Healing: the act or progress of regaining health.
Intention: the mental state that represents a commitment to carrying out an action in the future.
When I found my way to yoga ,by chance I was fortunate to find a teacher I liked and respected. This was useful, bearing in mind how challenging yoga can be. Although I remained largely ignorant of the real point of yoga the journey was enough. I was impressed that yoga had a tradition that stretched into the deep mists of time. I’d tried many things before reaching this point, but none had the weight and tradition yoga had. As I soldiered on I realised it wasn’t so much that I was getting somewhere, moving forward, it was more that I was getting away from something. I became aware of patterns; worrying and overthinking and emotional reactions were exposed. My distractedness too and lack of concentration that had led to many bad decisions. The yoga journey gave me the impression I was doing something positive for myself.
But it wasn’t until I realised the real point of yoga that I got the most benefit. Without wanting to sound esoteric the true nature of Yoga came when I was ready for it. It wasn’t that I hadn’t been taught it. It was that I hadn’t really heard it.
What intention could there be for doing Yoga?
If we look at the eight limbs of Yoga as a progression from one through to eight the last limb is Samadhi. ( See September Blog Yoga in Depth )
The prior to Samadhi are: 5.Pratyahara 6.Dharana 7.Dhyana which all involve turning inward and going progressively deeper.
Limbs: 3 and 4 Asana and Pranayama are designed to release stress and cleanse and energise the brain and nervous system. The combination of these practices creates a more relaxed and meditative state of mind enabling us to be comfortable in stillness for longer periods and allowing a smooth transition into deep states of meditation.
These deep states are not a hypothetical esoteric mystery. The brain has frequencies: Beta, Alpha, Theta & Delta
Beta - the highest frequency, relates to what we might call normal waking consciousness.
Alpha,Theta & Delta all descend into lower frequencies and deeper states of relaxation.
To consciously descend into increasingly lower frequencies takes a lot of discipline, something sorely lacking in most of us I would say, including me ☺
Samadhi can only mean one thing then; a deep state of meditation. If we are *karmically predisposed to this state it may become permanent. But words like meditation and relaxation do not do real justice to a comprehension of Samadhi.
*or… if we have the tenacity and discipline it requires.
The way you think and behave and live your life affects your health and mental stability.
We are responsible for our own healing.
Asana and Pranayama enhance mental concentration.
Through layers of superficial thinking we move into deeper layers of calmness and peace.
The ego nags us and wants us back to share (what it considers) important information.
We may (temporarily) give up the quiet space and go back to the chatter.
We contemplate the chatter to sort what’s relevant.
It’s an ongoing journey.
Anxiety is hard wired.
Stress is nothing new.
The peace we seek is hard won.
An intention to become peaceful makes us more aware of how unpeaceful we are.
WE remind ourselves to relax.
I don’t think we need to see ourselves as victims of the past. We may have been affected by what happened, but we need to be honest. Under the umbrella of healing many are led to other states of dependency; on groups, gurus and therapists, etc. Indulging in victimhood and blame (in my opinion) is a waste of time. Health and safety laws designed to keep us safe seem to create even more anxiety. The world is unsafe. The future is uncertain. The veneer of safety in the so-called modern world is an illusion. We are participants in an ongoing adventure called life.
THE END
Terry 🙏