The mind is made to think. Lying on my mat before the start of yoga class, my mind was quiet, but the quiet mind didn’t last long. I remember thinking, what can I think about? What can I sort out before this class? No! I then thought, enjoy the stillness, knowing my last thought and anything related or remotely connected would carry through into my practice.
The wheel is the mind. The turning of emotions and thoughts. I often think, how can I get off the wheel or can I stop it for even a bit? What benefits will I reap when the wheel isn’t constantly turning? Can I be more intentional when I’m on the wheel? Do I need to get off to feel peace? And how does my yoga practice help?
Yoga: An Intentional Practice
Sylvie Gouin of Inspired Living Yoga (and also my very first yoga teacher, not counting VHS tapes) explains that yoga is meditation and that we often think of yoga as asanas/postures or the separate portion of our practice. She goes on to explain that meditation is a process.
This might be hard to process for North American minds, but yoga (or asanas) = meditation. That’s right, a true yoga practice is meditation.
Sylvie believes that our practice is an opportunity to turn our senses inwards. Simply put, it’s a discipline, therefore, we need to show up and when we practice with nonattachment, our practice becomes a discipline with ease. Sylvie believes that the poses provide an opportunity for us to look inward without attachment and to make us aware of our body in space. What a thing of beauty!
“When we show up we develop fortitude to soften our edge. It’s depleting if we push ourselves,” says Sylvie.
Meditation is part of the practice whether it’s practiced seated or by moving through poses. While the asanas turn our attention inward, meditation provides an opportunity to turn our attention to the body. This next sentence is so important: this is where YOU become in control of where your attention goes. You soften your edge even further and you soften your expectations. That’s where the magic happens!
This process of exchanging energy enables us to perceive the world differently according to Sylvie. How does this help to get off the wheel? Well, when you get off the mat because you’re more aware of your body and you’ve softened your edge then you’re better at responding to the world and to living life off the mat. When you return to the mat, you’re more in control and more focused. The process is circular and always moving when you dedicate yourself to a practice so maybe we don’t need to get off the wheel but learn how to work with it by becoming more self-aware.
I think of the car analogy…your car will go where your eyes go. That applies to life on so many levels. Where am I sending my breath, focus, and energy? When we practice yoga we become more present on and off the mat.
“You become more receptive to the world,” says Sylvie. “You have the same intention doing dishes as you do practicing yoga. You are grateful for the extraordinary in the ordinary.”
I find Sylvie’s comment to be so profound. When we come to this realization we accept and love (or at least try to) every human experience, from washing dishes to celebrating a birthday. With discipline, this is where your yoga practice becomes part of your everyday life, the practice moves off the mat.
Sylvie takes this notion one step further. She suggests through this discipline we can observe the wheel of life, rather than getting off it. So we become able to observe, take note, and tell the mind “not now”.
Therefore, finding trustworthy teachers and a community are important as you delve deeper into your practice. I’ve been fortunate that my yoga studio and home practice through books and videos are able to support me. Yoga can be depleting if it isn’t taught with the intent to soften a yogi’s edge.
“When yoga is taken out of context we can become attached to the body. This attachment is depleting,” says Sylvie
It’s important to find a teacher who teaches the meditative qualities of a yoga practice. As we move through each posture in our physical body, we become intentional and the meditation naturally happens. You can have meditation without asanas but to experience the full benefits of yoga you can’t have asana without meditation.
The Investment
What often brings us to a yoga practice is some kind of physical pain and/or stress. We all acknowledge the benefits of a regular practice (the “quick fix”) even if a regular practice is once per week. The “mind fix” requires an investment of more time and energy.
“If you want yoga to be part of your life you need to invest more time in the practice,” says Sylvie. “Start somewhere and invest more time and energy in reflection, reading and practice.”
A Sylvie quote from many years ago is, “You know you found a class that works for you if it gets you to put your boots on in -40 degrees weather and go.”
That quote has been on replay in my mind for years. My practice has ebbed and flowed as I’ve aged. As I continue to commit to my practice I get new insights or reaffirmations of old ones. Sometimes I’m needing more of a quick fix rather than a mind fix so I pick a class that suits what I’m feeling and needing at the time. But, yoga is a gentle and patient teacher and when the time is right we delve deeper and get from the practice what it is that we’re needing.
Sylvie says it so beautifully, “Yoga is for everybody and it does not have to be your everything to be of value. If all you want from yoga is more flexibility, yoga will provide. If you want more energy, calmness, and concentration, yoga will provide, but you’ll have to invest more time and energy. There is no wrong reason to practice and what we want from the practice determines how much we’re willing to invest.”
Yoga: A generous practice
A familiar adage is “you don’t know what you don’t know”. That rings true with yoga. Sylvie calls yoga a “generous practice”. She goes on to explain, “It gives us what we don’t even know is available because we don’t know.”
There’s beauty and peace when dots get connected: you’re able to deepen your breath, resulting in a focused practice while moving into the postures with attention and drawing your attention inwards.
The Importance of Community
When there isn’t a true sense of community I find my practice can become depleting. I don’t often practice at home because I need the guidance of a teacher and the energy of a class. Sylvie refers to this as “good company”.
I’ve been a member of my yoga studio for 20 years. It’s welcoming and special, despite its location in a congested strip mall. It’s a place I call home. Over the years, my practice has evolved, depending on life’s events. The studio has remained a consistent and patient life force. It’s always there, ready to give, depending on what I need.
Sylvie says the special energy and connection of a yoga community is as important as the practice.
So maybe we shouldn’t be trying to get off the wheel but observe why we want to. The wheel is what keeps us going and motivated. Working on decreasing or eliminating the pressure points that cause the wheel to quicken its pace is more achievable. Like Sylvie says, we want to learn to work with the wheel. A healthy (not depleting) yoga practice helps us achieve this goal.
Namaste
Stefania Allevato 