Seeing the Forest for the Trees.

OFF THE MAT

Weekly Thought Offering:
This is the question you must learn to ask in connection with everything.
What is the purpose?
Whatever it is, it will direct your efforts automatically. When you make a decision of purpose, then, you have made a decision about your future effort; a decision that will remain in effect unless you change your mind.
-A Course in Miracles
Weekly Journal Prompts:
I thing I am doing is….
Its purpose is…
A thing I know to be true is…
Multiple place it is true are…
A truth that has revealed itself to me is…

Weekly Mantra:
I AM that

Hello Sadhakas!
If you have taken a training course of any kind with me and you are reading the above you are likely laughing, or at least smiling, remembering me harp on what I call “Purpose and Intent”. P&I as it becomes known in our work together is something that I discovered as I was writing the manual for our first ever teacher training at Yoga 216. When I was trying to distill what I did as a teacher into written format I realized that I always needed to have the “why” when I taught. A couple of things have since revealed themselves to me:
1) If a thing is true, it is true everywhere, and on all levels. The more I live this life the more I see that without knowing the why, we are doing things to live the same mistakes over and over. This continues our cycle of pain rather than be freeing us from it. On the other lovely side of this coin, once you know the why, you can customize your P&I to avoid pain (it works!) then you get to avoid pain!
2) The divine will speak truth to us through direct perception. I am obviously not the first person to talk about the importance of intention but what I find so beautiful about the above quote is that the truth of it grew up inside of me from my own spiritual exploration. Like a seed sprouting inside my heart, I just know it to be true. The above book was channeled in 1975, and having never read it before, those words jumped out at me like a laser. “I know this one!”, my spirit shouted and again I am connected to a truth. A truth it is true everywhere and on all levels. Inside me and outside of me. In each of you and in all beings.

This week we are in week 4 of Prasarita Padottonasna and this week ON THE MAT we are exploring the shape of the legs and how this shape shows up in so many other places in the practice. My invitation to you is this. The same things we have been exploring ON THE MAT (balance in the lower limbs, length in the spine, a mindful fold) hold true no matter our relationship to gravity or the asana we are working on. Let’s explore that this week. OFF THE MAT explore your intentions, explore your patterns, explore the truths you know to be true and how they are true everywhere you look. In your inner world explore the truths that reveal themselves to you. It is a most beautiful intimate experience with Self.

With Great Respect and Love,

Nicole