Find Peace on Your Mat
So you just had a yoga class. Ten minutes after you are out of the studio you lose your glow or become anxious and agitated you. What went wrong? You are not finding your peace on your mat. So what can you do the next time so the feeling sticks?
Find Peace on your mat? We want you to find peace on your mat. After all the yoga mat is your universe.
Let the mat be your magic carpet that carries you away from all your tasks of the day, all your responsibilites. To find the bliss we all need to escape from being someone’s mother, wife, daughter, aunt, boss, brother,husband, father, business owner, householder, etc. Grant yourself this 70-90 minutes of freedom. Find peace on your mat and give yourself permission to be carried away for this short time.
First you must learn to breathe to find peace on your mat. Arrive a few minutes early and chat in the ante room but when you enter the yoga room and place your mat on the floor and your glutes on the mat, practice Breath. Calm, quieting, deep breath. (See the upcoming Breathe to Awaken class in May).
While in the practice remember to breathe. If you find yourself holding your breath, ease out a bit of the posture to find your blissfilled space. Yoga is perfection, but perfection for you. Let peace define the perfection. Let peace be your barometer. Use the space on the mat to explore your space. Let the mat define your safety zone. No one can enter unless you bring them in with your thoughts.
So if you are breathing and if you work hard your thoughts will slow way down, no longer taking you to the past or projecting you to the future. Breathe and work easy to stay here, now , in the present. In the Presence. It takes far more energy to be in two places at one time: another place in your head while your feet are on your mat. Let go of your thoughts, surrender. Find peace on your mat.
Working easy means that while on the mat you remember to engage the foundation muscles in most standing and lying poses. Foundation muscles are abs, glutes and quads. Then breathe and move. Your body will align better. Keeping those foundation muscles engaged, follow the voice of the instructor as she/he tells you what to engage. Find the muscles first before you move. Breath, engage muscles and then move. This is working easy. Working easy in yoga is actually not a task but a pleasure, when you let all other thoughts go. So find peace on your mat. Surrender to work easy. It has been the 8,000 year tradition to do so. Yoga is for the mind first, then the body will follow. Find Peace on Your Mat.