Day 9 & 10 "Kensho"

Yesterday - as usual the food was awesome - it seems so redundant to keep posting but it was great eating the salads, shakes and Nachos! Love those ~

The Yoga - whoa!

Yin Vinyasa - live music

Wow what a class! It was a full room of people and I was .. at first, a little bit intimidated by the level people were at. Watching head / handstands and various positions that were way ahead of me. I did some gentle stretching and calmed my mind and reminded myself to be in my own space and to remember that it's not a competition.

The class started and i was really looking forward to it. Live cello, sitar and guitar with candles lit and flowers laid about in a darker than usual room. It was a very spiritual space / energy.

As the class progressed, there were a few new positions (Asanas) like "The Frog". It was funny to hear people kind of moan when Nora said we were doing that one lol.

It actually felt good (to the best of my posture) but the pose was difficult. The thing in the Yin Vinyasa class is to fully embrace the yin rather than yang energy. The yin is the relaxing comfortable releasing feeling whereas the yang is the more activating feeling.

It was really helpful to hear Nora say over and over to do it so it feels good and to enjoy the yin - to do what feels good as best we could, and that was constantly relieving to my inner conversation to "do it right or perfect". She kept on about how in that space there are no boundaries and that we can experience and enjoy freedom

Then i found myself getting kind of pissed off. lol All this talk about no boundaries and here i am feeling totally crowded in the room because of all the people. I noticed that i was getting judgmental and already planning a strategy to get there earlier and find a better space where i can control my area better so as not to be feeling so constricted.

Moments passed and my attention wavered from the music, to my breath, to the position, to being crowded, to my inner conflict about it all and my judgments. Then, ... out of nowhere ... my mind shifted.

I took a calming breath and realized that my mind is what is confined and that i get to BE that which is noticing all these things outside of me. And that i can just notice the judgments and let them pass and remain in the moment - free of any attachments and free of any boundaries. It was a liberating moment and one that opened an entirely different experience of my practice and more noticeably ... my surroundings. Suddenly i had ample room to move about and it felt good.

Maybe a 30 seconds later, Nora said, as we were in childs pose ... this is who we are, this energy and this moment. And i felt its truth, we can experience freedom, boundlessness and peace ... though i chuckled a little ... and was thankful she didn't say that a minute earlier!

Matt


I'll write more later about the food today it has been really good.
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