Trusting your Inner Guru!
There has been conversation recently about how we trust our inner intuition, our inner guru, how do we know what is right for us at any given time??
The truth is that we have to develop that part of us, or as I like to see it take ourselves back to the state that we arrived in.....at birth. It is said that we are born with everything we need to learn and then spend our lives unlearning :) Maaida Palmer, my teacher for many years, used to say that we know everything (not in an egoic way) we just have to listen, to open our inner ear, inner eye, wisdom and we will know what is right! Maaida would say we can 'tap into the mind of God' or the 'universal pool of knowledge' and when we do then we can trust.
How do we acheive this?? That is a really hard question to answer, my understanding is that through our yoga practice we will find a calmness, a balance that nestles under the stresses and turmoil that plagues our minds and hearts.........this calmness might be likened to a still pond that we can slip into and immerse ourselves! When calmness prevails, we find our truth?
Of course there are no garrantees :) some of us may work (yes I did write 'work') our way through a daily Yoga practice for years before we even remotely touch that place and then others may find it very quickly. There is also the experience of moving forward and then sliding back. All of this is meaningful and even symbolic, though there must be presence.
I think the secret is to make a committment to 'self' each time you step onto your mat or sit in meditation or lie in relaxation, to be present and open to change. To be alert to your self talk and ask yourself if it is serving you well or do you need to adjust or even change channels?
Apply some pranayama (breathing) techniques to your practice routine, if the mind is sabotaging your asana practice, check out and sit for a bit, watch your breath and then slip into Nadi shodana (alternate nostril breathing) and after a little break, recommence your asana. See what happens............
If you are feeling unmotivated then try the pranayama before you begin your physical practice. I personally find meditation, pranayama & relaxation are the most important part of my staying in my body and coping with what life throws my way! Asana is a wonderful gauge of how life effects my body :) and gives me ideas as to what I might need to be doing to make it better. Ultimately though if my mind and heart are unsettled, asana will lead me in and settle my energies so I can resolve with the breath and self inquiry.
So thats what I have been thinking about today, inspired by the questions that arise in class and in my daily busy's!
Om Satyam, Mjx