It’s a mind-game, really…

Spring seems to be right around the corner. This year, I plan to celebrate the Equinox with a Yoga Mala (108 Sun Salutations). 108?! That seems like a lot. It is. Last time I did it, it took me about an hour-and-a-half to two hours which seems like a long time to do Surya Namaskar. Luckily, there are many modifications and variations to keep me interested. But more than the sheer number of vinyasas involved, I found the whole experience to be more of a mind-game than anything else.

Fairly early on, my left toe started to get a little worn out. “You gotta stop,” I began to tell myself. “It’s not healthy to keep going,” I persistently continued. “What are you trying to prove, anyway?”… “You’re here by yourself, you can even say you finished…” I went on and on. But intermittently, the beauty of what was actually going on came into focus. It was a beautiful spring morning and I was all by myself in a park. I was healthy and my body was getting a lovely all-over awakening.

Before I knew it, I looked down at my counter (a string of beads I made for this very event) and noticed that I was more than halfway through. The mind quieted down for a bit and the next few sets were easy. Then it came down to the final stretch and I started wanting to quit again. I was hungry (not really; I just wanted to go to breakfast). I was tired (sure, but I’m tired now and I’m not going to take a nap). It occurred to me that I was just getting bored. It also occurred to me that my preparatory work didn’t include meditation. Hmm… I wonder if that would have helped any…

Doing anything 108 times takes focus. It takes practice. And, most importantly, it takes patience. In my daily life I’m not always patient. I want to be done with things so that I can say I’ve completed them. I want to be into the next thing before I’m done where I am. It’s a daily practice for me to be where I am; to be present; to be mindful. Being in that peaceful state where everything is a meditation takes work, but it is real. And it is really achievable. And having been in that mind-space before, let me tell you: It’s wonderful. Nothing compares.

As of today, there are nine-and-a-half weeks until March 20, 2011 when I will participate in/lead a Yoga Mala. That’s quite some time for me to get used to the idea of doing Sun Salutations. That’s a plenty of time for me to decide on which variations will be good to include. And most of all, it’s time for me to practice sitting. It seems contrary to my big ideas that meditating will help me with a physical asana practice but in my heart, I know it will. The more I can still my mind, the more in-tune I will be able to be with my surroundings and what is really going on. Sutra 1:2 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali comes to mind: Yogas chitta vritti nirodhah. “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind” Looks like I might be headed in the right direction.

I invite you to join me for a Yoga Mala this Spring.

I invite you to practice the cessation of the fluctuation of your mind-stuffs.

I invite you to experience peace.

Namasté