It takes courage to be sensitive in the world we live in. It takes courage to feel more. So why does yoga practice beseech us to become more and more sensitive, to look, listen and feel for what is deeper and more subtle?
This is how we train the intellect, how we refine and crystallize it into the inner wisdom that always lies beneath. Yoga practice teaches us to peel away the layers of insecurity, fear and confusion that cover buddhi, our inner wisdom, so that we may move instinctively, with ease, freedom and joy.
The quiet voice
We all have a fountain of wisdom inside: the voice that calls out quietly, almost imperceptibly, “This is a bad idea.” But when it doesn’t speak loudly, it’s easy to ignore. We have to get good at refining our attention so we can hear where that inner voice is guiding us.
Sometimes, though, when I pay attention, the sadness I’ve been ignoring catches me, or a little of the anger I locked away in the back of my mind emerges. So I try to distract myself so I don’t have to feel it. The problem with suppression is that it compounds the issue and leads to bigger problems down the road. I may cope in the moment, but the karma that comes later may be too much to bear, leading to deeper suffering.
Walking down the wrong street
Imagine you’re walking down a street and a feeling arises. The inner voice says, “This doesn’t feel right. I should turn back.” You ignore it and keep walking. A few blocks later, someone jumps out and yells at you, startling you, and you hurry on. The feeling rises again: “That was a close one. Maybe turn around now.” But turning back means passing that person again, so you decide to keep going. Maybe that was the worst of it. The little voice speaks again: “Not a good idea!” And further down the street, real trouble is waiting. Now the voice screams, “I knew it all along!”
If we become more sensitive, we can listen to the intelligence of our inner being. It always knows. Sometimes we don’t listen, we make mistakes, and it seems harder to turn back, let go, move on or change. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. It doesn’t have to come to a grave disaster before we give ourselves permission to act differently. With sensitivity, we can trust our inner truth. That is when strength comes: when we learn to trust ourselves. And that takes practice, patience and self-love.
Meditate in the pose
In The Tree of Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar teaches that insensitivity means some part of the body is dull, without awareness, and that is where pain will develop, often later, after the practice, because we didn’t notice the weakness or tightness while we were in the pose. Do the pose, he says, but also reflect in it. Observe what is happening and expand your awareness through the whole body. Through analysis in action, trial and error, error lessens, doubt lessens, effort lessens, and direction comes. When you move in the right direction, wisdom begins, and easeful joy soon follows.
So we start by paying attention to the body. We move on to paying attention to the mind, and eventually to our attractions and aversions, our relationships, our lives. It all begins by refining awareness of this body, in this moment.
Set your intention today to meditate pose by pose, with a resolution to really pay attention to what comes up for you.
