One essential aspect of yoga is the ability for an individual to gain control over their mind, because otherwise the opposite is true, we are slaves to our minds. So what is the part of the individual that we don’t want the mind to dominate, it is the Self that is covered by the endless aimless wittering, of the untamed mind and it’s ignorant thought patterns.

What benefits to a yogi is there in gaining control over ones mind? Attending a personal practice regularly, and becoming freed from the crazy flow of thoughts running wild in our minds. You can think of the mind as a muscle, would you like your mind muscle to be ever twitching in spasm, imagine what it would be like for your arm to ever twitch or have a mind of it’s own, that is essentially the state most of us are in, minds twitching uncontrollably.

The Yoga Sutras encourage us to learn things for ourselves, knowing it to be true and not blindly believing. We are given tools to explore and discover the depths of being for ourself, one way is through meditation, which by practicing we eventually have moments of no thought, and these moments become more and more often and of a longer duration. Those who experience the ability to exist without thoughts prove that the endless chatter of the mind is not required for existence. It’s a lovely place to be, one then notices when the mind starts up, and when this is unwanted a yogi can switch it off, whilst the machinery of thought is running the yogi must be vigilant and aware of it running away with itself.

The purpose of Asana (physical postures) is to help free the mind from the dis-ease of the body. Building a strong, subtle and healthy body frees the yogi of bodily distractions which help the breathing and meditation, and ultimately free the yogi to search inward for the Self.

Rather appropriate is the following, taken from the Amritabindu Upanishad in the book: The Upanishads, introduced and translated by Eknath Easwaran.

“It is the mind that frees us or enslaves.
Driven by the senses we become bound;
Master of the senses we become free.
Those who seek freedom must master their senses.”

“When the mind is detached from the senses
One reaches the summit of consciousness.
Mastery of the mind leads to wisdom.
Practice meditation. Stop all vain talk.
The highest state is beyond reach of thought,
For it lies beyond all duality”

Copyright © 2008 Russell Smithers

It is a shame I have not shared my experiences of previous workshops and yoga teachers before. I have attended workshops with; Mark Freeth, Maru Musso, Helen Painter and Jane Sleven. The one thing that links all these good yoga teachers, apart from the ashtanga yoga itself of course, is their personalities and the kind yogic nature they emanate. Liz is no exception, and I am glad I have had the opportunity to meet and study with her.

Liz is a warm and kind person, and although she knows how to guide one to their limits, she always encourages one to ease back when appropriate. I never felt pressured to do anything to the extreme, and she included plenty of modifications for all levels of student. As she guides the students through the four 2 hour sessions, her extensive knowledge of yoga, kindness and humour permeate the class. I felt her kindness even more during the last session when I had a mild headache, she directed me to some water, to some this might seem an insignificant action, but when your in that position and some one like Liz does that sort of thing in the kind and supportive way they do, it’s like there is a deeper level of communication happening.

I find it a wonderful experience when mantras like OM are used in a session, it’s amazing being part of over 50 yogis Oming at the same time, quite an experience. The sound of us Oming in harmony, resonating through the entire room, is like a lots of sponges being bathed in sound; where the yogis are the sponges and the sound of OM the water. A very special moment that starts and finishes a session very nicely.

The more yoga workshops and classes you go to, the more you see familiar faces, and it was with pleasant surprise I bumped into a few of these familiar faces during these sessions, although it is nice to chatt with people and make some new friends, even better was the fact I found a local ashtanga yoga teacher near me, Simon Chandler (www.yogaandayurveda.co.uk) who teaches in Swindon and Bath, I have heard good things about him. Regular classes are essential when ever the opportunity is available, it will be good for me to have regular classes again.

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”, Dalai Lama

 This isn’t always easy of course

Sometimes people find themselves reacting or not acting in the most appropriate of ways. This will affect the person, other people and the general situation. Many wise people may recognized these negative behavior patterns and want to change. Unfortunately it’s not always obvious how we can change. Yoga like Ashtanga for example is holistic and in time with good teachers, dedication and regular practice we change ourselves.

Affirmations are like mantras, they are a tool that can target a specific areas precisely and quickly. They are effective in changing the way we react so in the future we can act more appropriately. Affirmations help us move toward the light, first because our intention is to change, and secondly because we take the time to make the changes. So as meditation helps us have greater control over our minds, and asana practice helps us meditate, so affirmations are like using our mind muscle positively, we are what our thoughts are essentially, change our thoughts and we change ourselves. Control our mind, and we control ourselves.

Affirmations are a way to state how we want to be or act before we are able to act or be the way we would like too. The effect of using affirmations is to modify our selves repeatedly until we are changed; and work like pills you take regularly until the problem disappears. Unlike modern medicine that normally masks symptoms, affirmations change the core so positive behavior emanates more naturally, with ease and eventually without effort, we become what the affirmation is.

The following is an example of an affirmation I have used in the past;

“I am calm, positive, objective and understanding in all situations. I let people finish what they are saying, digest and then respond positively and appropriately. I respond with understanding and care for the person I am talking with so we both benefit positively. My response takes into account the wider picture and the important details.”

We use an affirmation by repeating it a number of times a day. We could decide to repeat it 10 times in the morning, and 10 times before we go to bed. There are many variations on this, depending on how quick you want to resolve a problem, or how big the problem is. Essentially it’s up to the person to decide. It might be I need to change when and how often I use the affirmation. We stop using an affirmation when it feels like the medicine has worked it’s magic.

Should you wish you learn more about affirmations, please use the links below;

1. www.jbactors.com/actingreading/actingencyclopedia.html
2. www.hypnosis.edu/glossary/a.asp
3. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmations

Copyright © 2008 Russell Smithers