Hey— Does anyone else sit in meditation and have errant thoughts drag you away? Oh, come on— we all do. It’s the nature of the mind to be vigilant: to look out for anything that might be dangerous, or at least perceived to be dangerous. It’s part of our inherent survival instinct. We are hard-wired to be good at doing a U-turn from that peaceful state and being ready to run.
Yet, the ability to drop in to a feeling of resting in this present moment is so very healing. This process seems to wipe the slate clean, and open us to deeper connections (in relationships, and spiritually), and unlock the gates to creativity.
In difficult times, this ability seems to me to be the requisite to remaining sane.
We all know this state — why not take a moment right now, and remember a specific time when you felt this peacefulness, this now-ness, this awe? Maybe on a mountain top? In a deep wood? Watching your baby sleep? Maybe in a recent meditation, even if briefly?
One of the gifts of the practice of yoga is to experience this peace, and to feel the shifts in and out of it, too. To feel the distraction come on, whether it is driven by fear or regret, ambition gone awry, or unbearable pain. Then we learn to develop a key: to identify a means to burst the bubble of distraction and to get back to peace.
I think most of us who practice yoga, know what triggers us into our unhelpful habits—which is a great skill! But what about learning the trigger, the cues that reliably bring us back? Can each of us find our own key to Return us to Center?
I have discovered a few that help me: Pranayama has been a remarkable portal for me in building awareness of the mind-states, and a means to slide into deeper states of consciousness.
But I don’t want to discount the no-frills paths: the walks in nature, the spell of love, listening to music, or watching the great blue heron on the hunt. This is my short list of things that might be discounted as not-real-practice, but teaches so much about dropping in, feeling the inner-connectedness of all things, and living in the present moment. The remembrance of arriving at presence via these activities, helps me Return when in meditation or whenever I need it.
So Yogis, join me! Lets commit to Returning to Center—to this sweet state— at least once, every single day. You find your way, and I’ll keep doing mine.
love,
annie
PS:
These pics are by Kirsten Noelle; lmk if you want her info.
