Channelling beauty

So, when you go to a yoga class, sometimes the teacher will tell you to 'check in'; to see what you are bringing to the mat; to see just how it is you are right then.

A lot of yoga is about self-knowledge. About being able to identify what we are doing, how we are feeling, how we are acting, in order to strip back reactions, reflexes, actions which don't reflect us and work towards making the way we live full of integrity; not ruled by emotions and defences.

I think I've always previously thought my aim when I practice is to be aware of myself certainly, but to put distractions aside and just concentrate on the linking of breath and movement.

The morning after I went to see Augustine however (see previous post) I stood on my mat and I thought about bringing things to the mat, and I remembered the feelings of great contentment and inspiration from the night before. I hadn't had a camera, to capture it visually, which initially I was regretful about, and then I thought no, I'll just try and capture it in my mind and heart instead.

And so it was there, and it occurred to me that I should concentrate on these feelings. I should re-live that joy in the beauty of every day life, the inspiration I took from the vitality of the dancers, the determination I took from them to put my all into things and live myself fully, the great joy at enjoying beautiful vistas - be it sun-lit skyscrapers or leaves moving in the breeze, the gratitude at being alive and happy.

So I concentrated on all those feelings and recollections throughout my practice, and as I worked through my sun salutations I thought also about the rhythm of the breath and how - when I saw the sunlight on the church I thought 'I know what this is! This is harmony - it's the architecture and my eyes and my brain and the light all together to create beauty - that's harmony' (I had been reading an essay by Haruki Murakami on harmony in writing recently). And my movements took on a rhythm and a kind of harmony. A flow, as they should do.

And as I worked on, I found trying to feel the energy to my finger tips and to every cell in my body, gave me a feeling of having more energy from the inside. I heated up, I worked harder than I normally do, I maintained a great sense of momentum, I got into poses I normally struggle with, I opened up into upwards bow with such ease it was astonishing. And all the time, the joy and the beauty and the vitality I had felt was feeding me.

Which made me reflect on how what is in your mind can really affect how your body moves. I can tell you exactly where to put your hands and feet, how to breathe, how even you should feel in every muscle, but the inspiration and the impulse will come from you, and whatever is in your mind will make all the different to how that movement is to you, and to others who may be experiencing it.

Where I practice yoga - Triyoga
Haruki Murakami essay - Jazz Messenger