Routine Practice

Controlling the breath was how I first discovered energy. 

I used to lay in my bed as a child, follow my breathe and watch my spirit float out of my body. I could see myself laying there and feel both bodies at once. I believe I did this in the afternoon. 

I don’t wake up in the afternoon to practice. I am quite fond of an afternoon practice, a 4 PM practice and evening practices. 

I’m not a fan of the beach — the sitting in the sun part. It’s hot and makes me aggravated and honestly, it’s boring. I like the shade, playing in the sun or the feel of the wind while in the mountains. 

As I write this the wind is pushing my screen door against me. I forgot to close it. It’s going to rain and I will have to stop writing. Distractions are free to roam even in your most comfortable places. 

Yes, I am in Vermont, in a new apartment, waiting for my first mentor to arrive while sitting on a river. The wind blew my interior door shut. I’m locked out. This is the 2nd time in two days! This time I crawl the ledge of the roof. It’s a third floor apartment so if I fall, it will hurt. 

I crawl on old tar and tin. Puncture a small hole in the screen. The top part of the window falls down. I lift if and crawl in, past Laxmi alter and through the bedroom. When I touch the handle, it feels unlocked. That’s how I got in trouble. It’s not raining and the clouds have blown out. 

During this cat burglar attempt, I had fear of falling off the roof and getting up there. I didn’t want to replace the screen and I didn’t want to knock over the alter or pull the curtains out of the window. There are all these things that I did not want to do. 

A morning routine can be like that only inverse. What am I supposed to do? And lineages come into play which brings in styles and teachers and more suppose to….

And there are certain times? Yes, there are. Justifiably, we can almost always find one text of scripture that argues with another. We see in yoga that one deity is like this and another like that. That one practice is very much this and the other not so much. 

This leads us to what is real and what is not real. Truthfully, it’s one of the only topics that seems to match up. The real being spirit, soul, atman and the unreal (impermanent) that which is subject to death and decay. 

In short, most of what we read, in a yoga training,  listen to people talk about, follows ideals that the body mind are not real. They are subject to death (time). The soul is forever. What this does a bit to us all is question our emotions (first) and experiences (second). It’s okay if it comes in another order. 

We care about this as when we move along a path of yoga... or a practice with heavy self discipline and accountability.  We want to know that we are doing it proper… That we are and can succeed in the practice! 

Only, we do not have (necessarily) physical changes to show for.  

Change or transformation frequents our emotional viewpoint. How the voice inside presents quietude and listens intently on everything equally. The internal dialog becomes more pressing as we identify with the subtle. 

Our concern often becomes how to and what routine to do rather than what the routine does for you. The practices are to bend for the practitioner and not the other way. Discipline is a necessary component for any ritual. It requires showing up and accountability to following the path you set before you. 

Additionally, the most lovely path can experience the weather of the mind. The weather is where we really hone in on our distractions.  They give us an opportunity to see if attention and mindfulness is returned to us in this morning routine.