Monday, January 11, 2010

Happy for no good reason


While engaging our bodies in yogic postures, we are also engaging our minds - thoughts & feelings. Yoga is supposed to make one feel calm & peace, however it opens up our minds & so we c an sometimes experience dark emotions like anger or discomfort. The key is in acknowledging these feelings, without judging them as good or bad.

In his book on meditation, Happy for No Good Reason, Swami Shankarananda says, "A statement like ‘I am angry,' or ‘I am scared,' already has a great deal of truth-value. Often we do not know or will not admit how we feel. Instead, we allow negativity to become the fuel that spins a web of deluded thoughts. When we make an accurate statement like, ‘I am angry', or ‘I am scared,' it cuts through the illusion and brings us to the present. It is a reality check. Present feeling is always valid and puts us in touch with what is real, while thoughts can lead us away."

If you can't identify a specific emotion you can substitute a general statement, such as, "I feel emotional," or "I'm upset." By saying what your feeling is, you put the focus back on you rather than the emotion.

What happens when you put the focus on yourself in the present moment? You shift your awareness away from the mind, which might be rambling, critic this izing, commenting or fueling the emotion. By being present you are in your body doing yoga postures. As you focus internally on a complete state of being-physical as well as in the mind-you move into the awareness of your own creation. You are creating that moment for yourself.

And in this moment you have the freedom to choose - to be happy, content or continue experiencing the darker emotions. what ever you choose is right for you. But know that you have made a choice.

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