Body, Mind & Heart
/Gosh, where do I begin with this one? As I perused the themes of my life this past month, I've realized that each big thing going on right now exists primarily in one area of the body/mind/emotion triad.
Since my last writing, I've had knee surgery (very much body-related), my partners and I have been busy trying to get our new yoga studio space ready to open (mostly mental at this point), and I went to West Palm Beach, Florida to visit the Raja Yoga Academy teacher training (heart/emotion-oriented).
Part of what yoga teaches us is the integration of the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of our nature, that we can balance these three things. (Emotion is sometimes in a gray area or overlooked when talking about the role it has in our individual balance. Sometimes it's lumped in as mental/emotional in psychological terminology. In some esoteric teachings, there's reference to the body/mind/spirit connection, absent of emotion. In my understanding, the spirit encompasses all three, and since we are talking in material terms for now, I will include emotion or heart, which may be more tangibly relatable.)
“Your mind, emotions and body are instruments and the way you align and tune them determines how well you play life.”
When it's glaringly obvious which aspect we are inhabiting the most in a given situation, the influence of the other two aspects can become somewhat vague. Each aspect is functioning and processing all of the time, but oftentimes one is at the forefront of an experience.
As we navigate the events of our lives, we can start to see how the non-dominant components positively or negatively support our experience. We can start to see which aspects we are most comfortable or uncomfortable leaning into. Through our approach to life's situations we can view the macrocosm of our own internal balance.
For me, taking on the experience of recuperating my body from injury was not at all daunting. I felt very trusting of the process and knew that I had the ability to regain my strength and mobility. My mental attitude was helpful in that area and emotionally I was also content. This experience felt very balanced on all fronts.
As for the group challenge of opening a brick and mortar business from the ground up, while I find myself doing okay with the mental hurdles of organization and problem-solving, the physical efforts of helping with the build-out and some of the normal emotional stresses swirl about. This too feels somewhat balanced, not heavy-handed in any one area, though I certainly have a higher comfort level with the mental dealings.
Personally, the emotional center is the one I have the most trouble in allowing fluidity. I hold myself back a lot, creating dams to the flow of emotion. Visiting the Raja Yoga training was an interesting way to begin to understand that about myself. The training can be an emotional time for the trainees, and I felt very empathetic to their process. In a way, I experienced some of their vulnerability by osmosis. And through the reflections of one of my mentors, I came to see some of what causes me to hold back: When I'm too much "in my head", I block myself from "coming from the heart". In that way, the mental influence is commandeering what should be more of an emotional experience.
As with all of these writings, I can only offer my own experiences. I relay things as I see them, which means I'm usually still processing. But I know you can relate, because several of you have sent emails and shared with me. Thank you so much for that. ♡
On another note, Summer Solstice is here!
"For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice is a time of celebration, of honoring the light, our connection to the Sun and the Earth. Every culture has festivals to honor this day and our ancestors around the earth built numerous monuments to commemorate this time."
For the past several years, June 21st has been recognized as International Yoga Day! They even have a huge yoga gathering in New York City where hundreds of people practice together in Times Square. This year, it's called Mind Over Madness Yoga.
In 2017, Summer Solstice falls on Wednesday, June 21, at 12:24 A.M. EDT. Due to time zones, this means it falls on Tuesday, June 20 in CDT, MDT, and PDT as below:
Wed, June 21, 12:24 A.M. EDT
Tues, June 20, 11:24 P.M. CDT
Tues, June 20, 10:24 P.M. MDT
Tues, June 20, 9:24 P.M. PDT
