Recently a student thanked me for class and shared her love of the "silent moments" during our practice. She reflected that those moments of quiet are a rarity in our busy lives, something that I'm sure we can all appreciate.
Early in my years of yoga study, I too came to appreciate silence. At first, the intentional pauses during class would seem jarring, and the long-held silence of savasana was very near torture. The busyness of my mind seemed louder than any music or voice. It seemed that when the calm sound of the teacher's voice ceased, the real noise took over...what was up with that?
But slowly I got used to that silence. And funny enough, the noise in my everyday life, which I'm sure I had never even noticed before, suddenly became so obvious! The music blaring from the car radio, the chitchatting in the university cafeteria, the tv playing in the background even though nobody was watching. Where had all this noise come from? Surely I would have noticed this before!
During one especially significant moment I was speeding down the highway rushing to yoga class. As my mind raced "I'm late, I should have left earlier, I'll interrupt everyone" loud music blared from the radio. I hardly noticed. As I kept up this speedy inner dialogue my whole body tensed and my foot pressed more firmly on the gas pedal. Until suddenly I noticed the noise and turned the radio off. With that, my breath slowed, the car slowed and my mind switched to a more mindful, appreciative inner dialogue: "I'm going to yoga, I'm going to nourish my mind and body, it's ok if I'm a few minutes late, I'll enter quietly and everyone will understand".
Since then I've been very mindful of the effect sound has on our well being. Sounds of all sorts have their time and place. Loud isn't always bad, sometimes loud music is just what the soul needs! But the key is to choose how sound will be a part of your life rather than always having it in the background and just never noticing. If I want to listen to music in the car, I do. But sometimes I don't want to and so I turn it off and enjoy the silence. Sometimes I like to play music when I practice or teach yoga, but sometimes my well being or that of my students is better served without music.
Yoga teacher and writer Georg Feurstein says "it is in silence and as silence that we discover our authentic identity, the Self". Ultimately integrating moments of silence into your life will lead you to stillness, which is the ultimate goal of yoga. Here are a few easy ways to experiment with quiet:
- the next time there is a moment of silence during a yoga class, or even a longer silence as in savasana, notice your reaction to it. Don't judge your reaction or label it as "bad", just notice. This will help you understand your existing relationship to quiet. From that place of understanding you can begin to accept the silence. Use your breath as a point of meditation and follow the inhale and the exhale, letting thoughts go as you breathe.
- when you find yourself having a conversation with a friend or family member notice other sounds in the space. Is there music? Is the television on? Maybe you even notice the sound of a fan or a computer humming. If these are sounds you can control, turn them off and notice the change in your attention level during the conversation.
- take 10, 15, 30 or even 60 minutes out of your day and commit to the practice of mauna, or silence (not speaking). The beginning or end of your day, or beginning or end of your yoga class is a good time to practice mauna. Notice the effect that not speaking has on you and those around you. At first you may feel silly or anti social, but as you continue to practice, you and the people around you will come to appreciate the positive effects of silence (even in small doses!)
- turn off the stereo, car radio, television and/or any other electronic device that creates sound when it is not actively being used and enjoyed.
- before you fall asleep at night and before you get up in the morning take a few moments of silence to observe the natural noises during these inherently quiet times. Maybe you can hear birds in the morning or the sound of the wind. In the nighttime perhaps there's music coming from a home nearby or the sound of dogs barking. Acquaint yourself with these natural sounds and enjoy them for what they are. These are noises that already exist around you. When you speak, play music, or turn on the hairdryer these new sounds are being layered on top of the natural noises to create the everyday hum of life!
In silence and stillness,
Meaghan
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Monday, May 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Studentship
As you know, I spent last week studying Anusara yoga with Barrie Risman. It was so revitalizing to be a student again! During our week-long session we touched on the importance of studentship - what it means to be a good student and how important that is to our practice and our teaching.
Yoga is a tradition that for thousands of years was passed orally from teacher to student. What we know of yoga today is the result of years and years of dedicated studentship. Individuals interested in the yoga teachings often had to prove themselves to the Guru (teacher) before he would accept them as students, ensuring that each student had the discipline and will to study seriously.
Today of course, we don't have to prove to our teachers that we're "serious students". The modern practice of yoga means many different things to many different people. Some of us are "serious students" and some of us are not - and where you fall in that categorization totally depends on your definition of "serious".
