Does your mind feel dull, distracted and disturbed?
Most of us in any given moment can relate to this state. in my experience, it has become so normalized for me to have a dull distracted mind that when I have moments of awareness and clarity, it feels like a fresh new heaven that I want to explore more and more!
The teachings of yoga have much to offer us. The physical practice alone, often accompanied by some pranayama and meditation, offers a layer of the practice that is not complete without the teachings. The teachings basically offer us a roadmap to process and release unnecessary suffering as well as guiding us through the ebbs and flows of life where there will inevitably be suffering.
Patanjali offers us an application of yoga teachings he calls an “action plan” or Kriya Yoga.
There is a blending here of 3 of our niyamas (2nd of the 8 limbs of Yoga-our personal observances).
They are:
TAPAS-discipline-there is an association here with the element of fire and purification. Cultivating the discipline to show up for yourself and be in the alchemy of transformation. Let’s unpack this a bit further. Many of us, including myself, have absorbed discipline as punishment or correction. In my ongoing understanding of this teaching, we show up for ourselves not because we consider ourselves broken or flawed, but because we have the longing in our soul to return to our true nature, which is connection with universal consciousness. This invites a sense of joy in showing up. the association with heat can represent the burning away of dullness to showcase the inner radiance of our being.
SVADYHYAYA– Self reflection and ongoing study of wisdom teachings. Observing without judgement, recognizing patterns/habits that are obstacles to abiding in our true nature. This observation without judgment is something we can practice on our mat continuously. In the Kripalu school, where I am trained, our practice is sensation focused, noticing breath, muscles, strong sensation, body temperature, heart rate, any associated changes in mood that happened in relationship to movement and breath work as well as any different experience that happens on one side of the body compared to the other. Noticing without judgment over and over and over again. This is contrary to navigating comparing ourselves to others in our physical practice and releasing attachment to what we think needs to be happening to what actually is happening. This can help us notice reactivity in our lives off the mat as well as the accompanying sensations. In the context of studying wisdom, traditions, and text, this is not an intellectual endeavor or pursuit that is academic in nature, but is the recognition at the soul level of that universal consciousness that is our true nature. I often find this in the poetry of Mary Oliver, Rumi , Hafez and Andrea Gibson as well as the Bible, yoga, sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and many many other poems.
ISVARA PRANIDHANA– Surrender to God/Universe/Supreme Consciousness
co-creating in the flow of life. Surrender has been problematic to me as a survivor of sexual assault as well as childhood trauma. It helps me to read yogic texts that view surrender not as passive, but fully participating in life without attachment. Also, I have read translations that focus on surrender as devotion to something bigger than ourselves. This resonates with me. I also in my own exploration have found God to be as intimate to me as my breath and also a complete mystery. I am in love with the intersectional space of God as mystery, and God as intimacy!
A Real Life Application of Kriya Yoga
This can be applied to life in many many ways. I often think of the practice of rooting into values, setting goals from those values and releasing attachment at the same time as part of Kriya yoga.
I can share it here in the context of living with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder that is rooted in trauma, and a misfiring of signals from the body to the brain.
Discipline: cultivating the practice and the mindset to show up for myself every day. I orient that mindset towards not needing to fix what is perceived as broken, but to consciously pace myself daily and acknowledge my worth not from my task list, but from my inherent value and existence. Here, I orient my practices towards that which will purify and release the dullness. So this looks like in my daily life, inserting small practices of mindfulness and meditation throughout the day. This includes sending myself, grace and compassion while I’m breathing, also through Reiki self-care and strong, but gentle movement and mindful walking, as well as intentionally orienting myself towards that which brings me joy, even when I am experiencing pain and fatigue.
Self Study: This involves noticing without judgment, the disturbing and tumultuous thoughts that show up when I experience pain and fatigue. Often, thoughts show up that ruminate if I will ever be free of pain and if my life will be diminished by ongoing pain. These thoughts find me isolating myself from loved ones and experiences. When I can face the thoughts and recognize that they come from a belief system that needs examined and unpacked (In yoga these are called Samskaras) and recognize that these thoughts contribute to unnecessary suffering, as well as increasing the pain and tension in my body, I find freedom. Through the practice of witnessing my thoughts rather than being driven by them, I’m able to let them go and return to the present moment. often, being in the present moment, even in the experience of pain can open up that experience to include more than just pain. I can notice in the present moment the sunlight on the tree leaves and the sound of the birds. I can pay attention to my very cute little old man dog. In the context of studying sacred text, I can catch glimpses of my true nature, which is that of connection with universal consciousness, I can ask myself as Mary Oliver does, what will I do with my one wild and precious life?
Surrender: Here, I can let go over and over again of what I think my life needs to look like and be in relationship with my life in the present moment. I can remind myself that this life force that exists in me also is found in how the planets are in orbit, the trees and plant life, bloom, blossom, shed, appear to die and return to life again. I can unpack and unlearn that the life force, which many call God, is not Santa Claus where we are rewarded for being good and punished for being bad. I can orient myself towards trusting that this life force present in me, and in all things has an intelligence that is greater than mine. Intimacy and mystery. Paying attention to being alive and being in love with and service to that aliveness.
