I often remind folks that Yoga is a brain and life practice more than it is a physical practice. Of course we are getting stretching and strengthening out of the postures but there is so much more. All Yoga done authentically is a mediation. In the asana classes that most of us associate with Yoga, we are using the postures, the sensation in the body, and the instruction of the teacher as points of focus to calm the mind. In what most people see as meditation that point of focus is the breath, a sound or a candle flame. There are literally 1000’s of meditations. This is a process of noticing the thoughts when the arise and coming back to the point of focus. We are noticing how our unique brain works.
Like many practitioners, when I started I expected that the goal would be to stop the mind. I also assumed that the point was to get good at meditation. The few thoughts I was having the better I was meditating. If I stopped my mind I was doing it right. I would become extremely frustrated with myself because I couldn’t stop my mind. I presumed I just sucked at meditation. I would sit concentrate on my breath and then a thought would arise and I would say to myself, “See you did it again, you suck at this.” Nobody ever explained this to me.
These practices are simple but not easy to carry out in real time. They should present a challenge but that challenge should be appropriate. There are some days when I’m on a roll. I notice my thought and gently guide myself back. Other days I focus on my breath for 2 seconds just take off; one thought to the next to the next. I suddenly realize I’ve just been laying there for 15 minutes, planning my day, making a grocery list, and drafting emails in my head. To confound this progress in your practice is non-linear. One day I’m noticing the very first thought and gently coming back. Other days I still find myself making a grocery list and beating myself up for not doing it right!
So why do this? I’ve found for me that I’ve learned a lot about Bob, and how HIS brain works. While there may be some crossover in the ways our brains work each of us is unique. We are learning the skill of focus. We are learning how our brain works. We are learning how to come back when it starts doing what it does. When I’m working on a project, or in a conversation with a friend and I notice my brain taking off. I have the awareness, and go back to what I’m doing. I’ve heard the suggestion that during practice you just say to yourself “thinking” and gently come back. When I’m out here in the real world I just notice when I’m drifting and bring myself back. In conversations with others, especially lively ones I’ve noticed that I’m often not even listening but considering my reply or what I’m going to say next.
The more we practice the more we realize how our thinking can get in the way. We are not listening we are not seeing. The quieter we can make our thoughts the clearer we are able to see things how they really are.
So ultimately by practicing meditation regularly I’m getting better at life.