The March/April issue of Spirituality & Health magazine has got to be one of the best I have seen from them. I finished it last night and have 14 pages turned down with things to blog about, check out or show someone else! That might be a record!
There's a great article by Emma Seppala called The Case for Yogic Breathing. I love how these yogis describe the mind!
Yogis have been studying the breath as a way to calm the mind for millenia. They often compare the mind to a monkey that restlessly jumps from branch to branch (i.e., thought to thought), unable to settle down. The yogis noticed that when the mind wanders into the past and the future, it elicits a whole range of emotions, often negative. Thoughts of the past can bring feelings of regret, anger or sadness. Thoughts of the future often arouse anxiety and fear. On the other hand, positive emotions, such as happiness evoked by a connection with others, are mostly experienced when our focus is on the present moment--which is experienced when we bring our attention to the breath. "The mind is like a kite, flying here and there," explains Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (awarded the title of Yoga Shiromani, or "Supreme Jewel of Yoga," by India's president), "and the breath is like the string of the kite, gently bringing the mind back into the present moment. The breath brings the mind, which is all over the place, back to its source, a natural state of peacefulness and joy."
Today I was so lucky to have the time for an acupuncture appointment, and I must say, when I first got on the table, there was more than one monkey in my mind! But after laying on a warm bed, covered with blankets, and breathing deeply, those little suckers were kicking back on the beach, flying a kite and going with the flow! Bliss.
And the opposite of bliss? When your son watches Jungles on the Planet Earth DVD and learns how to sound just like a howler monkey! He started to do it today, though, stopped himself and said, "Oh, that's right. I can only play 'howler monkey' on the playground." Amen to that!
Wow, guess I'd better get into the new Utne Reader soon! And thanks for reminding us that we are all different, and different things work for each one of us!
Posted by: mamabee43 | March 07, 2010 at 11:13 AM
I've been having similar feelings with the latest Utne Reader. I've read so much of it that it actually interrupted my other "reading goals" that I've got for myself.
I like that simile, "The mind is like a kite, flying here and there." I can so relate. I've often felt that I cope better when I have more, not less, to do. It keeps my mind occupied with to do lists and appointments. My regular combination of motherhood obligations and my teaching schedule become mundane so very easily. And yet, I find myself complaining about being "too busy". I lament even more when one of my boys is involved in a sports practice (such a time commitment), all the while I know down deep that a busy mind,for me, is a healthy one.
Posted by: bronwyn | March 06, 2010 at 04:41 PM