Reflections from a Yogi: Arisa Nogler, TSY Teacher
I read an article recently that called this strange social distancing experience “The Great Pause.” What an apt description. For once, everything has stopped. We are living inside of a tragedy, yes, and I keep asking myself–What do I do with this space? What can I learn from this collection of solitary moments?
Sharon Salzberg, a meditation teacher, says that practicing meditation isn’t so much about becoming an expert meditator– it’s about learning to live differently. The focus gleaned from a regular meditation practice begins to spill over into every moment of everyday life because, finally, we are paying attention. Slowly, moment by moment, meditation helps us come alive.
For me, this Great Pause presents a similar opportunity: to remember how to breathe; to reflect, in this newfound space, on how I have lived and how I want to live. Yoga has taught me presence and focus….how to sit, for a while, through the eye of the storm, and notice.
One of the yamas, or sacred principles, at the heart of yoga is ahimsa (uh–him–sa). Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word meaning, roughly, non-harming. Taken further, it has also come to mean standing up to harm, within ourselves and everywhere else. A tragedy like this can have a way of lighting up the pulse of the world, so to speak. As we find our breath in moments of stillness, this period of pause can offer us insight into the true state of the world, how our presence is impacting ourselves, each other, the earth. As we humans have retreated, and watched, shuttered, animals have emerged from the shadows, reclaiming space in national parks. Unending clouds of smog have dissipated. Ever-present social inequities have become even more apparent.
So, I’ve been trying to pay attention, remain alert to the state of the world right now. And let it inform the question, What’s really important? How do I want to live? And, from there–What can I do to help? How can I join the ranks and stand up, somehow, to the harm that’s already happened? It isn’t easy. We all get to take time to grieve, to wallow, to shout at the sky. And, on the way back, I hope to find the space to reconsider my presence; to discover how to use my resources and lifestyle choices to support my community, my world and all the creatures in it. The way forward has always been together.
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