It is the final week of our Spring Sadhana.
This annual even has come to be a ritual of transition from the end of winter
into the full blossoming of spring. Each year 29-30 students of the Yoga Centre
Winnipeg plus Jan and myself make this commitment to transition together.
Each of us comes to the room with our own
goals and intentions, and with our own challenges, yet the experience is shared. Each day the practice continues, the room begins to move as a unit instead
of 30 individual beings.
This shared journey starts with the
willingness to take on the challenge – 28 days of early wake ups - a big ask on
those mornings when it still dark and cold!
It continues with the willingness to show up and immerse oneself in the practice, regardless of what the practice asks.
It continues with the willingness to show up and immerse oneself in the practice, regardless of what the practice asks.
In the early days we are all enthusiastic,
the practice feels great and the early morning wake ups seem worth the effort.
But, as with any transformation practice, sooner or later the
resistance kicks in! The path feels arduous- maybe the body is tired and achy, the mind fuzzy, or the heart tender. The practice affects everyone
differently, but impacts us all regardless!
The knowledge and palpable feeling that we
are not alone, and this too shall pass, helps inspire us through the hard days.
When we feel our resistance, we know that it is shared, and it helps us carry
the load.
It’s not unlike the body. Our bodies are a community
of cells that function together to make up what we call 'me'. Part of the yoga
practice is learning how to bring awareness and life to the individual parts of the body. At the same time we are learning to move and connect these parts so that they function as one. In
straightening my leg I touch my psoas, as I tone or release my psoas, I affect my breath,
as I change my breath, I open my heart and calm my mind.
Some days different parts
of our bodies cry out for individual attention- the wrist aches, the hip hurts, the mind checks out. It’s necessary to honor and care for each part independently, yet healing happens when we tenderly hold that individual part within the context of the
whole.
As instructors Jan and I are very much part of the experience, yet we also have the privilege to witness the transformations taking place individually and
collectively. Arms are getting stronger, legs straighter, breaths deeper and
smiles bigger. Focus deepens as the group begins to breathe as
one, move as one.
There is something magical about this merging
of the individual and group transformation- perhaps it is that it is a reflection of how we walk through life. Each of us an individual yet we are always part
of the whole. When we recognize our individuality yet rest in the awareness of
our place in a family, a community, a planet, and a very giant
universe, we are humbled and whole.Namaste
Shauna
