Three Words On The Way to Unity

Belonging

When we come into our yoga class, we have an opportunity to practice unity. We start by gathering our mind together. Releasing the memories of the day. Letting go of the tomorrow. And we use the presence of our body to bring our awareness into focus.

This is the first level of unity for us during asana practice.

Practicing acceptance

When we resist what is, when we fight it, we are against it. It is different from us. It is something our mind does not want or comprehend and we reject it. This is not yoga.

During yoga practice, let’s say ‘its ok’. Let’s accept our limitations. Let’s understand that getting it ‘right’ or getting it ‘wrong’ is the same thing. It is. If it is – then its ok.

Once we start judging, we can’t see clearly. Once we get emotional, foggy is the word for our vision. One breath at a time. Because it is.

Belonging

Belonging is an extension of acceptance. In savasana (corpse pose) I like to use the words ‘you belong in your body’, or ‘you belong, right here, right now’. There is no other place you should be. Should is a term the mind made up. We want to get closer to the ‘what is’ – not further away. Thinking in terms of ‘should’ turns us away from the centre.

Grasp it. Embrace it. Because it is.

The Human Mind and The Universal Mind

The human mind can’t understand a fragment of it all. Don’t try. The human heart understands. But we have to give up trying to figure stuff out. We just get angry, sick, unhappy, frustrated, depressed and confused.

Breathe through the heart. The world works on an energetic level. Your heart understands it. But listening with your heart is painful. It hurts. It breaks. It tears. And it knows that the bigger it gets, the more it understands. Your heart belongs. It is. Its pulse is the pulse of life. The gentle breeze in the evening. The rhythm of the ocean.

Trust

God or Universal Consciousness – what ever you want to call it – trust it. Because it is. Your mind resists. But when was a human right?

Nature is. It’s a fact. It does its thing no matter what we do to try to stop it. We chop and change and burn and pollute and still flowers bloom. Still the storms come, and still the sun shines.

Because it is – trust it. We change our mind at a moment’s notice. We say we like this, and like that – and if we don’t get it, then change – and what ever – inconsistent and ever changing is the way of the mind. But It – is. Never changing. Always present. It’s the only thing worth putting our trust in.

Acceptance, Belonging, Trust.

Three steps to Unity.