Twenty-five years ago when I was visiting Mysore, I went to see a Vedic astrologer for the first time. The first question he asked me was, “So, what brings you to Mysore, young man?” (I was young then) I told him I was there to study yoga with K. Pattabhi Jois and his response was, “Very good—yoga will make you a human shock absorber.” I took that to be his way of saying that the practice of yoga helps us adapt to change. It is a very useful skill to have as we try to navigate through the never-ending change that characterizes the realm of prakriti—the observable world. Ultimately, what yoga tries to teach us is to identify with the seer (purusha) rather than the seen (prakriti). The purusha is simply our unconditioned awareness and prakriti is everything that it sees, including the mind and body with all of their accumulated conditioning. As Patanjali says in sutra II.20 Drasta drsimatrah suddhah api pratyaya anupasyah—“The perceiving entity can only perceive—it sees through the mind but remains unaltered itself.” Since the purusha is always looking through the lens of the mind, it follows that our perceptions are always colored by our state of mind. The various practices of yoga are intended to quiet and clear the mind so we can perceive things as they actually are, rather than through the lens of our own conditioning. As we see things more clearly we tend not to take our life experiences so personally, and can adapt more easily to change.
Speaking of change, the day after Labor Day marks a major transition in Encinitas and many other places. The tourist season officially ends at the beach and all of the temporary lifeguard towers are carted away. In Del Mar, Labor Day is the last official day of the horse racing season and signals the departure of all the out of town racing fans. Kids are back in school and parents are freed up to return to their favorite yoga classes, or whatever other pursuit that helps them maintain sanity. There is a hint of Autumnal coolness in the air and the days are getting shorter fast now—pranayama class at six now begins in darkness and I’ve even begun using the heater again in the yoga studio the last couple of days. Change is definitely in the air and the wise choice, of course, is to embrace it. Kids will still complain about going back to school, people will bemoan the end of summer, and gamblers will regret not hitting the elusive trifecta at the Del Mar track, but life moves on. The good news is that September may be the best month of the year in Encinitas! The ocean water is still warm and the crowds have departed the beaches. The beach and Del Mar race traffic is history until next year and you can get into popular restaurants again. Class sizes at the Ashtanga Yoga Center have also returned to normal with the departure of most of our out of town summer guests. Best of all, my own schedule has quieted down after a very busy summer and I’ll be in Encinitas throughout most of the Fall—with a few weekend trips thrown in just so I can continue to practice adapting to change.
I'm grateful you're making a few trips to the east coast! See you in New Jersey!
Posted by: KaceYoga | 09/07/2016 at 06:55 AM
See you in Chicago!
Susan from Columbus
Posted by: Suziec3595 | 09/19/2016 at 08:06 AM