We constantly experience flux and change, and although it may not always feel like it, these are opportunities for us to expand and grow.  Often at the threshold of something (moving, asking for a raise, changing jobs, getting married etc etc) we begin to feel afraid and forget to trust ourselves and our experience.  We get ourselves to the doorway and suddenly overcome by fear, it’s hard to take the next step.  We can sit staring at the doorway into this ‘life we could have’ forever not taking the next step. I’ve definitely had my fair share of idling in the doorway.

Unfortunately we cannot go back to where we come from, and have to keep moving forward expanding our experiences, the experiences that lead us to every moment, every threshold we find ourselves at. So do we stay here peering through the doorway?  It’s an option.  But we didn’t get to the doorway from our desire – the things we want, the people we want to connect with, the work, the love, the life is all on the other side of this threshold sometimes dragging us across. But only you can take that final step and I know – tis SCARY.

Sometimes we’ve  pushed ourselves too soon through it, we are not ready and are flung back again. That hurts and we hold that hurt in us.  And those painful moments teach us to wait until we are truly ready. We need to trust our knowledge, and the advice of those we deeply trust around us to know when the time is right. And I believe that you can ask the Dalai Lama and he can offer you some great advice but actually only you know.  You will know.

And then we take all of our experience – our past and present – and step forward into the future and whatever waits ahead of us. Like Ganesha – deeply listen with your figurative big ears, hold your past, present and future in your belly, be wise, and step forward with awareness and great strength.

me stepping over with glee

PRACTICE “Stepping over” through Chi Walking:

1. Notice your stride – are you rushing? Could you shorten your stride a bit? Over striding can cause a lot of muscular-skeletal tension and troubles so perhaps make it a little shorter.

2. Then, assess how you actually land on your foot. Chi Walking recommends landing with your foot under your center of gravity on the front of the heel, it lands under you and goes out the back with a heel-toe roll action.  - see http://www.chiliving.com/ for more information. (Note Chi Walking action differs slightly from Chi Running).

3. Perhaps the technique won’t work for you, but at the very least bringing awareness to any action can bring about a sense of control and calm in this world.

(Thanks to my dad for teaching me about Chi Walking and also supporting me as a step over many a threshold.)

Elephant Feet by scarletarts

I take a symbolic ‘Ganesha moment’. Ganesha being the mythical elephant god who sits on the threshold of transformation, remover of obstacles, deeply wise, deeply patient. He remembers, he reconnects, he listens, he teaches. And he is heavy, he is weighted.   His big feet ground him, keeping him steady.

‘Guru’ doesn’t mean saviour, person you hand all your power to, no! It means one who leads you from light to dark and/or the weighted one.  I strongly believe we are our own guru.  Yoga teaches us to go within to find the teachings where we all hold the knowledge in a deep level of consciousness.  And yes, we have guides, fellow travellers in the life journey who can teach us how they learned to listen. But only we hold our personal key to our inner display of light in dark, dark in light.

‎The entire reason for spiritual practice is to train your instincts so that at moments requiring action, you do the right thing.- Dr. Katy Poole

So like Ganesha, when we are confronted with a challenge we can learn to take a moment, listen to our breath, connect ourselves to the ground (feel our feet grow heavy, press them into the earth) and then, only then, we make clear wise decisions.

And the reverse is true too, if you are unkind to someone, it hurts them and they may go away and be unkind to someone else.  It spirals out in a less good way making the world a less happy place.

How do we implement these little acts of kindness?  Well, if we are first kind to ourselves, we are inspired and have the will to give to others. Like some ole wise guy once said: we cannot give water from a dry well. It starts simply with kind thoughts. Kind thoughts to yourself and then kind thoughts to others. Even when it’s challenging, that’s when it can be most transformative. And then kind words – a compliment, a little note, to those around you and yourself. Don’t wait for it to be reciprocated – just get on and do it.  And finally kind actions.  A smile, making a cuppa nice tea or a little well-considered gift.

