S A D H A N A - a sacred practice

Today

Here

Now

Breathe

That's all it takes to practice; to drop into this moment, this breath, this sensation.

Life, here and now.

This practice cultivates JOY

I don't mean to be joyous, happy, or 'positive'; this practice doesn't make all the hardships, sadness, or suffering go away, but it does give us presence, pause, and perspective.

It reminds us of the bigger picture, of our bigger collective, of the oneness and sacredness of ALL life.

Rather than feeling overwhelming, it feels rooted in love.

Not the romantic kind, but the 'energy-of-all-life' kind.

If you're still with me, let's explore what brought me here this time.

I say 'this time' because I have felt this joy before, but I have also felt its absence.

It comes and goes, feels strong and feels faint, it ebbs and flows - it cycles.

Cycles are within us and around us; they are us, and we are them.

Breath cycles, sleep cycles, digestive cycles, heartbeat cycles, emotional cycles and attention cycles.

Sun phases, moon phases and seasonal phases.

Our time in this life is part of a greater cycle.

Currently in the UK, it is Spring (one of our four seasons) whose energy is of growth and transformation.

The process of growth and transformation isn't linear; it is in itself a cycle, of four parts:

Something begins, something ripens, something falls away, and something quieter but deeper asks to be faced before the cycle starts again. - Charlotte King

How connected we are to the nuances of these cycles, in our daily life and our emotions, depends on our attention and intention.

How patient we are, how curious and compassionate we are, and how present we are.

This takes practice.

S A D H A N A, a daily sacred practice.

It's not something we can achieve; it's not a goal we can accomplish.

It's something we begin, feel it ripen, find its fallen away, and ache for it, before we

begin again.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are divided into four chapters. The whole second chapter, pada, is devoted to Sadhana (practice). Iyengar's commentary in the preface begins with:

Yoga is an art, a science and a philosophy. It touches the life of man at every level, physical, mental and spiritual. It is a practical method for making one's life purposeful, useful and noble. As honey is sweet from any part of the honeycomb, so is yoga. It enables every part of the human system to become attuned to it's essence.

As Iyengar introduces Patanjali's chapter on Sadhana he says:

Here, the art of practice, abhyasa, is fully laid out to uphold the sadhaka in the uninterrupted maintenance of their sadhana, to guide them around pitfalls so that they may gain great clarity by acute observation and reflection and immaculate precision in practice.

Over the last week or two, I've slowed down. This slowing down has allowed me to deepen my daily practice, which ripples out into my daily life. A living experience of what Iynegar refers to as "a method for making one's life purposeful, useful and noble".

I've had moments where I've relinquished the need to get everything on my list done, surrendered to imperfection, and attempted to set 'those shoulds' free.

Not that I find it easy, there is discomfort in this for sure, and it's a cyclical practice!

It requires changing my perspective on my environment (physical mess and chaos) and in relationship expectations, whether that's friends, family or strangers in the queue!

Slowing down allows me to respond rather than react. To notice the sensations in my body before I speak, however, I'm not always 'that' present. It has also been feeling the sensations left in my body after conversations. How well they sit, the energetic residue of those conversations and shared experiences.

I am in 'relation-ness' with everyone and everything around me, energetic resonance.

How I show up subtly affects everything and everyone around me; the reverse is also true.

The beginning of 'this' particular cycle has been in recognising how others' energetic resonance and behavioural patterns change how I think, feel, behave and speak.

I am only able to feel into that when I am in sadhana.

My daily practice allows me to slow down, feel, reflect and redirect (attention and intention).

To begin again, re-finding roots, energy and direction.

Finding my authentic nature, which is part of nature.

Seeing the beauty in me, by seeing the beauty of life.

Seeing the value in me, by seeing the value of all life.

Seeing becomes feeling.

Feeling the beauty in me, by feeling the beauty of life.

Feeling the value of me, by feeling the value of all life.

Feeling the light within me, by feeling the light around me.

Becoming THAT,

That I am, and I am that.

SO HUM

Never dim your light for another, never dim another's light for yours to shine brighter.

The brighter we shine together, the more joy we experience collectively.

This won't eradicate suffering, but it will increase compassion, kindness and love, which the world really needs right now

Funnily enough, this blog has evolved into something other than what I had planned!

I intended to write about Patanjali's sutras, the power of 4 and moksha.

Moksha refers to freedom from the cycles of suffering, conditioning, and rebirth that keep us bound to a limited sense of self. But rather than something distant or abstract, moksha reflects a lived experience: a return to your true nature as awareness itself—steady, whole, and unaffected by life’s fluctuations. - www.yogaeastwest.com

......but maybe I have spoken about Moksha after all, just my current lived experience of it!

I guess that will be for another blog, or I shall weave it into classes as we practice!

So to close....

Today

Here

Now

Breathe

Feel into the rest of your Sunday by taking a moment to soak up the sunshine, blue sky and divine light.

My sit-spot in the garden where I take my daily practice (sadhana) of meditation throughout the year, literally in all weathers! Such a joy to be sitting in meditation under Rose, Willow and blue sky today.

Om shanti

🙏

Sophia