Quieting the mind. It’s hard to do. We can close our eyes, roll our necks around, bring it back to center...and then, we breathe.

But, there it goes again--our mind wants to be busy. It flashes to what we need to do later, a conversation we had a week ago...it jumps around. A lot.

When I first started meditating, I used a crutch. I counted, in order to keep my mind from wandering. Inhale-one, exhale-two, inhale-three, exhale-four, inhale-five...and then, suddenly my mind would jump. Then I’d bring it back to one. You see, once you bring your mind back...start over at one. It helps to alleviate the ‘contest’---by starting over at one every time you slip into thought and not going past nine each time you successfully reach it before you start at one, again. Just breathe, and count. It’s a crutch, but, we do that. It’s okay. You don’t lose points for using a crutch when you need a crutch. When we need support, we use that crutch. It’s ok. Know that it’s something you will ween yourself from. It’s something to help train the mind and when you notice the mind jumping...bring it back. Bring. It. Back. When we first start sitting, it can be overwhelming to suddenly realize how much the mind jumps around. But after awhile, you discover that you’re just feeling your breath. The counting becomes unnecessary, and we get to put down the crutch. We don’t need it. The mind has become stronger. We can find peace. We can find contentment.

In Yoga, we pay attention to the breath. It’s the glue, really. The yoga sutras written by Patanjali, the first person to write about yoga, are described as an eight limbed path outlining the art and science of Yoga. It is “a process of systematically encountering, examining, and transcending each of the various gross and subtle levels of false identity in the mind field, until the jewel of the true Self comes shining through”.

Sounds pretty important when one puts it that way, yes? When we look at it simplistically, it’s listed as an eight limbed set of awareness to evolve with;

YAMA - Restraints, moral disciplines or moral vows.
NIYAMA - Positive duties or observances.
ASANA - Posture. (This is where we Westerners like to dwell...we loooooove asana.)
PRANAYAMA - Breathing techniques.
PRATYAHARA - Sense withdrawal.
DHARANA - Focused concentration.
DHYANA - Meditative absorption.
SAMADHI - Bliss or enlightenment.

The second limb, the Niyamas, are personal practices, rituals and daily activities for wellbeing and spiritual growth. First, there is Soucha, which is the practice of cleanliness--or the commitment to keeping the mind and body clean. It’s about looking at environmental toxins and opting to remove them from our lives. It’s about being aware that cleanliness is more than washing your hands after you use the bathroom. It’s about your mind, too. It’s about what you are thinking. There is Tapas-- the practice of self discipline, and Svadhyaya--the practice of self study. There’s Ishvara Pranidhana which refers to surrendering to the Divine--quite literally, “the divine in me honors the divine in you”. Finally Santosha--meaning contentment. It is this Niyama that I’d like to focus on. This time of year, there is a lot of talk about gratitude. We’re thankful for our family, our pets, our homes. We’re thankful that mom is a great cook and we get to gather between halftime to devour the magic she conjured for us...so very thankful that we’re all together, safe, sound, with a second helping of too-much-already. But, there is more to Santosha than our American perspective of gratitude for abundance. Santosha refers to surrendering the control of our lives in the present moment, and going with the flow.

Santosha doesn’t assume abundance.

When we live our lives this way, we’re much more receptive to opportunities and experiences that present themselves when we keep an open mind. The result of practicing Santosha is experiencing increased love and joy in our own lives. When we’re happy and carefree, we can be of even greater service to others, and positively impact more lives around us. We can
be...better humans, no matter what we have...or don’t have.

When we’re not practicing Santosha, we tend to be discontent and hold onto resentment towards others and toward our situations. When we decide to practice Santosha we surrender to all circumstances-good and bad- that have brought us to any given moment, the result is often a deeper sense of gratitude for the respective paths we’re on. It means that when the weather is “bad”, we breathe. We find pause. We fill ourselves with contentment in the weather, no matter its “badness”.

