Namaste!Yoga facilitates clarity, stillness and quiet of the mind.
It is so interesting how we carve one hour of time out of our busy day for our yoga practice with the purpose of nourishing our body and mind and what happens? Our mind is immediately off to the races. We focus our mind in the initial posture in integration series, Childs Pose, and the next thing we know we are thinking about all the tasks we need to accomplish, the bill we forgot to pay, the conflict we are having with someone, the event we need to get ready for after practice and on it goes….
One of the hardest things you will find once you get past an understanding of postures is keeping your mind in the moment, really present within the posture. I find it interesting how we are so willing to give of ourselves; to charities, work, family, friends, and to our HORSES but when we take only one hour for ourselves we struggle with staying present with ourselves we are still thinking of all things we need to do or solve but not allowing ourselves to just “be”.
Yoga facilitates the practice of quieting your mind, if you can get better and better at staying present in your postures it helps you off the mat to stay more in the moment. How often are you present when your husband is telling you about his day, how about when you have a deadline for work and an associate needs 5 minutes of your time and HOW about when you are with your horse? How present are you with your horse? Are you asking your horse to go forward and at the same time thinking about “I’d rather him not go” or “I’m fearful if he goes” or “when we get done here I need to run to town” are you staying clear with your intention in everything you are communicating to him or are you sending him mixed messages? HMMMM…..
On the mat, I tell my students to pay attention to what comes up for them, acknowledge it and let it go. Refocus their mind back into the posture and each time that occurs acknowledge and refocus. This is not only about staying present for yourself during the practice, but also practicing so that you can become more and more present, clear, in the moment off the mat. It is an exercise of the mind!
During your practice, increase your awareness of where your mind goes, don’t judge it, be aware of it, let it go and notice over time what that does for you and your horse and in your daily interactions.
Let me know how you are coming along in your practice and what you are noticing in your everyday life and horsemanship. Join ZennerYoga facebook page and post your progress or write me with questions at tzenner@fluidridingthruyoga.com. This will help me help you and others at the same time!
Be Blessed,
Theresa Zenner
It's that F word again and again and again. Focus makes all the difference.
ReplyDeleteAnd acknowledging the off topic thoughts and feelings to get back on the focus of where we want to be, so we can get to where we want to go.
For strange reason, I always need reminding.
Thanks Theresa,
Jan