We are meant to fully enjoy our human experience.
Struggle and resistance is what keeps us from being in the flow of joy.
We struggle mentally with countless thoughts of defeat on a constant basis. As we label everything bad or good, we either resist that which is, or we desire it so much that we become attached to it emotionally and refuse to let it go. Either way we are struggling.
It is only when we are in balance that there is no struggle.
And it is a balance on all levels, mental, emotional and physical.
Practicing effortless awareness is the key to being in balance – a subtle awareness of breath, of alignment, of sensation.
A sense of Self…
This state can only be reached when the chattering mind is silenced.
In stillness there is balance and bliss.
And so it is when practicing Hatha yoga. The body must be in full alignment in order to hold “a steady, comfortable pose”, or the Sanskrit meaning of Asana.
This balance should be established in the initial neutral pose, whether sitting, standing or lying down, before moving into an Asana.
It appears as a quiet awareness of the Self that can be seen in the mind’s eye – a subtle alignment of the spine including the neck and the head, the left and right sides of the body, front and back, as well as an energetic connection with the earth and the heavens.
From this place of balance, movement happens in what is an extension of the body’s alignment, adjusting balance every step of the way until reaching the edge or finding perfection in the pose. Here the holding becomes effortless. There is a sensation of settling and softness, even when what you are feeling is intense.
And in this moment of silent witnessing releases happen, moving us towards the ultimate Balance of Being.
