Wheelin' Along our Path with the 6th Limb: DHARANA/CONCENTRATION

As we ADD THIS 6TH SPOKE TO OUR WHEEL, a SUPPORT for this JOURNEY in our lives, we consider this 6th Limb of Yoga~ Concentration...

"FIXING THE CONSCIOUSNESS AT ONE POINT OR REGION IS CONCENTRATION." ~ B.K.S. Iyengar

As Rolf Gates shares: "We learn to bring our attention to one point, and train our minds to stay there. The point of concentration can be external, as in asana, or it can be internal, as in meditation.

On the mat we experience DHARANA quite often, during those moments when we lose track of time, when our mids become so absorbed in the physical experience of a posture that we are no longer connected to everyday concerns. In dharana, the past and the future have dissolved and we are simply existing in the NOW...

When we are doing something we truly love, we connot help but give ourselves to it wholeheartedly. DHARANA, therefore, is a by-product of love. In the clarity of a focused mind, we find that timeless place where we connect with our soul...

In baseball, pitchers are told, 'Throw the ball, don't aim it.' This is a good example of the difference between knowledge and the knowing that is beyond knowledge. To aim the ball is to come from a place of knowledge, of trying to control events. To throw the ball is to let go into the flow of the moment, to trust events and your place in them. To aim the ball is to affirm your separateness; to throw the ball is to affirm your connectedness. In aiming there is much mental chatter; in throwing there is no sound; there does not need to be.

The regularity of asana and meditation practice provides us with the chance to see both forms of activity for what they are. We can think about a posture or we can embody it fully, without reservation. We can sit in meditation at war with ourselves, trying to stay with the breath, or we can surrender and soften into stillness...

DHARANA is throwing the ball. It is the quiet that occurs when we flow into a posture or let go into meditation. It is the mind pouring itself like water into a moment. It is the stillness that is beyond knowledge.

OM SHANTI, OM PEACE, OM DHARANA,
Lee Ann

Turning INWARD :: PRATYAHARA

With ALL THE RAIN we've received this April in Michigan, our WHEELING ALONG our paths has often revealed BUMPS & LUMPS in/on the roads, huge puddles, mud & muck...and, OH, THE BEAUTY OF SPRING buds, the sounds of new life & birds, the richness of the sun's rays through tree branches, the quiet after the thunderstorms...and we truly need the next SPOKE OF OUR WHEEL:

PRATYAHARA=TURNING INWARD...sometimes described as: "Withdrawal of the senses"~ Simply closing our eyes, is a beautiful beginning in the practice of PRATYAHARA...eliminating the external, visual stimuli of that person walking into yoga class, the red convertible driving by the window, the gray storm clouds gathering in the sky, the dog's sad face after her surgery...as we close our eyes, the myriad distractions=which lead to more thoughts= diminish...

And what happens if we turn off, or choose to walk away from our phones...allowing the sense of hearing to take in no TV, no repetitive news stories of the travesty of Boston's Marathon, no IPOD music, no conversation...just for 5 minutes~allowing the SOUNDS OF SILENCE, of NATURE to be ALL we embrace...WITHDRAWAL OF THE SENSES...

Pratyahara INVITES us to JUST BE...to sit & breathe, to close our eyes, and open our minds & hearts to THIS MOMENT, HERE, NOW...to let go of our external seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling...and go within...THIS JOURNEY INWARD can last moments...and reveal so much ... dare we explore this 5th LIMB OF YOGA?

Try this, right now...JUST SIT, STAND, LIE DOWN, AND CLOSE YOUR EYES...BREATHE IN, HOLD THIS BREATH, LET IT OUT...AGAIN, BREATHE IN, RETAIN THIS PEACEFUL PRANA, LET IT GO...EYES CLOSED, HEARTS OPEN, BREATHE...

om shanti, om peace, om love,
Lee Ann

My GROWTH and EVOLUTION through TRUTH in the Practice of SELF-STUDY...

As we continue our SOJOURN, WHEELING ALONG on this SACRED JOURNEY called LIFE, I wonder how you're doing on your saga of 'studying yourself'???? 

I continue my SELF-STUDY/SVADHYAYA exploring, seeking understanding, gaining more insight into myself, my soul....

Just 2 days ago, I had another mammogram, ordered by my oncologist (breast cancer diagnosis, surgery, and radiation a few years ago). After years of these tests, I find it interesting to witness my fear (my mind's self-talk) as I approach the hospital, AGAIN, for this examination....I am aware of the 'shortness' I had w/the hospital staff going into this test (which years ago were just 'routine', and now are accompanied by tears due to the past few years' experiences....)

As I mentally 'stepped outside myself', and 'viewed my fears & tears' with the eyes of a COMPASSIONATE WITNESS, I was able to BREATHE INTO MY HEART & MY GUT, where I was FEELING THE FEARS...I allowed myself to FEEL the tears as they streamed down my face, and CONSCIOUSLY let the tightly clenched belly and the wetness on my cheeks BE. Rather than fighting these very real feelings, I FELT them; rather than stuffing the feelings, I BEGAN TO EMBRACE THEM, and even ACCEPT THEM with understanding... IN ALLOWING MYSELF to be human~to NOT HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER, I began to relax...I was able to CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE to be more patient with the technician and the secretary in the Breast Center...I was MORE PRESENT to myself, my soul...and, thus, to them and their work, their feelings...

And I see this as GROWTH...in being, in breathing, in feeling, in letting go, in accepting what is true, what is real...

Does this make sense to you? Are you willing and able to study yourself, and to see changes, growth, healing, and to be HONEST/TRUTHFUL with yourself? FOR THIS IS WHAT SVADHYAYA is all about...When we open to TRUTH, our souls are able to EVOLVE..."To grow is to change, and to have changed often, is to have grown much".

Rolf Gates, in his special book: MEDITATIONS FROM THE MAT, encourages us to practice this aspect of self-study,"...examine the level of truthfulness in our workplaces family, and friendships.
How much time do we spend in the presence of people who are telling the truth? How much do we spend with people who are not? What is it like when we hear the truth? What is it like when we do not? What fears keep us from being honest? It it true that like attracts like? Does honesty beget honesty?"

As we explore this 4th Niyama, Svadhyaya, what are we encountering, experiencing, embracing,about ourselves? Do we like what we're learning?....Self-study...hmmmmmmmmmm...

I wish you, as I do myself, much TRUTH as we WHEEL THROUGH THIS DAY, THIS WEEK, THIS....

Hari Om, Tat Sat,
In truth, in Self-study,
Lee Ann

All the wonders you seek ~ are within yourself

A wise man, a sage, Patanjali, wrote the YOGA SUTRAS, which are 'THREADS' that tie together/unite
ways to live our lives more peacefully.... these Sutras were written between 500-200 B.C.  His words of wisdom are the basis, the foundation of a healthy, balanced yogic lifestyle and the foundation on which YOGA IS BUILT.... He provides us with 196 succinct lessons on our human nature, how to actualize our potential, very simple, clear-cut guidelines on how to live our lives more fully.

I LOVE that he reminds us of something we so often forget: everything that we need, in this lifetime, we already possess....yet we spend so much, too much time, looking outside of ourselves to find peace, happiness, joy.... We're reminded by the music group America, that "Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin Man, that he didn't already have.....", and by Rolf Gates: "Dorothy, having travelled across time time and space to the land of Oz, and having struggled separately to find her way back to Kansas, discovers that she could have gone home at any time...."

Yoga helps us remember, each time we come to our mat, that each in breath can bring us peace, and each out breath can release stress, fear, heartache....if we choose....the CHOICE IS ALWAYS, ALL WAYS OURS...