Energy follows Attention

This is a law of the universe of which I am quite fond. I make this point often in class: wherever you direct your attention in life is where you are going to go. If you are dealing with an injury and you put your attention into learning about the injury, doing workshops, asking teachers questions and spending time on your yoga mat, you are going to heal the injury. If you are making lifestyle changes and putting your energy into activities that will foster this change, the change will become a reality.

Yoga also affords us the opportunity to hone in on what thoughts we are putting energy into and where are placing our attention. If we feed into positive thinking, our life will breed positive vibes. So what do you do when you realize you are feeding negative thinking? First of all, congratulate yourself, because the first step to change is awareness that there is pain. The next step is to become non-judgmentally aware of these thoughts, learn to watch them and notice how your body reacts to them. It is important to not judge yourself because falling into judgments worsens the matter and creates further self loathing.

We have an incredible ability to rationalize and ignore where we put our energy—I catch myself doing it all the time. Be mindful of where you are placing your attention and begin noticing whether the results of your attention will be constructive or destructive to your state of peace. Wiser life choices arise by continually refining your attention. Yoga is the art of paying attention.

Nature of Task

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier—not that the nature of the task has changed, but the ability to do it has increased.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am running more than I have run in years and my Hatha yoga practice has taken a back seat to my Yoga Running practice. On a good week I practice Hatha Yoga five days. Recently, I have had to take it down to three times a week due to time constraints—I will let you know how my body adjusts to this training change. I am following a structured running program: as the mileage increases, so does my capacity to run faster and longer.

When running I am being mindful of my foot strike and the alignment of my body. It is a real mediation to let go of thinking and let my attention rest within. I am very aware of my habitual running patterns and over the last few years I have been able to cultivate a much more ergonomic technique. It has been challenging to change the way I run, yet, with repetition my ability has grown. I feel Emerson's wisdom each time I run.

Within our teaching training program students often make the same comments- "you make it look so easy" and "you are so good at what you do". My response is always the same, “If you do this for as many years as I have, then you will also be good at it. If I'm not a half decent teacher by now then I am pathetic.” I find the better I get at any skill the less serious I take myself. Getting good at something is nothing more than practice and repetition. If you are committed to something and keep practicing you too will find wisdom in Emerson’s words.

Hatha Yoga

In the last two decades yoga has exploded in America—more specifically Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is the physical practice of yoga. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit language. When translating Sanskrit, often times multiple words are used so you can gain a better understanding of the word. Yoga means “to yoke, join two things together or balance out two polarities”.

It is important to take a step back and realize language was created to bring about a mental construct around something, in an effort to communicate with other beings. Your mental construct may not be the same as mine. It is also important to realize that yoga is older then any modern day religion. Yoga is not a religion, instead it is a tool that can be applied to any and every aspect of life.

Recorded history doesn’t go further back than 3,000 years. The rest has all been handed down orally. The original translation around yoga is said to mean yoking God and human. Where and when the Hatha Yoga part came along is also a bit of a mystery. Some scholars say it was spontaneous movements that came out of meditative states while others say it was learned by watching animals move and imitating their movement. The latter of the two would explain why many poses have animal names.

Classically speaking the yoking in Hatha Yoga is Asana and Pranayama. Asana literally translates as seat. Pranayama translates as extension of life force. There are thousands of interpretations of Hatha Yoga—Empowered Yoga is a contemporary approach. Hatha Yoga was the first form of exercise ever created and works powerfully on balancing out the strength and flexibility of the body. It helps train the mind to be stable which brings clarity and breeds cultivation of wisdom.

Dynamic Self

In Buddhist wisdom the self is viewed as dynamic and alive and not some fixed object of permanence. If the self was permanently unchanging then it would not be affected by thoughts, emotions and concepts so what would it have if it did exist? When we treat ourselves as a fixed identity—we are taking ourselves too serious. We say things like, “I was hurt so bad” We are unable to let go of the past and we suffer for it.

When we are able to view ourselves as always in creation then our fixation on the past will severely be reduced and our possibilities for the future will increase. It is at this point that we can really take charge of our lives. When viewing ourselves in this dynamic relationship the present moment becomes a great opportunity to reinvent who we are. The past becomes easier to work with and the future becomes whatever we want it to be.

Yoga Teacher Training Transformation

Guest Blogger--Liz Freeman who graduated from Yoga Teacher Training this past weekend

The past six months have been the beginning of what is proving to be an incredible journey. A few thoughts about how things have changed in my life:
* At a base level, I've learned that the opportunity to practice yoga exists in my life all around me. It's up to me to choose to practice. I consciously make a choice to practice even more in my life.
* Recently my boss, with whom I've worked for almost three years and have known for five, shared with me that she thinks the past year has been my greatest year of personal growth: I've developed, matured, and become so much more of a resilient person. I have tremendous respect for her, and so this feedback is really very special
* My dear friend, the fashionista, has been one of my greatest yoga teachers off the mat and outside of EY. Simply by throwing away everything in my closet, and then helping me (1) recognize my filters, and then (2) work to break through them, I quickly realized that what I learned about clothes isn't limited to clothes. It applies to the rest of my life. I am recognizing my filters - about all sorts of things in my life - and then breaking through them. It is scary, especially because I have countless ones to work through still.
* I am grateful for the friendships and love and perspectives that everyone in the YTT program has offered. While I will miss the time-intensive weekends, I trust that I will continue to grow as an individual because of what I've learned from others and the relationships that we'll maintain.
* I am not as scattered as I once was. While I still do too many things and keep too busy, I have learned to prioritize. And taking care of me is a priority. And I am slowly starting to slow down. This is a good thing, and I am grateful for each small win.
* In the past two years, I've become better connected with my body and with my mind. It's amazing that I've made it to 32, and just finally beginning to wake up. Thankfully though I am now. And some days, even though it's scary, I'm excited to learn whatever it is next. And other days, I wish I could curl up in a ball and not face myself or the world. It does take courage every single day to open up. I am thankful for having the support and friendship of those at EY - it helps me find this internal courage.
* It turns out, I really enjoy teaching! It is a huge part of my practice. I feel so honored to be able to guide others through a practice, and while I'll never know what each student is going through specifically, I know that each person is on a journey. I know the courage it takes for them to show up on their mat, and I feel humbled that they are comfortable to come to class because all I can offer is support, love and compassion, and it turns out, that really is enough. In turn, their presence and friendship offers me the same.
* I am lucky to have amazing people in my life. In the past several months, however, I feel like I've been taking more than I've been giving in many of my relationships. Recently though I've realized that maybe I'm giving in different ways than I previously have. And it might not be "less," it might just be different. As an example, two of my dearest friends have signed up for (and completed) BNB. They signed up because they've told me they've seen a difference in me - for the better. They loved me then, and they love me now just the same. But they see something in themselves that they want to explore, and it's awesome that they feel comfortable exploring it. Again, it really is about love and compassion. Wow.