Last week at Mill Road Community Space, we explored the five causes of suffering described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:
1/ the belief that this physical world perceived by our senses is the only Reality and Truth (This physical world is so changeable, so impermanent – how can we rest, where can we stand in this world of constant and unpredictable change?)
2/ the belief that our physical body and mind is the Real and True Self – that we are separate, distinct beings – and that we are born and die
3/ the clinging to things we like
4/ the aversion to things we dislike
5/ our clinging to life and fear of death
These “afflictions,” as Patanjali calls them, are universal – a part of our human condition – until we learn to transcend them!
Michael Singer, in his book “The Untethered Soul,” explores this in his own way. He writes that we all experience “inner disturbances” – troubling or negative thoughts, difficult emotions, physical discomforts. And usually, when we do, we tend to contract – in our mind, our heart, and/or our body. The mind grasps onto the troubling thought and begins to spin stories around it. The heart shrinks, recoils. The body tightens in its attempt to protect itself. You can experiment with this in a yoga posture that you do not usually enjoy – move into that posture, and notice what kind of disturbance in creates in your body and mind. Today, we sat in square/firelog pose, one of my least favourite postures. Dragon pose is another posture that offers an intense, uncomfortable stretch. (This said, however, never push your body past its limits! Respect pain as a signal to back off.) But really, anything – any situation, comment, etc. – that triggers inner discomfort or pain warrants our attention here.
Now, as the disturbance arises within, witness it, watch it from some distance, notice its effects in your body, heart and mind. And here are Mr. Singer’s words of wisdom: Open your heart, open your mind – relax! Don’t contract, don’t close. Allow the disturbance to pass through your being. Contracting only traps the disturbance within your being.
Our body’s energy ( or “prana” in Sanskrit) moves through channels in the body (called “nadis”). The main, central channel (“sushumna nadi”) passes through both the heart and mind. If we contract the heart and mind, we block our flow of energy, which leads to stress and disease. So keep the heart and mind open and relaxed, allow the disturbances to pass through, as unpleasant as that may be, but keeping it in ultimately hurts us even more.
Keeping the heart and mind open is an attitude, an intention. But we can help to open heart and mind through yoga postures that expand the chest/throat. We practiced these “heart-openers” today: bridge, fish, boat, bow, melting heart, and cat-cow.
Chanting is another form of yoga practice that helps to move our energy up through the central channel. Next time you chant OM/AUM, pay attention to where you feel the vibration of the sound. The first “A” sound resonates in the heart. The vibration of “U” then moves towards the throat. “M” vibrates near the bridge of the nose. The silence that follows… is the release of energy through the crown of head.
We have four more classes in this session. If these summaries interest you, please join us! It’s even better in person! Next week (Wed. May 9, 7-8:15pm) we explore Patanjali’s prescription of “tapas svadhyaya ishvara pranidhana” – discipline, self-inquiry and devotion.
Until then!