Our Seat

Our seat: 

asana is the third limb of yoga, in Sanskrit it simply means taking our seat, and the Yoga Sutra's describe this as establishing a steady and comfortable position for meditation. The practice of asanas, Hatha yoga, is typically the yoga we're most familiar with, it's what we think of whenever yoga is mention, it's classes we attend, and the common image in our minds. Yet the only actual instructions offered in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra's is to make every asana steady and comfortable, that's it, the ancient text that literally defines yoga tells us precious little of the practice of its most popular limb. 

or so it seems. 

taking our seat is more than just a physical expression, it's establishing ourselves in stillness while being amidst in motion, balancing, adjusting to the winds that life blows in our direction. Our stance is our asana - physically it's how we move our bodies, flexible and with ease, emotionally it's the freedom we allow our every expression, that grief is just as freely known as joy, every emotion is valid in its appearance. We take our seat through the positions that we hold in life, our generosity and care, a willingness to serve others and act with true compassion. Spiritually our seat is simply awareness, being established as capacity for the appearance of the world, seamless, and that there is no practice to attain this - it's what we are in our innermost experience. 

again we are urged to make our seat steady and comfortable, asanas should be an expression of balance, trusting ourselves through the grace and poise of every moment, natural, and being at ease with the possibility of a fall. Our asanas make us fearless, unafraid of what only seems a failure, but really just an opportunity to reestablish ourselves in any moment, through whatever life offers, once more gaining the balance of our true essential pose. That's the real practice of asanas, taking our seat throughout every moment of our lives, balancing with steadiness and comfort even through the difficult times, falling, failing, and smiling with the joy of being alive and gifted with this practice. 

taking our seat as life.

~

Peace, Eric