Happiness

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.
Khalil Gibran

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.
Paulo Coelho 

 In the midst of opening a new studio I was recently forced to face the difficulties that have presented themselves the past year in my personal life.   I have focused most of my efforts the past year on teaching, advancing my training and most recently on opening the studio.  I was grateful to have something positive on which  to focus my time and energy.   We have different ways of coping with painful situations.  I tend to withdraw from social situations and swallow my emotions --- which in the past several years manifested as severe abdominal bloating and other irritable bowel symptoms, or keep myself busy to avoid facing them as I have done recently.   Late nights alone working on my laptop in bed were my own version of shutting out the outside world --- and my cramped neck has paid the price.  If you have noticed the extra pause while I practice Upward-Facing Dog,  now you know why!   I am stretching out the front of my neck and squeezing everything back into its proper place in the back of my neck and shoulders.   Aaahhhh!!! 

Sometimes I feel that I have shouldered the blame --- literally as well as figuratively.   Although the unfairness of it momentarily distresses me,  I recall that according to more than one philosophy,  life is suffering and we create it.    It is not helpful to wallow in regret and pain over the past.  It is over, and although we learn from our mistakes there is definitely no benefit in ruminating over them.   However, if we recognize that we create our own emotional suffering in the present, we are taking the first step towards liberation of the mind.    

Sometimes it seems easier to blame others for our pain, but this means that we are relinquishing control of our own happiness.   If we believe that others are the cause of our suffering, this means that others are also controlling our happiness.  We cannot change the world in an instant and we do not have complete control over anyone but ourselves.   We do have power over our own minds and correspondingly our actions.  In accepting that we cause our own emotional suffering with our thoughts, we also affirm that we have the power to create happiness.   We can choose to end our suffering by freeing our minds from the thoughts that created it, and begin a journey towards healing and happiness.

Many things are easier in theory than in practice.  So, where do we start?

Through our yoga practice, we learn to be present and aware of the sensations we are feeling in our body.  Moving with awareness allows us to progress safely through the postures and allows us to tend to our physical needs.  This may mean stretching out certain poses a little longer or deeper --- such as the rounding of the spine during Cat pose if you have low back tension,  or opening the chest in any gentle backbends if you have what I like to call "computer" (rounded) shoulders.  It also means easing back on any poses when you feel any painful sensations --- usually due to a past injury or physical condition.

By the same token, as we practice yoga (meditation-in-motion) and meditation, we learn to be aware of the thoughts that arise in our minds.   Instead of covering them up, we accept and breathe through our thoughts and feelings as they arise.  This is part of the healing process.    By not reacting to our thoughts and emotions, but simply allowing ourselves to feel what we need to feel for as long as we need, we can eventually let go of them.  The time we spend in practice is a gift we give ourselves, and is an opportunity for healing.

When we practice we are present.  When we are present, we become one in spirit, mind and body.

Namaste,  Kathryn