“Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.” Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati
Weekly Focus: Citta (consciousness; all that can be percieved)
Citta is our absolute consciousness – all that we know and all that we can know intellectually, cognitively, intuitively and emotionally. We come to yoga to help us practice awakening our perceptions and to see beyond our own individual experience.
Citta – all that we have perceived and all that we are able to perceive. This is our consciousness or spirit. The practice of yoga helps us to quiet the excessive thoughts, distractions or perceptions of citta, but not to find absolute stillness, rather, we quiet the thoughts so that we may open ourselves to new understandings. When we are able to quiet the excess chatter of citta, we may awaken something within us that was previously hidden.
Spring is a time where we may find our thoughts buzzing with excitement and activity, pulling us in many directions. This time of the year calls us to quiet and soften the voices of citta. How can we practice allowing only the most essential thoughts to hold our focus?
Here is a simple practice in directing your focus:
- Find a quiet space to meditate — set yourself aside somewhere in a quiet space free from distractions. Set a timer for 5 – 10 minutes. If you are newer to meditation, 5 minutes will work well.
- Focus on your breath — close your eyes and begin simply focusing on how you are breathing. This will begin to pull you into focus and take your awareness to a deeper state. You might notice your pacing, the depth of your breath, the pathway of the breath.
- Sort your mind — now allow yourself to settle into your mind. As thoughts being to arise, acknowledge the thought, label it for what it is (this is an idea, this is a to-do, this is a memory), and set it aside, like sorting your recycling. Continue this pattern until the thoughts slow. Anytime your thoughts become too loud or distracting, restart the process.
Passive Pose of the Week: Anahatasana (puppy pose)
Anahatasana offers a place of surrender and opening. Allow this pose to help surrender to your thoughts and to quiet the excess, so that you may be open to something unexpected.
- Begin in a tabletop position on hands and knees.
- Walk your hands forward on the mat and perhaps slightly wider.
- Start to melt your chest and belly to the floor, resting your forhead to the space between your arms.
- Stay here for 7 – 10 breaths. When you are ready to come out, you might scoot the hands closer to your body to press up.
Anahatasana can be a bit awkward, not knowing where to set your face. Should I smash my face in the floor? Should I prop onto my chin in an awkward way? Try taking anahatasana with a bolster underneath of your belly! This will reduce the drop in the spine, and provide a soft landing space for the head. While this my not be a super deep bend, it provides a restorative place that you can relax into and soften your focus.
Active Pose of the Week: Natarajasana (King Dancer Pose)
Natarajasana is a big, open, and expansive pose, bringing with it a sense of aliveness! The focus needed in dancer helps to eliminate the citta vrtti or excess distractions, so that you can hold space for what is important in the moment,. Let this posture help awaken you to truth of your Self and Spirit!
- Begin in a standing Mountain pose (tadasana).
- Set your gaze steady and feel yourself root down into your right leg.
- Begin to kick your left heel to your seat and reach your hand back behind you, grabbing hold of the outside or inside of the foot. Try both and see what feels best.
- Reach your left hand up and alongisde your ear.
- Being to kick your left foot into your right hand strongly, as you do use the hand to help pull the leg up and create some traction between hand and foot.
- Feel the body like a lever, and as the leg lifts behind you, start to drop and lower the torso.
- Finally, begin to extend the spine foward, bringing a small backbend into the pose. The traction of your hand to your foot can help to open up the front shoulder and guide you into the back bend.
- Hold for 3 – 5 breaths and switch sides.
Natarajasana requires an immense amount of focus. This posture is asking us to do a lot, all while standing on just one leg! As you complete the balance on one side, you may take time before switching to observe the quieting of the mind. It’s hard to think about your grocery list when you are trying to engage a standing backbend!
Join us in class this week to practice your honing your perceptions. See the full schedule HERE.
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