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Imbibing
Knowledge
“The mind is very valuable. You should not underestimate
it or think it ordinary. The mind is the light of Consciousness
in a contracted form. This is what we find in a sutra in the
Pratyabhijnanahridayam: chetyasankochi chittam:
‘The mind bears fruit
according to your thoughts. From the mind can come peace,
illusion, intelligence, quick-wittedness. The blessing of
the mind can make you a poet, an intellectual, an artist,
a musician, or a yogi.
You can earn a degree with it, or you can attain samadhi with
it. The mind is the Guru, the mind is the activator of the
Shakti, and it is the unchanging, unmodified state of nirvikalpa
(the highest state of meditative absorption)’”.
- Swami Muktananda, from Play of Consciousness
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| Yoga classes, workshops, and conferences have
become immensely popular, and it is a wonderful thing. Still,
it is good to remember that an essential component of the Yoga
practice is swadhyaya, or self-study. Of course, it is not that
you cannot observe yourself while you are in a group class or
a workshop. If you can do this, you are in a very high state
known as the sakshi bhava. (Sakshi means “witness”
and bhava can be translated as “state of consciousness”.)
For most of us, though, it is very helpful to have a space
and time which can devote to self practice. Why? It is in
the privacy of our own practice that we can internalize what
has been offered in classes, workshops, etc. These events
offer a lot of information, and it is impossible to digest
them all at once.
I have found that the practice of recalling and writing down
gems of wisdom and knowledge immediately after a class, workshop,
or lecture helps me immensely in retaining and integrating
them into my own practice.
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Some questions that can help you in
recalling the material from class are:
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- What was the main theme of the class, workshop, lecture?
- How was the class “sequenced”? (i.e., what
postures were presented, in what order?)
- What aspects of these postures were emphasized? Did they
support the main theme?
- Was there a certain piece of instruction that really
helped you “get” the essence of a posture? Can
you remember the exact wording? What did it trigger in you?
- Was there an image or a quote that the instructor used
that was especially useful?
- Was there something that you didn’t quite understand,
or something you question?
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| You may be able to ask the instructor directly,
or if that is not possible, these questions can be a launching
pad for a very rich inquiry. |
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Once you have culled what you can from your
experience in a class, it is time to examine it in direct relation
to your body, breath, mind and consciousness. Take one piece
of information, one piece of wisdom, and sit with it for a while.
Contemplate how you can allow it to enrich your practice, and
your life. You may wish to write down the fruits of your contemplation,
in a format that feels most natural for you. For example, I
like to write freely, in longhand, so that the insights may
speak directly to the page. Or, you may wish to jot down a list
of key words.
It is worthwhile to spend time exploring one theme, one correction,
one piece of wisdom, and dig into it. For instance, see how
you can take one correction in a posture, and “transfer”
it to other postures, and observe the effects. Does it work?
How does it change the posture from your habitual way of doing
it?
In this way, you learn not only a “correction”
in a posture, but a principle which can be applied to a broad
range of situations. One “correction” well-digested,
can lead to a much deeper understanding of your own body.
A self-practice first of all teaches you to internalize your
focus, to reflect within, and this is the spirit of the yogis,
the “inner scientists” who made laboratories out
of their body and mind.
The ideal time for self-practice is early morning before breakfast,
because the energy of the environment is most conducive for
contemplation, and there air is charged with a rich supply
of oxygen.
However, anytime you can set aside is golden! Let us approach
self practice with a sense of wonder and exploration. Who
knows what hidden gems of insight may be revealed today?
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Copyright © Mariko Hirakawa 2005
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