New Year – New You

In the last several weeks of December and early January, I was surprised to hear (on mainstream television) the words “meditation” and “mindfulness”. The words were used in the context of New Year’s resolutions and change. Apparently, resolutions, goals, and sheer willpower are not enough anymore to produce the change in people’s lives they are desiring. I wondered how many people actually know that much about meditation and mindfulness, or even the meaning of those words.

In the first 7 years of my yoga experience (back 7 decades ago now), the Himalayan Institute with Swami Rama was the major yoga resource we had in Minneapolis. The yoga poses we learned were predominantly “joints and glands”, with few directives addressing technical precision in the poses.

What I acquired back then was an invaluable foundation for who I am as a yoga teacher today. I did not merely learn meditation and mindfulness, but I experienced them.

These concepts are hard to articulate, but in my yoga classes, we don’t just define these important words – we live them.

Step into my class if you’d like. In my downstairs space, the lights are lowered, and we lie on the floor doing a passive stretch for the chest. All eyes are closed, and there is total silence (a must-have). Our physical senses of sight, hearing, smell, and touch are not being stimulated. When you are not distracted by these “human nature” things, your consciousness is free to expand. I call it a “heightened degree of awareness”. This stretch helps you become aware of the moment (mindfulness). You become filled up in the moment. There, that takes care of the meaning of mindfulness.

Next, we move our attention to our belly, which is between the base of the ribcage and our hipbones. Ah-ha! That’s abdominal breathing, the most relaxing breathing: a perfect prelude to meditation. I say to my students that meditation is easy but hard. Whenever you lose your focal point (abdominal breathing), you simply return to it over and over again. That’s the hard and easy part. Eventually, “Big Mind” (mindfulness) takes charge of “Little Mind, Brain Mind”. For how long? For as long as you can – no rules.

We take this way of being mindful into the physical part of the class: bodywork. You are actually “practicing” mindfulness and meditation by not thinking but instead by being fully one with your actions. In our multitasking and motion-addicted culture, this is a challenge – but a rewarding one. This way of being gives you peace and fulfillment beyond anything outside yourself.

Our final pose is restorative yoga: back to stillness and silence. If thoughts keep butting into your serene self, just go back to your focal point (breathing) when you need to.

I hope this explanation gives you insight into what mindfulness and being in the moment mean. Don’t let anyone tell you that you will never be able to control your thoughts. Once you experience this kind of peace – a feeling of freedom and joy – in your life, you will become addicted to this way of being, and all your unhealthy addictions will drift away.

For more information, contact:

Maryann Parker

4517 Moorland Avenue

Edina, MN 55424

952-927-9380

parkeryoga@yahoo.com