Giving with no agenda – a few little acts of kindness – can be incredibly rewarding for all parties involved. Every moment there is an opportunity to bring in a kind thought, word or deed. Give it a bash! Notice how it can effect change in yourself, in the home, workplace and maybe even the world

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.  -Aesop

All the Characters in the Story

When we discover different aspects of ourselves, we find life gets fuller. We understand others better, we are more open – open to opportunities and different ways of doing and seeing things. We then can experience more freedom in our lives.

When we become too attached to certain ways of seeing things and doing things, we create labels for ourselves and others and these can restrict us.

This is easily relevant in the yoga room. For example, if I walk in a yoga class and I think of myself as ‘yoga teacher’ I feel a pressure to perform and impress. If I let go of the label, and just be , just be my self (whatever the hell that is, I can’t explain it with words!) I am free to play, be bold, make mistakes, be open, be vulnerable and just have a much better time of it all. And everyone around me probably feels more comfortable too.

So often we worry about the what should we be doing or what we think others think we should be doing and sometimes it feels so good to just LET IT GO.

So … today just play with not constantly defining and pigeon holing yourself and those around you. Just be, in every moment, and be bold! You may find you do things a bit differently. It’s not easy, you have to take a few little risks and leaps of faith, but take it in baby steps. Trust not knowing. It’s ok to not know things! It’s fun to let your hair loose.

We are not a label, we are not any one thing. We are all the characters in the story.

[A meditation practice for 'letting go of your labels': the mantra 'ham-sa', means I am that, that I am, I am that. A let go of the need to identify yourself. On the inhale think 'ham' on the exhale think 'sa'. Continue this cycle for 5 -15  minutes. Keep the breath steady and full. Be mindful of the breath as you repeat the mantra in your head. If you like it, stick with it as a daily practice, see how it resonates with you.]

I often listen to music in my self practice, but this week I am attempting to rather listen to an internal ‘music’ in my body – it’s much more subtle but by tuning into it your yoga experience heightens and can become so full it creates an internal soaring symphony from the inside out.

Our mind or consciousness is the musician and our body the instrument it plays.  That way we find harmony between body and mind capturing that feeling of soaring freedom that listening to an exquisite piece of music can bring.

"In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches" 1
"Harmonia - to fit together, to join" 2 (Greek)

Harmony is the combining of two or more pitches to create a union and new fuller sound.  A skilful musician has to learn to listen deeply to respond in accordance to fellow musicians and notes, finding that perfect pitch. Yoga is often interpreted as ‘union’ or ‘yoking’. A skilful yogi has to truly listen to his body to respond in his practice mindfully, finding that union of yoga.

How often do we block out the shrieking hamstrings just so we can ‘push through’ and impress our teacher or fellow students?  (Who doesn’t give a damn really). By deeply listening to our body we learn to practice with integrity. Knowing how to respond, takes learning. And that is why we are always learning.

And after learning to listen then comes the discipline. So we develop skill as a yogi or musician – refining our practice and building knowledge until it can flow in perfect harmony.

Every string on Saraswati’s lute is perfectly pitched – finding that right balance between taut and slack so that it can vibrate with resonance in tune with all the other strings.  So every fibre of being, every muscle, bone and organ has potential to find that perfect pitch & alignment  – a balance of engagement (‘muscular energy’) and stretch (‘organic energy’) . So we fine-tune the body with integrity whilst experiencing and being aware of our inner harmony.

1 - William P. Malm Music Cultures of the Pacific, the Near East, & Asia.
2 -Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon"

I love this time of year, when we can make plans, set intentions and have a renewed vigour for looking after ourselves.  Everyone around us is doing the same and it gives us the impetus to try new things, let go of a few old habits.  Which yoga is pretty good for.  My inspiration for this month is Saraswati – the goddess of music, flow, voice, science and art.  Come to class to explore traditional poses and philosophies with a modern approach; hone and tone alignment allowing the body to be and find it’s natural harmony.

Jackson Pollock

Melt – to make what is solid liquid.  The heart – emotional epicentre of love and compassion.  I.e. Fill up with and spread the love!

On the mat:  explore this by playing with arm balances and working with the ‘melting of the heart’ key action, dedicate your practice to someone you love and notice how your body feels when you do so.