What is Asana?
Do you have an intentional practice? Something you do daily?
What do you practice? Needle point, non-violence, gratitude, emotional tagging, honesty, compassion, critical thinking, presence, care… medicine ;)
Why do you practice it?
Do you have unconscious practices… (ok bad question…) but as least now you may consider you are practicing things that may not serve you and you may be unaware of – avoiding pain, protecting your heart, emotionally eating, obeying your fears, holding a grudge, letting yourself off the hook… allowing your world to get smaller and smaller?
Did you know that Asana is just 1 of 8 different practices in yoga that are meant to help guide you towards pure consciousness? [If you’re curious the 8 are: Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi]. We’ll just talk Asana today, and can look at some of the others to follow. Asana are physical poses, “strong, sturdy poses” that are meant to help you “burn off impurities,” and prepare to sit in meditation. What the heck does that mean?
I’ve been practicing yoga (asana, mediation, conscious living, ethical living, and self-awareness practices) since college, when I took my first meditation class – that was 20 years ago. I was 19. (Yes, I’m 39… and proud) I digress… My understanding of Asana and the definition above has evolved from something I did to balance my type A personality and get me to slow down, breathe and stop taking myself so seriously (and helped me lose 5lbs) to something I do to purify my mind and celebrate being alive, or the mere miracle of existing.
There are times I’m in flow or Asana that my mind is tame, I can let go of the chatter and there I am, in all my glory, conscious of my existence… my breath, my body, my emotions (which in that space feels more like sensations, heat or energy moving or shifting) and thoughts (if there are any). It’s a place of completion and wholeness, recognition and awe. Then of course there are those times that I am cursing my big toe, or falling over and laughing. It is the practice that matters… the consistent effort. There are times I have deep realizations of beliefs I had decided as a child that in an instant become clear to me as hogwash. I feel a seed, like a skin or a curtain slowly wash through my body and seem to “leave or reprogram it” with a new updated version and understanding of myself and life – not sure if that is just a deep emotion of realization washing through me, a neurological wave of communication reprogramming and updating the belief systems and wisdom of each of my cells to a more “pure” or reality based perception, or seeds of “old karma” burning up and leaving – either way – it is a gift of the practice and perhaps what they mean by “burning away impurities”. It feels like a very physiological reprogramming of my body and rewiring of my brain; an upgrade if you will. I find, these are deeper benefits of Asana. Unfortunately, or fortunately, many of us are merely using Asana for the health and physical benefits to our lives, which are great… but keep practicing and you may find more.
But Practice y’all – that is the key. Practice. The most truthful principle of living. Rome was not built in a day, neither was our body, mind or patterns. We are a series of choices, some valiant and some tragic, practiced over and over again. Some conscious and some unconscious, but reality is real like that. It doesn’t care if you’re conscious of what you are choosing – it gives you the effects of those choices anyway – a loving and consistent teacher that reality is. I promise if you keep trying the same thing and aren’t getting what you want, it’s not reality that is wrong. Keep practicing… eventually your pattern will get so strong, it will either blow up in your face or become so glaringly obvious you can’t deny it anymore... and that, my friends, is a gift! The first little crack in the rock to grab on to AND begin to chisel away at, mold or refine as we see fit! Which leads us back to… practice.
Sometimes these patterns we are trying to change, or chip away at we have “practiced” unknowingly for years… and they may take some time (and grit) to change. But rest assured… our brains are neuroplastic. They regenerate on a daily basis and as we choose this new path over and over these neurons start to wire and fire together. IF we stop choosing a pattern those neurons shrink, prune and dissolve away. Either way rest assured the choices you make today are designing the future you of tomorrow, and your slab of stone is yours to do with what you like.
Perhaps if we can master our bodies, through consistent discipline, compassion, kindness and patience we can learn to love each other… or at the very least be kind despite differing opinions, world views, or human struggles.