practice

Continuing Reflections on Change

by ultrapeg

Today was an absolutely glorious day in the Black Hills!  A tantalizing reminder that winter really won’t go on forever.  Of course, as Mark Twain said, if we don’t like the weather we can wait a minute and it will change.  This is just one more reason to enjoy each moment while it lasts.

How about taking a lesson from our weather and recognizing that change is happening all the time all around us.  Externally and internally.  So when you think that you will always be a certain way because that’s the way you think you’ve always been, my favorite philosopher/astrologer Caroline Casey would say “until now!”  Very little is etched in stone.  And even if it is, the stone is likely to erode or crumble at some point.  Change is always possible.  It’s all a matter of attitude and perception.

In a recent article in Tricycle Magazine, Sharon Salzberg, a well-known meditation teacher, reflected on mindful meditation as being “ like going into an old attic room and turning on the light”.  She writes:

It’s never too late to turn on the light. Your ability to break an unhealthy habit or turn off an old tape doesn’t depend on how long it’s been running; a shift in perspective doesn’t depend on how long you’ve held the old view. When you flip the switch in that attic, it doesn’t matter whether it’s been dark for 10 minutes, 10 years, or 10 decades. The light still illuminates the room and banishes the murkiness, letting you see things you couldn’t see before. It’s never too late to take a moment to look.

Change doesn’t always happen instantly, though, even when we really want it to.  Sometimes breaking an old habit can be tough.  It requires practice and a recognition that the change may take some time.  First a commitment is required and then a consistent effort to let go of the old and familiar and bring in the new and unknown.  But I believe all things are possible with commitment and practice.  We’ve all heard the old story of a musician being asked what it takes to get to Carnegie Hall and answering “practice, practice, practice”.  There’s another old saying – “fake it ‘til you make it”.  Sometimes going through the motions of practice is enough to maintain the consistency until you can feel it happening.  Be patient and kind to yourself.  Give yourself a pat on the back for following through on your commitment.

In my classes I will often hear new participants lament “I can’t possibly do that move; I’ve never been able to do that move.”  My own experience tells me a different story.  There was a time when I could not do that move either!  But I kept trying and eventually, with practice, I found (sometimes to my surprise!) that I was actually doing it.  Maybe not perfectly by some standards, but well enough to know I was receiving the benefits.

As a firm believer in practice, I hope you will just keep at it.  Whatever you are trying to accomplish, keep practicing.  Be confident in the knowledge that change will come.  Maybe not the way you expect it, but it will come nonetheless.

The Art of Paying Attention

by ultrapeg

Whenever I hear about a personal injury or accident, the description is almost always followed by a disclaimer such as “It was something stupid . . .” or “I was not paying attention”.  One of the goals of both Yoga and Pilates is to promote awareness of how your own body works and to encourage attention to the details of movement.  This may not always be as easy as it sounds, but can be accomplished through practice.  That’s what our classes are all about – helping you set aside the time to practice moving mindfully.  The more you practice, the more your focus and self-knowledge will improve.  Then as you bring these techniques into your everyday life, you may find that by paying attention your movement may seem easier.  Perhaps you will even be able to avoid injury or at least recover more quickly.  And maybe you will even gain a greater appreciation for your miraculous ability to move and breathe.  We are all fallible humans so this process is not likely to be foolproof, but improvement is always possible.

In  the article  “Attention Means Attention” in Tricycle Magazine,  Charlotte Joko Beck, Zen teacher, author and founder of the Ordinary Mind Zen School, says:

“Every moment in life is absolute in itself. That’s all there is. There is nothing other than this present moment . . . So when we don’t pay attention to each little this, we miss the whole thing.”

It doesn’t matter what the contents of the moment are. . . each moment is absolute. If we could totally pay attention, we would never be upset. If we’re upset, it’s axiomatic that we’re not paying attention.

Our problems arise when we subordinate this moment to something else, our self-centered thoughts: not just this moment, but what I want. We bring to the moment our personal priorities, all day long. And so our troubles arise.

When attention to the present moment falters and we drift into some version of “I have to have it my way,” a gap is created in our awareness of reality as it is, right now. Into that gap pours all the mischief of our life. We create gap after gap after gap, all day long. The point of practice is to close those gaps, to reduce the amount of time that we spend being absent, caught in our self-centered dream.”

So if you are tempted not to come to class or to skip your practice, one way to motivate yourself might be to remember that all of us are practicing together.  We all need help eliminating the gaps in our awareness.  Each day is a new opportunity to start again.  Knowing that others are also working at this can be comforting and strengthening.   When you focus on  your practice, you are not just improving yourself, but also helping all of those around you – simply by paying attention.