The Many Into One

It's 5:45pm.  For many students of yoga, it has been a very full day.  Any and all combinations of work, school, family, commute, deadlines, appointments... and the list goes on.  Sitting in sukasana for the opening OM of practice, I am always sensing the diversity of energies, needs, injuries, and asana wish lists.  It never gets old for me to lead students from the many to the one.  To encourage and navigate the harmonizing of the mind with the intelligence of body, as one collective in the satsang.

My favorite place to begin:  Foundation

Foundation, or root has everything to do with connecting the physical body with earth below, and also to our individual roots.  When we ground the physical body we sense our life existing much further then the on going fluctuations of the mind that once separated us.  We relax into the reality that are basic needs are being met in this moment and give ourselves permission to shift and change within this support.   Mentally exiting our work day, the freeway, the heated discussion from earlier.  It is a conscious choice and level of awareness to embark on the healing practice of unity.

Breath is next:  Ujayii Pranayam

Ujayii is particularly beneficial in the practice.  As a collective we breathe for all life, one another, and ourselves.  We hear the sound of our own breath, as a continuous reminder as to how we are contributing to the group flow.  Breath is the sutra of life.  It provides constant feedback as to the integrity of our practice, while purifying, strengthening, and opening us to communion.  Breath brings us back again and again, and fortifies our commitment to presence.  When the mind pays attention to breath, mental distractions and thoughts of separation cease.  The mind becomes full of the inhale, exhale, and the life of the entire being.

Intention is brilliant

With the unique history of a life, a week, a day, for any one of us, Intention is precious.  It opens us to become more intimate with our personal needs and purpose for showing up to practice.  Intention asks us to get clear, and commit to our dharma.  To harness the strength and surrender of asana as a means to deepen our yoga in life.  To study our tendencies to separate, judge, or check out.  Intention is our personal roll call.  We attend to our specific needs while honoring the group practice.  We may have very personal breakthroughs during class, that soften the illusions of separateness and competition.  We open to how we impact the we space, and how others impact us. 

David Whyte speaks of this so eloquently:

WORKING TOGETHER
 
We shape our self  
to fit this world

and by the world  
are shaped again.

The visible  
and the invisible

working together  
in common cause,

to produce  
the miraculous.

I am thinking of the way  
the intangible air

passed at speed  
round a shaped wing

easily  
holds our weight.

So may we, in this life  
trust

to those elements  
we have yet to see

or imagine,  
and look for the true

shape of our own self  
by forming it well

to the great  
intangibles about us.

~ David Whyte

Isn't this weather something to talk about !?!

Have a miraculous week,

Jami

photos by: Meanest Indian

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