For me, the study of yoga has taught me a lot about being a student. It teaches me over and over that this path is not black and white. That there are different ways of doing things - different perspectives on the same practices - and that no way is right or wrong. It's all yoga. My study has shown me that things I thought were impossible actually become available to me with dedication and commitment (headstand, handstand and hundreds of other poses - i'm talking about you!). The study of yoga has shown me that to be a good student you must listen, decipher and respect the person doing the talking even if you disagree with him or her.
When you break that list down it's easy to see that what I've learned is relevant outside of yoga too. Understanding, dedication and respect are traits that this yoga has cultivated within me and that I am deeply appreciative for.
So the next time you find yourself in the position of "student", take a moment to consider how that studentship is affecting you at the deepest layers of the Self. For me this contemplation makes me hungry for more learning, more teachers, more moments in the role of student because I know that in the end, being a student makes me a better person and teacher.
With thanks to my many teachers (and with gratitude for the opportunity to study),
Meaghan
Yoga is a tradition that for thousands of years was passed orally from teacher to student. What we know of yoga today is the result of years and years of dedicated studentship. Individuals interested in the yoga teachings often had to prove themselves to the Guru (teacher) before he would accept them as students, ensuring that each student had the discipline and will to study seriously.
Today of course, we don't have to prove to our teachers that we're "serious students". The modern practice of yoga means many different things to many different people. Some of us are "serious students" and some of us are not - and where you fall in that categorization totally depends on your definition of "serious".
For me, the study of yoga has taught me a lot about being a student. It teaches me over and over that this path is not black and white. That there are different ways of doing things - different perspectives on the same practices - and that no way is right or wrong. It's all yoga. My study has shown me that things I thought were impossible actually become available to me with dedication and commitment (headstand, handstand and hundreds of other poses - i'm talking about you!). The study of yoga has shown me that to be a good student you must listen, decipher and respect the person doing the talking even if you disagree with him or her.
When you break that list down it's easy to see that what I've learned is relevant outside of yoga too. Understanding, dedication and respect are traits that this yoga has cultivated within me and that I am deeply appreciative for.
So the next time you find yourself in the position of "student", take a moment to consider how that studentship is affecting you at the deepest layers of the Self. For me this contemplation makes me hungry for more learning, more teachers, more moments in the role of student because I know that in the end, being a student makes me a better person and teacher.
With thanks to my many teachers (and with gratitude for the opportunity to study),
Meaghan
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Santosha / Post About Not Posting
I've been a very bad blogger lately. My posts have been few and far between and even though I regularly think of posting, I just haven't quite gotten around to doing it. So here I am, posting about not posting...
But in this post about not posting, I'm actually circling around a concept. A yoga concept. Just wait...i'm getting to it.
During those bursts of "blog posting thoughts" when I've either decided I a) don't have enough time or b) just don't have anything to say (b seems to be the predominant thought) what I'm really experiencing is discontent with the situation that I've found myself in. Discontent with the number of hours in a day, discontent with the amount of yoga-insight I'm capable of disseminating via this blog.
And so, in a very round-a-bout kind of way, I come to the concept of santosha. Contentment. One of the 5 niyamas of yoga philosophy (the philosophy of yoga is an eight-limbed path; niyama is the second limb and it refers to observances. i.e. Things we, as yogis, should practice).
My teachers discuss santosha in the following way:
In my moments of discontent when I desire more time and more knowledge I am no longer practicing santosha. Instead, I'm wasting precious time dealing with the effects of pleasure and pain (pain in this case). If I could just cultivate contentment to begin with, time would seem more plentiful and knowledge more accessible. And that is the magic of yoga...just when you think you can't practice because (insert your own personal obstacle here), yoga shows you that these obstacles can be overcome if you would only practice.
And so here I am, posting about not posting (but really posting about santosha). In light of these games our minds play on us, I'll leave you with a quote from Ashtanga yoga teacher Richard Freeman. He said this in a lighthearted way with a comical intention :)
Namaste,
Meaghan
But in this post about not posting, I'm actually circling around a concept. A yoga concept. Just wait...i'm getting to it.
During those bursts of "blog posting thoughts" when I've either decided I a) don't have enough time or b) just don't have anything to say (b seems to be the predominant thought) what I'm really experiencing is discontent with the situation that I've found myself in. Discontent with the number of hours in a day, discontent with the amount of yoga-insight I'm capable of disseminating via this blog.
