on being lost at sea
This human life leads us on all sorts of twists and curves. We never know what's coming, even though we try to predict. Even if the weather man lets us know its going to snow, we cannot experience how cold that snow will make us feel until the time has come.
The path of yoga is equally full of twists and turns. You feel sure of your progress and then years down the line you may ask yourself : "Have I been doing it wrong all along?" and of course there is no clear answer, because of course, there is no right or wrong way. Nevertheless a good teacher will help to guide you through uncertainties when it comes to practice.
Because of the very nature of our being: inquisitive but easily confused, a great teacher is as clear as the sky. Except that even the sky has clouds sometimes. And oh! it just started to rain!
The greatest teacher of all is the body , it is here to lend us clarity and I can tell you why:
Anatomically we stack, we arrange and we align. Due to this alignment there is a stability in the physical body. We are not shrinking in certain areas, we are not collapsing internally. The channels that distribute not just energy, but also fluids: blood, lymph, etc. are not compressed. There is literally a greater flow. When the energy is free to flow emotions arise.
Emotions are literally energy in motion and they allow us to feel. Through our continuing practice, engaging the breath more consciously we are able to process rather than repress the emotions that arise. We go through them rather than jumping over them.
And when we process our own emotions, we allow them to surface and express themselves, we eventually allow them to drift on and then we begin to see more clearly. This is a clarity of mind that cuts through our previous confusions.
If we could but remember these stages then a greater wisdom could develop. A true wisdom, one that learns from the past rather than returning to it
So where to go with your confusion? when you are lost at sea? go to the anatomy, stack, arrange, practice your asana and swim through whatever arises.
look out for upcoming courses that will set you on a stable path of progress