My Practice

My practice: 

my practice is yoga, meditation, pranayama in set times of day as well as when needed. I have a dedicated health and fitness regime, follow a plant-based diet and consider myself vegan for ethical reasons. As well I make a point of spending time in nature, daily, walking and running along with simply pausing to allow the wind, trees, and sun to speak to be, to inspire and heal, informing me of my place within the natural world. My day is structured around these practices, one seamless to the next without much thought needed to their performance, not any longer, this is truly how my life flows. 

and yet done of this makes a difference. 

nor is it supposed to.

I've long since surrendered any notion of self improvement let alone enlightenment, what I practice is for the sake of joy and well-being I derive from the performance alone. It's enough for me to meditation, thinking the mantra, deeper levels of a quiet mind found, and then the creativity that's sparked by this silence. Yoga and breath work improve my overall health and fitness, I'm limber and strong, breathing easy with a low resting heart rate and blood pressure in the healthy range. My diet too gives me the satisfaction that my health isn't compromised by cruelty of factory farming. These are results, benefits, and yet the joy is found within the time of actual practice, appreciating the suppleness of stretching and the feel of life coursing through my body, or how the mantra seems to carry me to silence through the trail of its vibration. Nothing more has to come from this, enlightenment doesn't need to follow, my practice is simply for the joy of the moment alone. 

anything else is a bonus. 

so really,life is my practice, the things I do with purpose and intent, being mindful of actions without dwelling on how they might unfold or the direction they'll lead me. It all feels pretty seamless to me know, not a practice at all but just how my life flows, full of curiosity and wonder, immersed in mystery without any desire to seek or know a true and certain answer. It's enough to be alive, aware of this fragile moment and how it's changing even now, always now, and that whatever's present can be cherished only for its gift of motion and the realization that things will never be this exact display again. 

all the wisdom and insights ever needed are found within this moment. 

my practice is in simply being aware and alive. 

and it requires no practice at all. 

~

Peace,Eric