And so, in a very round-a-bout kind of way, I come to the concept of santosha. Contentment. One of the 5 niyamas of yoga philosophy (the philosophy of yoga is an eight-limbed path; niyama is the second limb and it refers to observances. i.e. Things we, as yogis, should practice).
My teachers discuss santosha in the following way:
More than a passive state of mind, actively cultivating contentment frees the mind from the effects of pleasure and pain. When contentment is perfected, one becomes desireless and attains unexcelled happiness.
In my moments of discontent when I desire more time and more knowledge I am no longer practicing santosha. Instead, I'm wasting precious time dealing with the effects of pleasure and pain (pain in this case). If I could just cultivate contentment to begin with, time would seem more plentiful and knowledge more accessible. And that is the magic of yoga...just when you think you can't practice because (insert your own personal obstacle here), yoga shows you that these obstacles can be overcome if you would only practice.
And so here I am, posting about not posting (but really posting about santosha). In light of these games our minds play on us, I'll leave you with a quote from Ashtanga yoga teacher Richard Freeman. He said this in a lighthearted way with a comical intention :)
"...your mind will try to cheat you out of yoga for the rest of your life. The mind doesn't want you to do yoga because you will become happy if you do it. And your mind would prefer to torture you. That's it's job"
Namaste,
Meaghan
Monday, December 14, 2009
Yoga is Union
Most people in the West are introduced to yoga by way of yoga asana, or physical postures. But the practice of yoga is much more diverse than that. In fact, yoga is actually a lifestyle more so than a 'thing you do' - it's philosophy is something that permeates the lives of dedicated practitioners.
One of the magical things about yoga is that this permeation begins in trickles. Just a few yoga classes are enough to stir up your soul and create open space for the teachings of yoga to seep into. The philosophy of yoga is accepting of this slow absorption; there is no expectation that students dive into the practice and adopt the teachings immediately. For most yogis the practice means different things at different times in their lives. And some teachings will be more relevant to one person than another. In yoga, this is ok; it's all part of one's life journey.
To begin learning more about the path of yoga we must first explore the meaning of the word.
The English translation of yoga is "union". Since the ultimate goal of yoga is enlightenment, union refers to uniting the physical, worldly self with the True Self, the Absolute or a Collective Consciousness.
The concept of union also makes it's way into other, more literal parts of yoga. You may hear a teacher asking you to unite the body, breath and mind in triputi. Or you may hear reference to the fact that "we are all one", i.e. we are united with those around us. For the most part, people who practice yoga in the West, do so as householders. Meaning, they incorporate the teachings of yoga into their lifestyle while working and living their lives as usual. In this common scenario each of us seeks a type of union between the modern world we live in and the ancient, yet still relevant, teachings of yoga philosophy.
Perhaps the next time you sit for meditation or asana practice you can ponder the word yoga, union. What type of union are you seeking? What type of union do you experience through yoga? This contemplation on the meaning of yoga may leave you with more questions than answers but that curiosity is, afterall, the reason you're on this path...
Namaste
Meaghan :)
One of the magical things about yoga is that this permeation begins in trickles. Just a few yoga classes are enough to stir up your soul and create open space for the teachings of yoga to seep into. The philosophy of yoga is accepting of this slow absorption; there is no expectation that students dive into the practice and adopt the teachings immediately. For most yogis the practice means different things at different times in their lives. And some teachings will be more relevant to one person than another. In yoga, this is ok; it's all part of one's life journey.
To begin learning more about the path of yoga we must first explore the meaning of the word.
The English translation of yoga is "union". Since the ultimate goal of yoga is enlightenment, union refers to uniting the physical, worldly self with the True Self, the Absolute or a Collective Consciousness.
The concept of union also makes it's way into other, more literal parts of yoga. You may hear a teacher asking you to unite the body, breath and mind in triputi. Or you may hear reference to the fact that "we are all one", i.e. we are united with those around us. For the most part, people who practice yoga in the West, do so as householders. Meaning, they incorporate the teachings of yoga into their lifestyle while working and living their lives as usual. In this common scenario each of us seeks a type of union between the modern world we live in and the ancient, yet still relevant, teachings of yoga philosophy.
Perhaps the next time you sit for meditation or asana practice you can ponder the word yoga, union. What type of union are you seeking? What type of union do you experience through yoga? This contemplation on the meaning of yoga may leave you with more questions than answers but that curiosity is, afterall, the reason you're on this path...
Namaste
Meaghan :)
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