Being Human
Yoga is union; it is the suspension of thought, said Patanjali. This state of right-mindedness comes with a lot of practice. Yoga asanas help us develop that freedom from thought and the ability to be one with the mind and body. Throughout the process we must be patient and compassionate with ourselves—this is the art of being human.
In many of my earlier yoga classes, every time a teacher would say “Ardha Chandrasana,” my mind would automatically become apprehensive. As I moved into the pose, I would wobble to the left or the right, trying to digest the teacher’s cues on how to strengthen the pose. My mind would loath being in the pose. Then, as we moved onto the next pose, I felt a sense of relief with the end of Ardha Chandrasana and excitement as I moved forward.
One day, I realized that the grimace that I had on my face whenever I practiced this arduous pose was indeed an inward reflection of how I dealt with challenging situations. The sense of frustration and anger that arises when I can’t hold a pose and the will to quickly move forward to the next best pose is how I would deal with obstacles in everyday life. As humans, we express a number of emotions in a given day. Our mindfulness with every emotion—whether it be anger, frustration, joy, or relief—is what allows us to strengthen the oneness with the mind and body. Naturally, with the frustrating inward thoughts that I was expressing in Ardha Chandrasana, I was reflecting a frustrating outward pose.
Perhaps, it was time that I took the opportunity to gently guide myself through the pose. First, I changed my thoughts: going from “I hate this pose” to “I can do this” to “take it one step at a time” to “Yay! I can do Ardha Chandrasana” took me several months to accomplish. The awareness of the conversation I have with myself and the knowledge that I am, indeed, responsible for my thoughts helped me create a strong outward reflection in my asanas and everyday life. The joy that I feel today in this pose came from the acceptance of being human and giving myself time and space to cultivate this beautiful pose.
The power and the strength that comes from the self-talk we have needs to be evaluated daily. As humans, our emotions reflect whether or not we are in alignment with our mind and body. And through awareness of mind and body unity and a shift towards true perception, we can grow to a higher level of consciousness. I invite you to reflect on your thoughts and discover your true potential by illuminating the power within you. How do you deal with your Ardha Chandrasana? Can you give yourself time, patience and thoughtfulness to build a stronger you?
With love.