Today I read a useful post on what yoga can do for you at  Creating Health Chiropractic.  It caught my eye for two resaons.  The first because I had jsut returned from my first yoga class in about four months, and the second because their blog post mentions the mental and spiritual benefits, as well as the physical ones.  My yoga practice today showed me that all three of these benefits tend to degrade when regular practice is interrupted.

My physical condition has definitely deteriorated in the past four months of no yoga, and it’s not as though I used to do yoga every day.  I went once or twice a week at most.   Although I have been going to the gym and pool regularly, too much sitting at a computer has reduced my flexibility and has done nothing for my balance.  I actually fell over during a standing pose today!  But, perhaps more importantly, I found that my focus was poor, so I was continually having to bring myself back to focus inside, rather than on my frustration, or on what was happening in the class.  I definitely wasn’t feeling at home in my body.

What was lacking was focus, but more than that – I was lacking awareness.  Now I am not exactly sure what awareness is, but it’s probably what  is there when you are completely in the moment and being the silent witness observing what is going on.  But it can also be more than that – I have had two occasions where I have felt part of everything, and that was definitely different from the silent witness stance.   It’s probably like learning to ride a bike.  Imagine a small child on a bike with  training wheels turning so quickly that the training wheel on the outer edge of the turn leaves the ground.   The child must feel that he has mastered balancing in sharp turns, although  it’s the training wheel on the inside of the turn that keeps him balanced   Becoming one with everthing for a second or two was like taking a turn with one training wheel briefly off the ground. I hope to graduate from training wheels in the future.

Anyway, yoga can help you get there, wherever there may be.  So can meditation, and probably any number of practices that require you to be in the moment for long period of time.  But yoga helps the body too, so give it a try.

Oh yes! The benefit of yoga, and what it can do for you is:

• make you more flexible;
• increase muscle strength;
• tone your muscles and improve posture;
• improve body alignment;
• help you breathe better;
• increase mental calmness;
• decrease sress; and
• increse your level of comfort in your body.

To read more about these yoga benefits, visit Creative Health Chiropractic.  If you also discover awareness along the way, let me know.

I welcome your comments, provided they add to the conversation.  If you want your comment published, please read the comments policy before you comment.

Sometimes, in difficult times when our lives seem to be falling apart, it is useful to see things from a different perspective.  It reminds us that the way we see things in any given moment is just a perspective, and that changing the way we see something can change its meaning and our response.

As I understand it, Buddhism is not a religion, but a way of life that holds happiness, compassion, and relief from suffering as its goal.  And Buddhist wisdom teaches us that while the pain of being human brings suffering, there are perspectives and responses we can adopt that will relieve our suffering.  It is through suffering that we learn how to be happy in any circumstances.

We should find the truth in this world, through our difficulties, through our suffering. This is the basic teaching of Buddhism. Pleasure is not different from difficulty. Good is not different from bad. Bad is good; good is bad.   Shunryu Suzuki Roshi Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

Like an old man watching children at play, we need to see through our own seriousness. No matter how seriously the children go about their games, the old man is amused and never for a moment takes them to be real. We can watch our own thoughts and emotions in the same way. Without taking them  so seriously, we can see them as children of play and give them lots of space.     Dzigar Kongtruel  Rinpoche It’s Up to You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path

As we open to what is actually happening in any given moment, whatever it is, or might be, rather than running away from it, we become increasingly aware of our lives as one small part of a vast fabric made of an evanescent, fleeting, shimmering pattern of turnings.    Sharon Salzberg Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

None of the antidotes to stress – numbing ourselves, running away, the various therapies – will ever really get to the root of it. We actually hold onto our stress. It is a way of holding onto our positions, our beliefs, our sense of being right – our self. In that tightness and rigidity, the body cannot deal with it and the mind cannot deal with it. We suffer because we will not let go   John Daido Loori, Roshi. Mountain Record of Zen Talks (Dharma Communications)

Fearlessness is a simple gesture of accepting whatever there is. This is what’s happening in this moment. It can’t be other than this. This is what it is, and the truth is always soothing   Sylvia Boorstein (source unknown)

Quotes found in Shambala Sun, May 2009

Resources:
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
It’s Up to You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path by Dzigar Kongtruel Rinpoche
Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience by Sharon Salzberg
Mountain Record of Zen Talks (Dharma Communications)by John Daido Loori

I welcome your comments, provided they add to the conversation.  If you want your comment published, please read the comments policy before you comment.