Move Toward Stillness
Posted by Dhruti on May 12, 2011 | 2 comments
#4 in a series of posts that addresses the topics listed in this article.
“Yoga is not a magic bullet or a pill you can take to solve your bad attitude if you’re not prepared to put in the work yourself.”
Who determines whether or not your attitude is bad? This is important. If someone feels you have a bad attitude then I am going to be rather bold here and say that person is comparing you to a predetermined ideal he or she has set. A bad attitude to one person might be strength and perseverance to another. We just cannot know what battles another person is facing. But, what about our perception of ourselves?
What if you believe yourself as having a bad attitude? First, start attending yoga class. The purpose of yoga is stillness, this being the most succinct definition of yoga I have ever heard as well as the one that resonates with me. Now, stillness doesn’t mean being passive and not acting (e.g. magic bullets), it simply means to accept things as they are, right now. Instead of defining your attitude as bad, begin moving toward stillness by paying attention to why you feel the way you do. As Ramdas so eloquently phrased it, “Do not assume you know what you think you know. Breathe. Feel. Explore. Learn. Take off the lenses of the past and see reality for what it truly is, then act.”
Jai Bhagwan
I’m really thinking about this. It’s hard for me to get out of thinking that stillness is just pulling into myself and passively letting things happen to me–whatever may. That’s what yoga teaches, to be ‘blissful’ always. I have a hard time feeling that being present, esp. in a stressful situation is stillness.
“That’s what yoga teaches, to be ‘blissful’ always.”
This is a common misconception. “A true yogi is always blissful.” It’s not possible. If you see a person being attacked, you will not be blissful. It is likely that you’ll feel fear or anger or another emotion appropriate to the moment. The real question is what happens to the mind at that point? Does it remain calm and even or does it become panicked and agitated.
The calm and even mind will respond deliberately and, more often, appropriately. The panicked and agitated mind will react wildly and, more often, inappropriately.