Thursday, May 9, 2013

Core strength

Tonight's yoga class was punctuated by two teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh.  One resonated soundly with me (to be honest, the chatter in my head was so distracting that I didn't hear the first teaching).  The instructor read aloud a passage that explored the idea of the fleeting nature of emotion, and that in order to recognize that emotion would pass, it was important to get out of our heads, to go to our core.  And, as my intention for the class was, "to clear space," this particular teaching resonated.  I realized that I had been trying, unsuccessfully, to clear space in order to get to my core, and that my last series of musings have been an exploration of this.  What she also shared, was the importance of this being a practice when we are feeling solid, when there are no heavy emotions surrounding us, so that we have an ingrained practice when we are hit by waves.

This, riding on the heals of a new workout regimen that has left most muscles in my mid-section quite sore, made me aware that I had a very physical (albeit metaphorical) reminder / awareness of my core that might help me practice stopping all emotion from bowling me over as I let it swirl around in my head.

How do we cultivate core strength?  I think we begin by clearing the debris that hangs us up in the world of ego.  It's possible, that we continue our practice of asking good questions and not expecting "right" answers.  I think, quite possibly, we do it by thinking less and trusting more.

No comments:

Post a Comment