Meditation:- what is it?

 Let us dive straight into the deep end. Perhaps I should have worn armbands to avoid drowning in the deep and often confusing waters of meditation. Meditation which include the practices of Mantra and breath work(Pranayama) is the only practice that I can say, without doubt, has transformed the activity of my mind. How I respond to situations. What I say, do, the quality of sleep and even how I move, keeping me light in tone and balance which before the practice I would have thought would not be an obvious outcome. I would stress I am very aware of Wim Hoff, Oxygen Advantage, Pilates, Calm, Headspace and my other small practice via the mindfulness association. All have benefits. 

Practicing stillness and encouraging a peaceful space inside us is one worth pursuing. However, it's hard! Whatever I say or get you to consider, there is no question that the feedback I receive from folks, runners, movers and shakers is......it's hard. What! Yes, being still, practicing stillness, practicing nothing much appears to be very difficult for people to do. Because you ARE doing something, no question. Behind the 'nothing much' is the intention, the breath and calming of those fluctuations of the mind which we recognise.

Why is it so difficult for people to do, this meditation thing? This is the key point and worth taking a little time to discuss and tease out. We are very much  in a constant state of distraction, attention deficit and overloaded with external signals from all sorts of artificial prompts, feedback, views and opinions. We are invited to interact, offer a 'yay, or nay, thumbs up or thumbs down' so many times during the day. Opinions swamp our thoughts and cloud our views, feelings and senses. If you are not busy, what are you DOING. You really should be DOING something. Our lives are organized in a very tight orchestrated manner, have you noticed how many reminders you get, how many times your opinions are sort. How your in box is full of stuff that seems to match your search history. All very clever, these algorithms track you, your views and behavior. Who is pulling the strings, who is the conductor? You or them, you know, those big institutions and organizations that seek to interact with you. It sounds very dark, Orwellian even and in this society of interdependence we can feel a little lost.  

Whenever I get lost or feel swamped I do close my eyes and think of one of my favourite clips ever on TV. The clip is a younger David Attenborough encountering the mountain Gorillas of the Congo way back in the 1980's. These beautiful animals sit, play, eat and relax. You get a sense of calmness, with these big animals.  The mind that is on show to me, is one of peace and a full integration with their environment. 

There, we have the word that I think is the source of the mental malaise that is being reported at an increasing rate. Our environment, the one we interact with the most, is not the one we evolved to interact with. Our environment is the natural world. Our minds and body settle here or over there! The Pandemic made us realise just how much we need nature we noticed how still our minds became when we walked and moved in the natural world around our local area. 

Tuning into simply being, being still, being alert with clarity, being aware of our internal senses is a practice that animals don't need to do. They are there. WE are the ones who are not there. The practice of stillness, meditation is about cultivating and encouraging a mind that is less easily distracted. The levels of focus and concentration over a period of time feel easier and less of a yoke. Samyama is a sanskrit word introduced in Chapter 4 of the Sutra's. We do recognise this word if I describe it thus; , there you are in an exam, fully focused, over time, everything is flowing, you are simply on point. Or, you are listening to a piece of music, reading a book, focused and present. You are less aware of the external senses and more aware of the internal you, the object of the focus is clear. You can also have the Samyama of Mathematics, astronomy, art, music and yes! Running , you get the idea. There are other words associated with this but Yoga is about encouraging what is already present and deep within us, the ability to 'see things as they are' not as they are perceived or interpreted. With this, suffering (Dukkha) is reduced and the associated emotions of  fear, desire and anger subside. 

Big ideas here, but we can sense them and taste them, even going for a wee run on my local beach. I keep this part of my life very simple, I like simple, I like playing, I also like to practice. Whatever is shared here as A G Mohan stresses 'don't take my word for it, practice'. 

see you for another Blog in a while. 

The Yoga of Running (part 2 intro)

I love metaphors, I play with them, the image, the narrative and how the meaning of what you are trying to share is brought into sharper focus through the metaphor. They have  break points though, the reflection of the idea that the metaphor is trying to enhance and amplify can be infinitely extended is not correct. You can have some freedom but there are constraints. Really good metaphors can sit with you for a few years before you find a small chink in the description. That does not really matter, what matters is they have helped you make sense of a complex idea.

After that fairly long reason why I like metaphors here is a description of yoga I use with some metaphorical language to help us sense what Yoga is. I find it helpful. Too much formality clouds the issue.

Stare out of window and what do you see? Notice the smallest thing, focus on it, for one minute. It could be a leaf, part of a leaf, describe it, study it, focus on it, fully concentrate and commit to it.  After a minute or so (did you time yourself?) ask yourself 'where was my mind'. Probably no-where else. Those distracting, darting thoughts ceased. For a minute, the mind calmed, the senses diminished. You were you, the I of your function faded and Self made an appearance. Yoga is nothing special, in his book 'Zen mind, beginners mind, '(1970) Shinryu Suzuki states 'nothing special'. Don't look for the yoga mind and stress about doing something special, 'here I am doing yoga', look AT me. The yoga mind exists inside you. The access key, is you, you are the key holder and door opener. In a recent series of classes held by the Mohans', of www.svastha.net Indira Mohan stressed that cultivating peace and holding on to that peace in our everyday lives is a fundamental part of being human. We sense this, I think, but perhaps do not know how to cultivate and work with our bodies, breath and mind on a regular basis to encourage this feeling of Sattva (lightness and ease).

 You have to cultivate this practice, the fluctuations of the mind can cause disturbances and we lose control of our senses, we are quick to judge, make assumptions and choose language that does not precisely convey our understanding. The converse of this statement is the clear; the unobstructed mind, the mind at peace, where actions, thoughts and feelings combine with an intention fundamentally based on letting go of attachments, such as desires, fear and anger(Kleshas') is the mind that has transcended 'I' and moved to the Self.   

This feels heavy duty, Yoga thinking and descriptions can be complicated. Listening to my teachers discuss Yogic philosophy you can sense they understand the nuances of the landscape but yoga is not an academic exercise, not an intellectual pursuit. 

Runners have experienced a yogic state of mind, sensed this clear mind, the stilling of thoughts, the easing and softening of our body. It is not all about times and performance. When I am faced with yoga practitioners or yoga teachers who have attended a 1-2-1, I stress that the yoga mind is the running mind, the yoga breath is the running breath. Some feel challenged, some others state 'of course' and smile. There should be no difference to the practice on the mat compared to the practice on the trails.  If you find yourself fighting yourself, struggling with your breath when running or practising yoga this is not a practice that will sustain you in the long term (I almost said 'run' which is also physiologically true, short breathing is not a good aerobic habit). The practice of moving well and cultivating a sense of 'moving into stillness' is one that is worth holding onto. That mind can be moved into the world away from the mat,class or trails.

And finally, in this intro section, here is the sanskrit written in English for you, from the Yoga Sutra's chapter 1, verse (Sloka)1.2

'Yogas-citta-vrtti-nirodhah'   

My translation, which some yoga students would find appalling is:- The practice of yoga calms the fluctuations of the mind, allowing the mind to be clear and still.  I write this because this is what I feel, not what I think or have read.

Interestingly, the whole point of Yoga is met at the beginning of the Sutra's. not at the end. The rest of the chapters and verses are really a series of connecting statements that instruct the practitioner on how this state of mind can be reached, the practice and the dangers. 

We are now at the end of the beginning. A sense of what Yoga is about. Approaching your running with a yoga mind, may, just may give you new insights into your training, or answer that gnawing sense of something   missing from your practice. Who knows! My only advice is to give yourself some space to try out some of these ideas in this 'wee text'. It ain't a big read:)