It’s a struggle in the West to be content. American’s love choices. We don’t just want something to eat to address our hunger. We want the perfect burger. We could get a burger at at least 45 different burger places right here in Missoula. But...really...come on...it’s a cheeseburger. We have too many choices. All these choices confuse us, and then, even when we make a choice, we focus on what we didn’t get to choose. It was a good burger, but, maybe we should have gone to The Top Hat. Maybe it would have been better. It probably would have been. Unless it wasn’t. Because, maybe, it really wasn’t. Damn. Should have made a different choice. We buy a new car, and we find exactly what isn’t perfect about it as soon as we’ve signed the papers. It’s missing something that we could now focus on. Needs a hitch. A rack. Heated seats. Don’t get me wrong. Heated seats are pretty nice. Especially in Montana. Especially after yoga. But...is it worth being unhappy about if you don’t have them? Or, maybe,
you got a new job and are super excited, but...three weeks in...are wishing for the old job, or for a new, new job. This job...you’re not so sure about. And your partner? Well...is he/she really the best option? When you’re listening to them chew, are you wondering if someone else can chew their food in a less annoying way? Can you? Maybe the act of chewing food is just...chewing food. Maybe, it’s time to practice Santosha.

In Santosa, the practice of being content, you find the breath. You find the peace, but there is a fine line wherein you can also find yourself in complacency. You want to find contentment, not complacency. Complacency is giving up. Contentment is finding peace. Tease out the difference. The weather isn’t great. It’s cold. COLD. We Missoulians know cold. But, you know what...we usually have beautiful weather. Even when it’s cold out, it’s really...beautiful. We can work with the cold, knowing it is part of the dynamic whollistic reality of where we live. Our burger filled us up. It was tasty. It did its job. It fed us. Our job, it gives us a paycheck. Its reliable. It’s what we are doing. Maybe it’s a step into the future, but right now, it’s where we are. It’s what we are breathing through, what we are asked to be content in, for our own sake, and the for the sake of those who ears we borrow.

And there it is...the breath. The breath is what we are practicing in the studio, so that when we go out there, we can find contentment in our lives.

Can you find that contentment in pigeon? In Warrior two? Triangle? Can you find your breath in headstand? Can you find that same breath at home when your kids are going ape because you didn’t make the burger the way they like it? Can you teach them about Santosha, too? In this season of bundling up, Look to see where you can find the gratitude...find the places you can choose gratitude. They are there, and they will direct you toward contentment. This time of the year, we can lose track of contentment in favor of stress. But, remember, whatever holiday you align with, ‘Tis the season to be content with where you are, right now. Breathe.

Namaste’

Worry. It’s kind of a thing. There’s actually a lot of energy that goes into the practice of worrying about our problems. Some of us have real problems. Big problems. Problems that keep us up at night with deep seated, sincere, understandable angst. There are also a lot of people who don’t have problems to that extreme...and they still worry. But, what is worry? What does it accomplish? When we worry, part of that initial process can be productive if we are figuring out ways to solve whatever it is that is causing us distress--but that’s the part beyond the worry. The problem solving part. The worry...well, that’s not helping anything. That part is just in your head. It doesn’t make anything better. It doesn’t matter if the issue is big or small.The worry part is just spinning wheels in your head. It does nothing beyond pushing fear and negativity into the universe. And, it hurts. It literally damages your cells. If you can solve the problem, then do it, and don’t worry.

If there is nothing you can do to solve the problem, then...let it go...and don’t worry. Easier said than done, yes?

The struggle comes in when we can’t do anything about a problem. It’s so hard to feel helpless. I had a teacher, Judith Hanson Lasater, in a workshop who said that worrying was praying for the bad stuff to happen.

