“Clarity is a consequence of handling your confusion consciously.” – Sadhguru
Weekly Focus: Citta Vrtti (distraction or mind chatter)
Citta vrtti are the waves of thought which move across the stillness of the mind. By taking time to calm these waves through grounding and reflection, we create more clarity to envision the future we desire.
We live in a world constantly bombarded with distractions. These distractions come at us from every direction, infiltrating our actions, our thoughts, and our focus. This can make it hard to find ourself in deep, contemplative thought. That’s unfortunate, because quiet time is often the best space for creative thinking, idea generation, and envisioning our dreams!
Citta vrtti, or mental fluctuations are the racing thoughts of the mind that can be distracting during times of focus. Calming and clearing these fluctuations does not mean that we empty out the mind. Rather, we are quieting the thoughts that are not priorities so that we may create space to see more clearly our deepest desires, our possibilities, and our dreams. Clearing these fluctuations helps us to remove confusion, to remove the distractions that do not align with our authentic Self, and to have clarity and quality of thought.
Consider if you are at home reading a book, but your partner or roomate has music on in the background at a high volume. If you are like me, you might have a hard time focusing on what you are reading, trying to read and re-read over and over, without really comprehending what you have read. However, if you are able to adjust the volume of that music and turn it down enough so that it is not the forefront of your mind, you are able to focus and concentrate more on your reading. This is essentially what happens when we turn down the volume on the excess chatter in the mind. We hold space to focus on what is important, and what we desire.
Here is a simple practice in calming citta vrtti:
- Focus on your breath — feeling unfocused? Offer yourself 5 minutes to clear your mind with your breath. Find a quiet space or turn on soft music and close your eyes. As you inhale slowly, count to up to four. Pause for a moment, and then exhale slowly, counting down from five to one. Continue this breath for several minutes until you find yourself feeling calm and only focusing on your breath.
- Visualize your success — nervous about a big project or a goal you are trying to achieve? Cut out the excess noise by practicing the visualization of your success! Coming to a quiet space, use your imagination to see yourself finding success in whatever you are undertaking. Imagine every detail, the people you are with, and the way you feel. Repeat this as often as you need until your vision becomes your reality!
- Move your body — yoga asana, as mentioned last week, is there to help you calm energy and calm your thoughts. If you are feeling antsy, unfocused, or scattered, come to your mat. This can be 10 min or 60 min of practice. As you move, become enmeshed with breath and movement, and allow your thoughts to soften.
Passive Pose of the Week: Supta Matsyendrasana (supine twist)
Supta Matsyendrasana is a spinal twist that creates a wringing out sensation in the body. We often metaphorically compare our twists to poses that clear away through this “wringing-out.” Use this pose as a reminder to wash away the unnecessary distraction and create space in the body and mind.
- Begin in a reclined position with your feet on the floor and your knees bent.
- Lift your hips and shift them to the right side of your mat by a couple inches. Allow your knees to drop to the left.
- Open up your arms wide, straight in line with your shoulders.
- If it feels good, turn to look over your right shoulder.
- Stay in the twist for 5 – 7 breaths before switchin sides.
There are many ways to adjust your supine twist. One reason that we shift our hips towards the edge of the mat, is that it allows more space for you find a big twist in the spine while allowing your opposite shoulder to drop to the floor. Not only will you get a big, full body twisting sensation, but you will experience a big broadening across your chest. Your knees can be modified anyway that feels best. You might enjoy stacking one knee on top of the other, staggering the knees, or even allowing the bottom leg to straighten away from you. All of these expression offer different benefits, and we recommend you play around to see what feels best on any given day!
Active Pose of the Week: Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (standing splits pose)
Standing Splits pose is akin to a forward fold with one leg lifted into the air. This compression of the belly and thigh might create a sort of clearing or release sensation once we come out of the fold. This pose is also a great place to metaphorically “let go” of what is entering and distracting the mind. With the head inverted, we might imagine dumping out the mind chatter through the crown of the head and removing those distractions from the thoughts.
- Begin in a standing Mountain pose (tadasana).
- Fold forward bring your hands to the floor.
- Widen your hands and walk them forward lightly, to create a stable base for the body.
- Lift your left leg high into the air, working to keep the hips square to the ground.
- Try to allow the torso to stay in a forward fold as you tone the left leg to keep the lift.
- Take 3 – 5 breaths before switching sides.
A great way to support this posture is by bringing the floor closer to you with the usage of blocks, as pictured above. One block can be place beneath each hand, so that if you dont quite reach the floor you can still have a base to help with the balance in the pose. Even if your hands do touch the floor, sometimes your hands on block is a really comforting and grounding sensation! Try it out!
Join us in class this week to practice calming citta vrtti. See the full schedule HERE.
