Project Awareness - September 2015
Veronika Polaskova
Yoga is a great way to become more physically fit, stronger, supple and vibrant. But it is also a great way to become more conscious of what is happening in the body and your mind. Which thoughts are sneaking in over and over again and what kind of feelings do these thoughts give rise to.
Often when we feel something we don’t what to feel, we will have a tendency to do something about it. To fight what we feel, to run away, to numb our feelings in so many different ways…because we don’t want to stay there…however, when we do that, we don’t allow ourselves to gain a little bit more understanding into why, whether our response is appropriate or realizing that our mind has just taken us on a journey of imagination, filling in things that have not happened or totally distorting the reality.
Many times when we feel some resistance within us or when some negative feelings arise, the best thing to do is TO OBSERVE…to notice…to witness…to stay there with whatever you feel…and just breathe. Closing your eyes and taking a few nice deep breaths. And the feeling will eventually go away…
Sometimes we just want to run away from what we feel, because it may be too big for us to handle it RIGHT NOW…and it’s ok…don’t be hard on yourself and just allow yourself to take it one step at a time...start from little things…I do “love” to numb my feelings with chocolate, it feels good…for a moment…but many times now, I will choose not to…(don't take me wrong, I will have my chocolate whenever I want but when I realize it's because I want to run away from what I feel, I usually choose not to have it).
When we practice awareness in our yoga practice and our life, we become more compassionate towards ourselves…we start loving ourselves more, understanding why we react sometimes in some way, why we feel a certain way and we grow kindness and patience towards ourselves. The more understanding we gain into who we are, the more the inner joy, the inner peace, the harmony within us will shine through...and we will become more compassionate towards others as well.
So I thought why not to have a month (September) when we all try to tune a little bit more into ourselves, creating a habit of observing our thoughts, feelings and reactions and bringing more awareness and understanding into our lives...
And hopefully, at the end of the month we will know ourselves a little bit better...and shining more :-)