Steady Comfortable Body

Stillness

This morning as I sat in tea ceremony, I noticed how still my body was, which allowed me to drop deeper into this place of stillness in a most delicious way. I could sit in stillness like this for a full hour. And that amazed me.

I feel so grateful to my body for being able to do this. And then it came to me; it’s always been the point of all yoga asana practice. I knew this, but it hit home in a very visceral way.

I was reminded: The point of the physical postures (asana) is being able to sit steadily and comfortably for long periods. One of Patanjali’s yoga sutras, Sthira Sukham Asanam, steady comfortable pose points to this in a simple direct way.

When you are comfortable you are steady, and when you are steady you are comfortable.

The aim of yoga asana is to open, stretch, breathe in order to assist your body becoming more supple so that sitting steadily and comfortably enhances your seated meditation experience.

My years of asana practice, now in an abbreviated form to suit my ageing body, is exactly why I commit to practice every day to remain supple, steady, comfortable. Not just in the body but in the mind also. I practice most days because my body feels good when I dedicate a small amount of time to conscious breathing, stretching and moving through a few asanas that are intentionally held for a length of time. It slows everything down. Especially the mind. And as I get older, my physical body seems to require more consistent practice to remain supple and open.

Yoga asana is a doorway to deeper aspects of yoga practice.

Asana has always been the smallest slice of yoga and the one that most people are familiar with when they go to a “yoga” class. Yoga has never been only about the physical body. This has always been a doorway into becoming the master of one’s mind (thoughts) and not the slave. The chitty chatter of the mind is the thing that keeps us from the deliciousness of being in the vast infinite place of awareness of which we are one and an integral part of.

It’s also not about stopping the chitty chatter, but redirecting our attention to the vastness of who we are and the stillness that is always there.

On Meditation

Meditation has various forms, (because essentially it’s about presence) like walking mindfully, or listening to a guided meditation, or simply being fully present to one’s environment.

Yet the ability to sit comfortably and be still has incredible benefits. Consider the connection between the body and mind, and its interconnectedness. When the body is still the mind follows suit and when the mind is still so the body. This can be felt as a real visceral experience especially in meditation.

I realize that not everyone’s body is comfortable sitting for long periods of time, but you can start at any time to practice regularly with some stretches, breathing and stillness to help be more steady and comfortable whether you sit on the floor, or in a chair. The aim is to be present to all that is there in each moment without the need to react to any of it.

I like to say,

“Aware of everything, disturbed by nothing”

Let me know how you create some still moments in your life. I’d love to hear.

Namaste