“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
– Mahatma Ghandi
Weekly Focus: Samadhi (spiritual absorption)
Samadhi is the 8th limb of the Yoga Sutras and is defined in many ways as “enlightenment,” “bliss,” “liberation…” the list goes on. When we break down the word, sam means “together” or “completely,” a meaning “toward,” and dhe maening “put.” Simply put, Samadhi brings about the feeling of absolute flow – seeing yourself as continuous within and without, no separation between your experience, my experience, and the world around you.
Samadhi cannot be fully described without first understanding that it is the highest step on a stairway to spiritual absorption. The actions taken before Samadhi are important in order to get to your space of “oneness.” Specifically, the concepts of Dharana and Dhyana that come immediately before Samadhi. Dharana is a concentrated effort. Consider taking on a difficult gardening task, perhaps digging dirt for a new bed. Dharana is similar to the point of getting started, focusing all of your mental and physical energy to the task at hand. Then Dhyana, finding yourself in an effortless flow. Once you get started on the initial task of digging up your new garden bed, you eventually find yourself in a rhythm. Despite the work being challenging, you come to a place where you can keep working and find a fluidity to your pace. Eventually we find Samadhi, the space of of becoming one with the experience through effortless flow. Similarly, as we dig and work and focus in the garden, we might eventually find ourselves not noticing the passing of time, being absorbed in the effort, until finally we realize, we are done!
While completing a beautiful new garden bed is not the same as achieving a state of Samadhi, it can provide a more tangible relationship to the experience of Samdhi. When we achive those glimpses of life where we see energy and connection flowing within us and through us, we find those brief moments of bliss, of absolute oneness. There is no you and me, there is no you and that tree, everything is all one. It’s pretty heady, we know. But it’s not meant to be easy to obtain or to understand. Yoga, as always, is a lifelong journey that asks of us patience and practice.
This week we focus on seeking our effortless flow on the path to Samadhi. How do we move in step with the world around us so that each action, each word, each breath becomes a harmonic note? The more that we can remove our distractions and align ourselves with the work and people that relate to our authentic nature, the more naturally this flow will come.
Here is a simple practice in meditation to practice Dharana and Dhyana:
- Set aside 10 min to yourself — set yourself up in a quiet space free of distraction. Make sure you have a comfortable place to sit or lie down, let the lighting be at a comfortable level, and ensure that you won’t be disrupted.
- Focus on your breath — close your eyes and focus solely on your breath. Feel the spaces in the body that the breath moves. Then begin to count your inhales and exhales. Inhale to a count of 4 and exhale to a count of 5. This is similar to our Sama Vrtti Pranayama.
- Sustain your focus — continue counting your breath for 10 rounds. You can count by using mala beads or simply tapping each finger on your thighs as you complete a round. Moving from pinky to thumb on one hand, and pink to humb on the second hand.
- Experience the calm — you may continue counting your breath or start to let it go. At this point, your thoughts may have quieted and you may feel very involved with your breath. Experience and enjoy the sensation of simply breathing and finding flow from within.
Passive Pose of the Week: Upavistha Konasana (seated wide leg forward fold)
Take time to slow down and connect with the earth and your breath in this grounded fold.
- Begin sitting on the floor.
- Take the feet wide, so that the legs open up into a wide “V” shape.
- Bring your hands to the floor in front of you. Inhale and push into the hands or fingers, and lengthen the base of the spine.
- Exhale and fold forward to any degree.
- Breath for 5 – 7 breaths before lifting yourself from the pose. Use the hands to help gently rebend the knees.
This is a pose where we may not feel like we can fold forward very far. That’s OK! There are several prop modifications we can use to help us experience a less-efforted fold. Option 1 – sit up on the edge of a blanket. This starts to automatically bring a tilt into the pelvis. Option 2 – bring a large cushion, bolster, or firm stack of towels in front of you. As you fold forward, stack as many props as you need to give the forearms and the forehead a place to land comfortable. Doing so will allow you stay in the pose longer, and allow the body to naturally relax. The more you can release tension, you may start to notice the weight of your body slowly dragging you lower with each breath.
Active Pose of the Week: Bakasana (crow pose)
Crow pose is a great metaphor to the stages leading up to Samadhi: Dharana – Dhyana – Samadhi. You must focus, you must breath and find your flow, and then you sustain and feel aligned with the posture.
- Begin by coming into a deep squat.
- Place the hands on the floor in front of you about shoulders width apart. Make sure the fingers have space between and you can feel a firm grip on the floor
- Begin to bend your elbows back, creating a shelf with the arms.
- As the elbows bend, simulatenously lean forward. As you do try to squeeze the upper arms with your knees, feeling all of your energy come towards your center. Continue leaning forwad and looking forward.
- You can keep the toes on the ground or try to lift one your both feet, finding yourself in a balance.
- Hold for 3 – 5 breaths and rest.
Bakasana can be frustrating. This pose takes not only strength, flexibility and focus, but it also takes an element of self-trust. It doesn’t feel natural to lean forward into the hands, you may feel like you are going to fall forward onto your face! When first learning crow, a great place to start is by squatting on a couple of blocks. This way you can lean forward into the hands and start to feel the sensation of having your feet off of the floor, but you don’t have to focus on the balance. Give it a try! Even if you have crow pose, practicing this way may help you refine the posture and maybe hold longer in the future!
Join us in class this week to practice your finding your effortless flow! See the full schedule HERE.
