Day 14: Moksha Yoga, “Are you disturbed?”

So I came into day 14 of 30 straight days of hot yoga at Moksha Yoga and laid on my mat, closed my eyes before practice, and as I laid there I noticed something. Here I am laying down and breathing, simple, right? Yet what changes when I get on my feet in a pose and start moving? Yes the room is hot, yes there are people everywhere, yes the poses flow, but what is changing this peace of mind that I am experiencing on my mat as I lay here now? So I wondered if I could find out. Well if you look you will find, if you ask, it is given. In all religions, and spiritual practices when you look at the core teachings, they all have some common ground, like all yoga practices the breath is common and in all customs, religions, and spiritual practices “Be still.” So what disturbs your peace of mind?  Not a piece of  mind, your peace of mind.

As I moved into the pose and was breathing and allowing the breath to breath the pose, I noticed that the mind would react to the pose (The Physical), and  the reactive mind would disturb my peace of mind. So I began to witness with the breath breathing the pose, and I watched the mind create an interpretation of what may be going on, but as I listened to the mind interpret the pose, its logic was so far from the truth, I began to see the irrational mind at work.  So as I witnessed the pose, and would just breath with it,  the mind would dive in loudly, like a scared child, and panic, “This is impossible, you can’t do this, will fall, look bad, oh my goodness, nooooo!” I listened with the breath and saw that the mind was seeing the pose, and by seeing the pose, was outside of it.  But when I was breathing into the pose I would  pass the mind programmed little self, which put me into the pose, inside myself, and from there falling down became playful, fun, and childlike, not childish. This is a big break through for myself and I hope I am explaining this correctly for you.

The mind is attached to the body sensations and from there creates an identity of drama, chaos, joy, etc depending on feel…but the breath when I am fully engaged in it, creates peace, strength, and allows for a deeper practice.  From the vantage point of the breath I am the witness, and from this place, I am allowed to be childlike, in wonder, laugh more, playful, but when I choose to engage the mind I notice I become strict, judgmental, suffocated, and falling down is a shot to approval.

I learn more when I am relaxed, loose, playful, and having fun.  When the intellect gets in involved to much, I become like a serious robot and want to show off in my pose.  But yoga isn’t about how flexible you are, it is about many other things, but for me it shows you what disturbs your peace of mind in every pose. So what disturbs your peace of mind? On to Day 15 of 30…..

  David Matthew Brown- Author, Blogger, Heart Trainer, and Heartspirational Speaker, and Single Dad.