awareness of what we are aware of (bodily sensations, thoughts, emotions, experiences), and Who/What we are that is aware of all those transitory experiences. One of the paradoxes we explore often in our physical practice relates to the both/and of moving and stillness.
From Eric Schiffmann: Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who [we] are. This week, explore how moving and stillness (apparent opposites) are intrinsically interconnected, and notice Who/What you are (as felt sense) that is aware of whatever you are noticing as you practice. |
AuthorMisha Butot RCSW, ERYT 500 is a longtime clinical social worker and senior yoga teacher living in Victoria, BC Archives
April 2024
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