Passing Time in Sthira & Sukha
Greetings MyYogaPal Community!
Birthdays are a reminder of marking occasions in the constant turning wheels of time, like the intricate and precise movements of a Swiss watch moving through seconds, minutes and hours. Today, August 5th marks the 52nd birthday anniversary of Lesley Fightmaster, our beloved teacher. This blog is dedicated to the wonder of Lesley’s teachings to us who discovered her on YouTube and deepened our connection with her in the community of MyYogaPal.
Thank you so much to the Fightmaster family for sharing your knowledge, experience and most of all love in the realm of the yoga practice. Through http://www.fightmasteryoga.com and https://www.myyogapal.com communities, people have found a special haven to share a healthful practice to expand our self-awareness and living more consciously in our bodies, our minds and in our community. Lesley Fightmaster lives forever in each of her videotaped lessons and also when we share what we’ve learned from her in our own practice and teaching classes to others. In addition, Duke and Indy are continuing to preserve and grow the Fightmaster Yoga tradition with the Sunday live streaming classes on YouTube and Duke’s thoughtful shares by email.
This month, August, the theme is Time. This topic touches upon so many boundaries and realms of yoga, physics, metaphysics, daily life, philosophy - you name it, time is a constant parameter in the equation.
On a sobering and saddening note, some of you might’ve already heard in the news about the multiple car accident in the neighborhood of Windsor Hills in South Los Angeles that resulted in 6 fatalities and injuries to others who were hospitalized. That happened yesterday, August 4th around 1:30 pm. Our deepest sympathies goes out to the community and the families who are suffering the loss with their lives changed so dramatically and suddenly. Thus far, the California Highway Patrol (CHP’s) investigation points the cause of this accident to a driver running a red a light at the speed anywhere from 50 to 60 MPH or more.
“What’s the hurry?” - that someone could behave so unconsciously and create a situation that leaves family and friends bereft of their loved one? It is not a judgment but an ask of what is the meaning of time in our “minds” in the small and big picture of life as we define it in our understanding of the cosmic universe. Why is it so vital for someone to ignore the rules of the road when we drive vehicles that could be used purposefully as a tool?
Here is my contribution to this month’s blog on time.
Passing Time with Shtira and Sukha
Last week, I was asked at the last moment to substitute for a Hatha Yoga class. The regular yoga teacher had fallen during one of her classes the day before. As a consequence, the person sustained a major injury to require a lengthy rest period. The “sudden” change was a reminder of how fragile our lives can be. This fragility is more pronounced as we age in our bodies and recognize that we’re just not as spry and agile as we used to be. As our bodies slow down, we are also forced to adjust our mentality to the reality of our bodies breaking down from its peak form which I think of as our ‘yang’ period to our ‘yin’ period.
I believe the wisdom is in yielding and accepting the reality as hard as it sometimes may be. It’s also the opportunity to develop other aspects of our potentials for other interests and activities. It is not just to change directions but also our perspective in appreciating the ‘what is’.
When we put effort into something we generally expect results of some form and also within an expected period of time. I sometimes smile inwardly whenever I’m in a meeting and someone brings up “time box” or “time boxing” an activity. This means we have to measure the result in an allocated measure of time. All those things brings the image of signposts and placards “judgement”. Maybe it brings up other things for you. “Time box” makes me take gulps of air, and to also hold the breath in my chest until I’m forced to take another gulp of air. I forget to breathe normally. My adrenalin kicks in and I start to get ready for the “race”. On your mark, get set, GO!!!
I am suddenly feeling like a rat running through the maze to find the cheese and get the heck outta there. Sounds awful. Maybe there’s another way to visualize ‘time box’. But, this brings me now to the joy of teaching yoga and practicing yoga.
After a full day of my job, I can escape to teach a yoga class. Teaching and practicing yoga with mindful breathing un-do’s the damage of being in a “time box”. In the yoga room, we practice being present and letting go of the past and the future by turning the attention to each moment of each breath. At first it is tenuous - like finding our balance as we stand on a narrow beam. It’s a little wobbly at first then we get our footing, our balance and “feel” for the breath which I call as “the anchor between our consciousness and our body.” In whole, “The breath is the anchor between our consciousness and our body. For without the breath there is only a body made up of systems.” What keeps these systems lit with “life” and having interconnections is our breath and consciousness.
Also, I try to impress to the participants to let go of expectations in our yoga practice. As we move mindfully with heartfelt intention into an asana I want practitioners to expand their awareness beyond the mind by trusting that it’s not about the pose, but getting into the pose and how it feels - use the breath to move with ease into the pose. I often say this in class: “It’s not a race.”
Sthira and Sukha are two Sanskrit concepts from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In Sutra 2.46, it states “Asana (posture) is a steady, comfortable posture.”
Sthira is a Sanskrit word that means to have steadiness and stability. Sukha is a Sanskrit word that means “with ease and comfort.” (Credit Source: https://www.nestacertified.com/sthira-sukha-finding-balance-posture-in-your-yoga-practice/)
Even off the mat we can also practice Sthira and Sukha as we read an email. Watch your thoughts and emotions and choose what serves best for all concerned. If you get too hot under the collar and your heart races then take a moment to breathe, maybe even step back. Don’t fire away a response that could have a negative boomerang effect. The same idea can be applied to driving the streets of a busy intersection. What’s pressing you so badly that we become unconscious of the space we’re traveling to? Time somewhat melts away when framed with that perspective.
I am ending my blog with a poem by Kahlil Gibran from his book “The Prophet”. I was recently gifted with a copy of the book on its “Eighty-eigth printing, August 1971”. The person who gave the present was aware of the significance of the three 8’s. Coincidentally, 8 is my favorite number. Once I was asked by a stranger in an elevator conversation what my favorite number was. I replied without thought, '8’. The stranger replied ‘Of course. Turned on its side the number stands for infinity.’
I have had copies of the “The Prophet” in my library and have leafed through it and read poems, but that night when I got home I read a passage from the 88th edition copy and I paused and reflected deeply on the phrases and the words of a poem. I was amazed at how time stood still. Maybe because it was the 88th edition, but no… it was that my perspective was reframed to appreciate a “gift” that was full of thoughts and insight. In addition, it made me discover that poetry is also a vehicle of slowing down our minds and being in the moment. The poet instills a universe in each verse and that is infinite joy.
