Meditation ?

I tried many things to find peace of mind and some did work for a while. But when I discovered Yoga, I was fascinated. I dabbled for a while, but when I got sick, I saw a possibility with Yoga that nothing else offered me. And… the incentive to practice is much stronger when your life depends on it. My body was in bad shape, but my mind was the real problem. I had no control over my thoughts.

Worrying doesn’t solve anything. We think a lot, don’t we, and when we think we use energy. The brain uses up to thirty percent of the body’s intake of oxygen. When we do Asana and Pranayama, we change something. Prior to a yoga class, mind is in mundane reality. As we concentrate on a posture and breathe and focus, the mundane mind drops away. We become more focused. We discover an enquiring mind, as in, ‘why am I thinking about this right now?’

Worrying is different to what we might call normal thinking. If you believe, which I do, that the body responds to fear whether real or imagined then you may see what I mean. For example, if you are worrying, you are probably anxious. Anxiety is fear. The main fear chemical/hormone is Adrenaline. Adrenaline is part of the ‘flight or fight’ pathway that triggers the chemicals/hormones, which prepare our body to run from threat, or fight it. It’s evolutionary and part of our biological heritage.

Running from a sabre-toothed tiger or fighting an enemy was vital to our survival. But what about now? We’re in the queue too long. Someone bashes into you. You get stuck in traffic. All these things may trigger a hormone cascade, leading to, increased heartbeat, rapid breathing, dry mouth; symptoms of a stimulated sympathetic nervous system. Imagine this day in and day out over a long period of time. You get used to it. It becomes normal.

You may be lucky enough to find a yoga class. At the end of the class you, may for the first time in a long time, experience a deep restful peace. Wow! (By the way, I’m not saying there aren’t other ways to relax naturally, and no, I’m not including booze or drugs in the ‘natural’ list of ways to relax.)   

We all know… thinking is hard to stop. So, the first step may be to acknowledge that we are thinking in the first place. Next, we may look deeper into what are we thinking about?

And…why are we thinking about it right now in this moment? Can’t it wait? Can we put it to one side for now?

And it is here that we may be surprised to find that, No, we can’t put it to one side.

What then? What does this mean? It means we have no control over our mind.

Thinking can intrude anytime of the day or night without our wanting it to. Have you ever lay in bed at three am and not been able to sleep, because of the mind is thinking stuff, stuff sometimes that has no relationship whatsoever to the present? Probably.  

Of course, thinking serves a purpose too. But does it have to dominate your inner landscape all day long? Would you tolerate a friend babbling away all day long?

Can you stop thinking if you want to? I mean really, stop?

The first step is to become aware of what you’re thinking about. If it’s important, it may deserve some consideration and time. If it’s trivial let it go! Can you?

Sounds easy right?

Wrong !

But… we have to start somewhere.

After you finish your practice take some time lying or sitting comfortably. Close your eyes. Observe the breath. Notice thoughts. Become the silent observer.

That’s it.

But it doesn’t work if you don’t do it.

PS. There will be more on this subject!

Thanks for reading. Terry ☀️