Observation 1
As I approach my sixties, I am truly indebted to my older students for teaching me so much about life and sharing with me their experiences of Yoga and the aging process.
It is true to say that we all experience different concerns as we age, yet we all share common concerns and experience similar changes.
From the moment we take our first breath in life we are subject to change.
At each stage of life we find ways to manage the changes that arise so that we maintain a healthy, happy disposition throughout our lives.
Our bodies have a natural intelligence that is wise beyond words.
Indeed words do not feature in this physical realm and it is through sensation and movement that our bodies communicate.
In Yoga we learn to access those sensations and realize those unconscious movements and recognize the messages that our bodies are communicating through the practice of Mindfulness, and gradually we build a truly wholesome relationship with our bodies that makes us more complete.
The laws of Karma illustrate cause and effect.
Every action has an effect on our being that we need to observe and understand. This is why it is so necessary to take time in stillness after each asana to observe the effects it has on our bodies.
But this is not just confined to the physical realm; indeed every thought or mental fluctuation has a profound effect on our whole being.
How we think and where we choose to focus will greatly influence our disposition.
This is why Mindfulness is such a powerful tool in Yoga.
It does not matter that you can no longer stand on your head in Sirshasana as you get older, there will be many asanas that will give you the benefits you seek for your personal fulfilment, but if you continue to practice Sirshasana knowing that it feels wrong then you are ignoring and possibly even loosing your sense of Mindful awareness and your practice becomes pure gymnastics and nothing more.
It is not always clear what we should or shouldn’t do in Yoga class until the teacher reminds us to focus on the feel of the practice.
Then we achieve absolute clarity and experience a true sense of wellbeing.
Equally we must awaken our minds to experience full consciousness.
We can so often fail to notice that we are limiting our thoughts by focussing on trivia, or worse, that we are creating negative energy by focussing on what we are afraid might happen.
When we develop mindful awareness we realize that we are creating our own reality and that we choose where we focus.
As such we become authors of our own life stories.
Consider this carefully before you begin the next chapter of your life.
Published by liz on Sunday, 10 November 2013,
last updated on Sunday, 3 January 2016 at 3:54PM
Categories:
Mindfulness, yoga times archive