Yoga during May
Week beginning Monday 5th May
Namaste all,
I hope everyone has enjoyed the Easter break and the sunshine!
Yoga returns on Monday 5th May, 11.15a.m. as usual.
GREASBY CENTRE:
Mondays - 5th May, 12th May, 19th May, 26th May.
We will refresh the classical Surya Namaskar to the mantra this coming Monday but will then continue working with cultivating allowing and being in the moment, attention to deeper feedback from the whole of our being, patience in connecting to the body, breath and mind in addition to being patient when certain asana seems difficult or beyond us in that moment, curiosity about our connection to ourselves and calm - being in the moment with whatever arises during the practice so that eventually we take the practices OFF the mat and live them in daily life!
To do this we need to cultivate an attitude along the lines of Sir David Attenborough when he is observing wildlife.
Sir David Attenborough is very skilful being with animals and if we see the nature of our mind we can perhaps go some way to pay attention in the same way for example if the mind is like a monkey, restless and chattering then can we attend to it with respect, patience and curiosity?
"The very reason for nature's existence is for the education of the soul”
Swami Vivekananda.
If the mind is like a raging elephant can we recognise the rage and allow space in which the rage can calm?
“Yoga is the art of finding peace in the chaos”
attributed to - Paramahansa Yogananda
In short, can we allow whatever we are experiencing in our mind by creating space to be with whatever is there in the first place? Can we watch with attention, calm, patience and curiosity and not interfere or get involved or caught up in our thoughts?
When we fight our own mind we aggravate it and make things worse, we get frustrated and judge ourselves for feeling stressed, we get angry with ourselves or tell ourselves we shouldn’t be feeling such feelings all of which leads to more stress.
Giving space and anchoring in the breath and the body allows us to relax into whatever we are experiencing lessening the difficulty. It helps to calm the mind and the body.
In the words of Jon Kabat-Zinn:
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
Shanti Om
Sue 🙏🙏 x