Sometimes statements like that feel like blame, but there’s some truth to be found in it. Have you ever manifested something into your life by focusing positive energy into it? Pouring yourself into something you care about, perhaps you found that you were rewarded with positive results? All that positive energy lifted you into what you envisioned and when that happens, most of us are more than happy to take credit for that good outcome. We know we manifested it. It’s ours, and we feel good about that success. It happens in the other direction too. Pouring negative energy into things also manifests outcomes. Fear is a powerful form of energy, right? Enough worry and fear, and you can find your immune system completely zapped from the internal stress of your mind in its hamster wheel of concerns.

Here’s a little story-zample... I was talking with my co-worker a while ago, and he was telling me about how he was zipping along on his motorcycle and a bee hit his hand and it stung him and it hurt! I immediately cringed inside and thought, “Oh man! You know what would really suck? What if you were riding along and a bee flew into your mouth!” The thought made me cringe. The idea of a bee stinging me in the mouth was just..nooononono! Within a week...I was riding
my bike and NO JOKE, a bee flew into my mouth a stung me. Trust me. You do not want to manifest that for yourself. I worried about something I didn’t need to worry about. Don’t do that. It’s not a good idea. Don’t bring unnecessary pain and strife into your life by worrying about things you can’t control.

When we ask ourselves if there is something we can do about our problem, if the answer is yes, when we have our path. If the answer is no...then, we have our breath. When we can acknowledge that we really don’t need to worry, that’s when we can find peace. That’s when we can move forward into manifesting what we want in our lives.

That is why we come to our mats. We come here to get out of our heads. We come into our breath to leave the spinning of our minds behind. We come...to let go.

This Autumn, we have some awesome things coming up to help you do that. We have a great beginner yoga class at the end of October that promises to give you everything you need to feel confidence in any regular class, and I’m planning a fun little workshop in Novemember! You can also play along with a little game I like to encourage; I’m excited to offer a challenge to everyone to find out how little you can pay for your yoga classes. Unlimited passes make that possible at the luxurious steal of only $85, and only $50 if you are new to the studio. The more you come, the less you end up paying!

Can you stretch your dollar far enough to pay $1 a class? Can you imagine how awesome it would feel to walk through that door every day and release your mind from the worry you were holding? What if you came often enough that you simply...forgot to worry ever again. What if you were so busy enjoying yoga every day that you found at the end of 30 days that you had replaced worry with inner peace? That’s what yoga can do. I believe in this practice, and this challenge is my gift to you as a thank you for being part of Inner Harmony. We also have some acro classes on Monday nights at 7:15 and an acto jam on Saturday afternoons which are accessible to anyone who wishes their secret power was the ability to fly! While actual flying may be out of reach, the thrill of doing acro is sure to bring a smile to your face while you strengthen, tone and tighten your entire body. It’s the most fun ever and you get STRONG. Join us!

We just finished an enthusiastic Autumnal Equinox celebration with 108 Sun Salutations. We had a hearty group which made the energy in the room expansive! Afterwards, several of us enjoyed brunch at Scotty’s table for a well earned indulgence and comradely conversation. We do this practice quarterly at Inner Harmony, and the next one will be in December for Winter Solstice. I hope to share this expansive event with you. If you’ve ever wondered if you had the endurance to accomplish the 108, I urge you to take it upon yourself to manifest it. Start with five sun salutations a day, which is something that has no negatives when adding to a home practice, or, make your way to the studio and I promise we’ll help you achieve that goal. I promise you can do it!

Again, thank you all for making Inner Harmony possible. Being able to do what I love is a dream come true, and I am so grateful for that. It’s so much better to guide people into getting out of their heads than it is to have a bee fly into your mouth because you worried about it happening. Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.

