The need to practice...

 

 

The need to Practice, to have a fresh mind.

You go over the same poses every day, they are so familiar, so known.  Yet they are not known with today's mind, only yesterday’s memory.  The aim of a yoga practice is to create awareness, how easily that word is used!  Yet cultivating it is something that needs time and desire and comes from refreshing ourselves constantly in practice.

To be aware of ourselves may seem self indulgent, yet is it?  If we cannot know what we are feeling, or how we are being affected by the world around us, how can we have any capacity for growth or change?  The danger is that we do not become aware but self indulgently sensitive.  We then end up feeling that the world needs to change, people in our lives need to change.  Yet there is a big log in our eye, our own vision is blurred and usually what is felt is self interest, not awareness.

The point of awareness 'Sadahana' or 'Path to God' is that we change, now. We notice now, we notice our reactions, our fears, our hates, our conditioned mind. Then we know about ourselves both on and off the mat. 

Then there is the moment, the pause of awareness where it’s possible to make another choice. Yoga is a means to make space in our minds, lightness in our hearts, and to have freedom in our choices. This comes from Trikonasana being done each day with a fresh mind. This is why we practice.