What exactly is Mindfulness? (1 of 3)

This is part 1 of a 3 part series exploring Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a bit of a buzz word lately. It simply means to notice the sensations of the moment. That is, to be present with them. Or mindful. So we notice and keep on noticing the present moment.

These present-moment sensations are physical, such as touch, smell, noticing the subtleties of the breath, and also inner sensations or feelings.

 

Here’s an example of two ways of walking down the street:

• There’s the one I used to use all the time and still sometimes do – basically just charging along briskly – perhaps with the thoughts rolling around my head and using the time to think.

• Then there’s slowing it down and focusing on sensations …feet on the earth, air on the skin, smells, sights, body movement … and so on.

Can you see the difference? The second way is the mindful way:

Walking to walk, rather than walking to get to the destination.

But what’s the point?

Having the attitude of choosing to live every moment of your life (or as many as possible) being present with the sensations means that you get to feel the rich tapestry of sensations and feelings that are often missed when we are stuck in our heads.

Often the simple, everyday things are what gives life its colour, texture and richness.

Following on from the example above, have you ever really felt the way we shift our entire weight from one foot to the other when we take a step? How many tiny balancing muscle movements we make to achieve it? It seems so simple but it can be rich and interesting to explore.

Are you someone who is always looking for the next big hit of experience, you know, the marathon run, the bungee jump, the mountain to climb, the various extreme sports or visits to exotic locations?  I’m not saying these aren’t great to do (after all, I’m writing this in Princeton, USA, all the way across the world from where I live in Melbourne, Australia) but sometimes we can fall in the trap of missing what is right here with us every moment.

We put off living the life we are having now, in order to dream about the one that is a fantasy in our head!

To the extent that we are in our head with our thoughts, this is the extent that we are NOT being present with the sensations of the moment.

Another benefit:

One of the reasons mindfulness has become a bit of a buzz word lately is because it is turning out to be a very useful therapeutic tool for anxiety and depression. It can be really beneficial if you tend to get a bit ‘trapped’ in your thoughts to focus on the present moment.

But we limit it if we think that’s all mindfulness is. It is a practice of living life meditatively.

Mindfulness is bringing our meditative awareness into living our life.   

I have deliberately not given many examples, because it would be great if you could come up with some. What have you done mindfully? Did it make a difference to your experience? I’d LOVE to hear from you in the comment section below.

Watch out for part two of this series soon. We will explore some more examples of mindfulness. But in the meantime please share your experiences of mindfulness practice.

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Why are there pictures of Hindu deities on the wall at the yoga studio? It freaks me a bit!

The word Yoga means Union, or Unitary Consciousness.

Yogis recognize that we are all expressions of the one unitary consciousness.

This is a non-dualist view.(as distinct from the view that God or Self is separate, which is a dualist view).

Shiva is one of the representations of the one universal consciousness.

A physical representation of the one that we all are. A fully human fully spiritual being. (In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, my understanding is that this is known as Purusha).

A reminder that this is OUR very nature as well.

There are other ways to represent the Self, or God, or Source, of course. You can have any religion and practice and explore the whole of what yoga is. You can be Christian, in fact many of our yoga community here at Waverley Yoga Studio are, and practice yoga to its full extent. You can be Buddhist. And so on. You can also have no religion and also explore a yogic path.

Having said you can have any, or no religion and do yoga, it is fair to say that yoga originated in India and followed on from the Vedic writings and the Updanishads. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, one of if not the first writings about yoga and how to get to an experience of union, comes from India.

So having representations of Shiva and other deities in the room acknowledges yoga’s roots in Indian culture.

Shiva as a Hindu deity represents many things, one of which is the destroyer – getting rid of the old to make way for the new. And also concealment, revealment, and much more, in other words, those very aspects that the cycle of life constantly shows us.

Nataraj - Dancing Shiva

Shiva reminds me of the universal self, the oneness that we are.

The particular aspects of the ‘destroyer of old forms’ is just part of this oneness.

Shiva also graces our studio in his dancing form, as Nataraj. And Ganesha, Shiva’s mythical elephant-headed son, represents the removing of obstacles.

Sarasvati, well she only appeared after my spiritual name was bestowed, she represents wisdom, learning, also music and the arts.

There are many more gods and goddesses we can explore and honour as different aspects of the One Self that we are.

Not freaky at all.

What is chanting and why would I want to do it?

Chanting is something else (along with meditation as per my previous post) that takes you out of your normal busy mind and into the feeling space, especially of the throat and heart. Chanting is joyful and can be ecstatic. We chant the various names of the Self, the various representations of God here on earth, in a devotional way.

There is nothing that you have to believe as such, just give of yourself, put your heart and soul into it and see what happens.

Chanting is another portal into ecstatic connectedness and love.

I feel especially fortunate to have a teacher who has helped me to get the message of the Yoga Sutras. In the ACCY teacher training we thoroughly explore how the ordinary way of the mind is that we believe what we think, including the idea that we are a ‘me’. This habit of ‘vrrti svarupya’ where we think what the mind tells us is a true reflection of reality, is the ‘veil of illusion’ (refer to my post on Simple and obvious once you know, but truly profound). In addition, the other wonderful aspect of falling into this lineage is our tradition of chanting and mantra. So the combination of some intellectual contemplation and feeling an inner expansion makes for a rich full understanding and experience.

 

Experience and feeling can feel a bit weird and spacey without a good understanding.

And just an intellectual understanding without a rich and full experience of the Self would be limiting as well.

Chanting takes you out of limitation and into spaciousness. Wherever you are at in your personal enquiry and journey, chanting is fun and powerful. If you throw yourself into it, and don’t get too hung up on Sanskrit words, it has an energy, or Shakti, that is truly uplifting.

Join in with gusto next time you have the opportunity!

We chant at our monthly satsangs, and sometimes at other times too. Why not come along and give it a go?

Here’s an article that describes some scientific benefits of chanting, and how it can have a similar affect to intoxication – but without the chemicals!

http://thebhaktibeat.com/news-alert-scientists-identify-rare-brain-disorder-linked-to-kirtan-chanting/