a center for
personal and planetary
awakening

Mystic River Yoga
214 Crosby St.

Arlington, MA 02474

781 643-0117
info@MysticRiverYoga.com

Introduction

12 Principles of Awakening

Spiritual Foundation

Scientific Foundation

Embodying the Practice

Collective Awakening

         1st Practice Theme: Mindfulness

                           Introduction

  It was early morning and I was walking down the corridor leading to the Mystic River Yoga studio, planning my practice, when a revelation appeared. The present moment, my walking, my breathing, the lighting of the hallway, were being pushed away, yet again, by an unconscious, semi - anxious urge to get going in my practice, to get to the future, to escape the anxiety some way. The noticing was humerous and I laughed at the absurdity of my compulsion. Yoga never happens in the future, but can only unfold in the present moment, in the now. A relaxed spaciousness opened up and I began to understand the low grade anxiety that had begun to settle into the background of my life. My yoga watch had not been set to 'now', but a moment of mindfulness instantaneously reset it.

   The ability to imagine the future is a very powerful attribute of the human mind. The reptilian mind only knows the present. It has no memory per se, or any possibility of future planning. It lives as alertly as it can in the moment and responds from instinct. No thoughts required. Mammals add memory. They can learn from  past experiences and adapt and modify their behavior in the present, but remain in the moment. Humans have added a future as well, but unfortunately have evolved the capacity to live in a way that barely touches the present, spending most of our time oscillating between past memories and future projections. The practice of mindfulness is a constant reminder to remain present throughout all aspects of our lives.

    Although mindfulness is most often associated with Buddhism, it is essentially a human practice. Being fully present to whatever arises, and intelligently acting from this presence, is not necessarily easy, especially in a culture obsessed with past and future, and often unpleasant. But mindfulness can be cultivated and nurtured by anyone at any time throughout their lives. Mindfulness is not something is acquired over time but is always available Now, in the timeless. Jon Kabat-Zinn describes this in "Coming to Our Senses" as the core of the curriculum for the Stress Reduction Clinic.

"I am not speaking of some distant future in which, after years of striving, you would finally attain something, taste the timeless beauty of meditative awareness and all it offers, and ultimately lead a more effective, and satisfying and peaceful life. I am speaking of accessing the timeless in this very moment--because it is always right under our noses, so to speak---and in doing so, to gain access to those dimensions of possibility that are presently hidden from us because we refuse to be present, because we are seduced, entrained, mesmerized, or frightened into the future and the past, carried along in the stream of events and the weather patterns of our own reactions and numbness, attending to, if not obsessing about what we unthinkingly dub 'urgent', while losing touch at the same time with what is actually important, supremely important, in fact vital for our own well-being, for our sanity, and for our very survival. We have made absorption in the future and in the past such an overriding habit that, much of the time, we have no awareness of the present moment at all. As a consequence, we may feel we have very little, if any, control over the ups and downs of our own lives."

   In using the term mindfulness here we are refering to a way of living that applies to every aspect and situation of our life situation. The word meditation will refer to a formal practice done at a specified time, to deepen the capacity to remain mindful during our daily lives and to steadily erode the momentum of the egoic states that obscure the brilliance of our Primordial Awareness. There are many schools of meditation currently being taught around the planet, including Vipassana, Zen and Dzogchen from the Buddhist tradition, and Advaita and Shakti based meditation from India. All are excellent and although some details and terminology may vary from school to school, all share a common vision of wholeness and awakening. We will explore these in another section of the course. For now, mindfulness will be our entry point into our expereince an explorations in the practice of the yoga poses or asanas.

    The Practice: Mindfulness in the postures:

     Mindfulness in yoga poses: taking stock of the moment.

1. In whichever pose you choose to begin your practice, first notice the sensations arising in the body. These may include heaviness, tightness, or pressure. You may feel vibration in the muscles, pulsation from the heart, or movement of the ribs and abdomen with the breath. You may feel intense sensation or pain, mild back ache, compressionin some joints. Or possibly you'll find lightness, flow, ease and delight. Anything is possible, and whatever you feel will eventually change. Nothing is fixed or static. Notice that some sensations are quite ephemeral, subtle, and some are quite strong, some familiar, others new. But they are constantly changing.

2 Now notice the world of sound around you, the 'soundscape' of your immedaite vicinity. You may notice sounds from nature, birds, rain, wind; or perhaps plumbing noises, doors closing, people conversing; or traffic, the occasional airplane; or even the sounds of your breath or your digestive system. Its quite a symphony, and constantly changing. One sound arises and then fades while others come and go. Perhaps some are constant, like the sound of a fan. The specifics or names of the sounds are unimportant, as are any stories that arise around the sounds.

3. Now notice the movement of thoughts in your mind. There may attempts to remember specific instructions you have heard from your teacher or self judgement or criticism towards your efforts in the pose. If it is a pose you can sustain for some time, you may forget the pose altogether and begin planning for later on in the day, or wander into fantasies, memories, and stories. As best you can, observe all of these as a silent but curious witness. There may be gaps between the various thoughts or the thoughts may seem like an endless torrent. Just noticing that you can actually watch these mental movements is revelatory.

   If a thought triggers an emotion, an immediate cascade of sensations will ripple through the body as the nervous system responds. This energetic shift may expand into lightness, delight or joy, or contract in distress, anxiety or fear. The ability to notice the embodied dimension of our emotional states is of primary importance in our self healing. our self healing eveloping self awareness.

4. Notice that, in addition to mindfulness or general awareness of the present moment, we are also moving around our focus of attention. First on the inner bodily sensations, then the sensations of sound arising from outside the body, and finally on the more subtle movements of thought.

  Each of us has areas of life where are attentional fields have become sensitive and alert. A fassion designer will notice fabrics, color combinations and different clothing styles. A body worker will notice posture and patterns of holding in the body. A fourth grade teacher will be sensitive to the ebb and flow of the emotions of 10 year olds. We all use attention and mindfulness practice as part of our everyday lives.

  What we are asking in yoga is to apply that same attention and mindfulness to our own bodies, our emotions, our thoughts and beliefs. And then, to add very specific qualities that take mindfulness practice to a whole other level beyond simple awareness and attention.

                                          COAL

Dan Siegel, pediatric psychiatrist, author and all around brilliant guy, loves acronyms, and he has created a great one for mindfulness; COAL: Curiosity, Openness, Acceptance and Love. These 4 characteristics of mindfulness allow us to penetrate much more deeply into the realm of healing and wholeness because they require a radical self acceptance from the the healing place of the heart.