Many times after a therapeutic treatment or the final relaxation at the end of a yoga session, my students will say, “I don’t want to leave, it feels so good”. True, the studio is cozy, and the massage table warm but that isn’t it. Well, maybe a bit! (yoga humour)…
What they are expressing is a deep connection with comfort, peace and relaxation that comes when we feel connected to ourself and/or to nature. The space, the smile in the mind. So good, of course we want more of those endorphins!!
I think two things to internalize is that when you experience all those good feelings, really KNOW and FEEL and INTEGRATE how you are wired for bliss. Too often we focus on the other half of the nervous system, the stressed out one! That way, you cultivate a well of positive and healthy energy for when times are not so easy. Dishes, plumbing problems, power outages, laundry, job, family, schedules etc. When you feel overwhelmed, focus – just like biofeedback, on your magical umbilical cord into the bigger picture, and just a few moments of deep yogic breathing can do the trick.
The other thing to keep in the forefront of your consciousness is that the people and circumstances we encounter on a daily basis are our teachers in the school of life. The days that everything is wired for crazy and crumby it may not look like it, but they actually embody great wisdom – maybe to find patiece, compassion, perseverence, honesty, letting go, generosity of spirit, unconditional love…it’s all there in the classroom of day to day.
I heard that! You want to graduate already! Ha ha ha ! Well all I can say is that is why it is called “practicing” and learning and growing! So, keep practicing on your mat, or walking in nature, or connecting with yourself in a way that is meaningful to you. We need the practice to balance and center ourselves, to keep resilient, strong and open-hearted. It keeps a compassionate understanding simmering like a great pot of soup. Off the mat will start to make new sense to you…
As Jack Kornfield says in After the Ecstasy the Laundry,
“With spiritual maturity the basis for these practices shifts away from ambition, idealism, and desire for self-transformation. It is as if the wind has changed, and a weather vane-still centered in the same spot- now points in a different direction: back to this moment. We are no longer striving after a spiritual destination, grasping for another world different from the one we have. We are home. And being home, we sweep the floor, make nourishing meals, and care for our guests. When we have realized the everlasting truths of life, what else is there to do but continue our practice?”
Rana Waxman is a registered yoga therapist ERYT-500, with 20 years of teaching experience. Rana is a freelance writer and social media expert in addition to leading yoga workshops internationally and teaching alignment focused private and group Yoga Lessons in Hoboken and Jersey City NJ.