I appreciate all of you

That’s a question I ask daily in my classes at Inner Harmony. It’s also a question I ask myself, and one I hope you are asking of yourselves as well. How do we feel? The answer to that question can vary widely throughout the day, but it is our barometer; if we pay attention to the answer, it can help us to navigate our humanity. If we bumble through without considering the answer to that question, we miss opportunities to put our practice of yoga into action. Not only is the question, “How do we feel” important to ask, it is vital. It helps us to see that the answer is very different at the end of our yoga practice than it was before we rolled out our mat. It helps us to see that breath can alter that feeling. That slowing down can ground us, just as speeding up brings heat into the body when we need energy and warmth. When we sit down to eat, we can ask ourselves how we feel, and maybe that helps us to consider what it is our body is craving beyond what our mind tells us it wants to eat. Yes, I know that chocolate cake is delicious; and there are times when maybe that is exactly what you need when you ask yourself what it is you want. Maybe. There may be other times, though, when how you feel will not likely be improved by a rush of white sugar and pastry flour, no matter how many eggs are folded into the batter.

How do we feel?

Is there something the body wants? Needs? Will getting on your mat help? Have you tried to find out today what will feel good? What will nourish you, today?

I talk about muscle groups in our classes. Sometimes, I mention that there are muscles that are always engaged. Our postural muscles hold us up; they give us shape and form: the psoas, the bicep, the erector spine group. Then there are muscles that are working overtime. They don’t need to be engaged constantly. We can release them, letting other muscles work. These overworked muscles are like the story of “The Little Red Hen”, who does all the work. In a way, though the little red hen is the hero of the story, she’s also in error. Who is she really helping in allowing her companions to disregard the ways in which they can, and should be helping her. When we find a muscle group that is doing work they do not need to do, it’s okay to tell them to stop. It’s okay to say, “Hey back! I’m going to stop using my glutes to hold this cobra. I want you to engage. It’s your turn.” And then, even though those glutes are so good at what they do, it’s okay to turn on the back and allow the posture to soften for a more subtle expression of the pose.

When we get better at asking ourselves how we feel, we will also get better at asking ourselves what it is we really need to feel the way we would like best to feel. We’ll find ourselves getting up 15 minutes earlier so that we can gift ourselves a breakfast that doesn’t consist of a coffee stand double latte’ and a muffin. We’ll step onto our mat without hesitation, because we know we will feel better. We’ll accept the invitation to become better humans; more assertive, more flexible, more patient, more tolerant. It will also give us strength, endurance, and stability as we streamline into lives that have become easier to navigate, simply through the attention to how we feel in the moment, every moment.

As we settle into 2018, we can embrace the practice of paying attention to how we are feeling. If you forget to ask yourself, don’t worry. It’s not a perfect. It’s a practice. When you realize you have forgotten to ask yourself, “How do I feel, right now?” Just...do it as soon as you remember to. There are no grades. No special awards. The only benefit is personal, and interpersonal. As you become more grounded, centered, aware, the people who you surround yourselves with will notice that there is something more about you. Something they can see. Something they can feel. And you will feel it to, just like you do at the end of your yoga...only it will not stay limited to the mat. It will follow you, and envelope your heart. It will carry your breath, and remind your mind to stay where it is, right in the now. So, don’t be afraid to ask yourself how you are, right now. If the answer isn’t what you would want it to be, pull out your mat and practice, or eat something that will nourish your body, or fill your cells with cool water. Take a walk. Notice the stars. Pull yourself out of the funk and into the breath. Come to class. Paint a picture. Be.

How do you feel?
Namaste

(Sara’s note: This works. Working steadily with the guidance I have found in Brian’s studio on my mat, I’ve ventured into finding out what it would be like to lose 85 lbs of tears and stress and worries stored in my body. Asking myself how I feel has been paramount in that journey, and I honestly could not have done any of it without the wonderful guidance and encouragement of Brian as I worked to remind myself of the possibility that my inner little red hen was no longer serving me as well as she could. I remember the very first time I heard Brian’s voice asking us all, “How do you feel?” and the tears that threatened to burst forth were the evidence that there was something more to do; something else to try. So, ask yourself how you feel today. Listen to the answer, and...work to be the change you wish to see in yourself. I hope to see you in class, soon. Peace!)