When In Pain, Expand

An aging master grew tired of his apprentices complaints. One morning he sent him to get some salt. When the apprentice returned, the master told him to mix a handful of salt in a glass of water and then drink it.

"How does it taste?", the master asked.

"Bitter," said the apprentice.

The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."

As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the master asked, "How does it taste?"

"Fresh", remarked the apprentice.

"Do you taste the salt?" asked the master.

"No," said the young man. At this the master sat beside the serious young man, and explained softly,

"The pain of life is pure salt; no more no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being glass. Become a lake.

Contemplating the above I realize yoga helps us become the lake. Our yoga practice is designed to bring us fully present to the moment to moment experience of being alive for both the delightful and dreadful moments that are always part of the human experience. The early yogis contemplated human existence; wanting to understand and unwind human suffering. They were interested in finding ways for humans to lead happy and optimal lives. They discovered that we create suffering for ourselves by the hope/dread syndrome; hoping and moving toward the perceived enjoyable aspects of life and dreading and pushing away the inevitable pain.

Yoga calls us to be present for it all; creating a platform to awaken the compassionate witness and to diminish the mind's tendency to react, judge and try to figure things out.

So how do we become the lake? How do we allow a flowing state of introspection to free us up to be present for our experience, intimate with what is really going on inside us? How can we let life expand so we see beyond the confines of the mind; realizing we are not our thoughts and feelings? How do we release the struggle and the striving?

There is of course no one yoga or meditation technique that miraculously makes this happen but there is a simple technique that begins with conscious and connected breathing; being fully present in the body is where we begin.

The essential practice of Kripalu Yoga is called the Practice of Being Present which consists of five steps:

Breathe - Let your breath flow freely and naturally in and out.

Relax - Consciously soften your muscles and let go of mental tension.

Feel - Open to the full spectrum of sensations flowing through you.

Watch - Observe this moment closely, without grasping what is pleasant or pushing away what is painful.

Allow - Accept yourself and your experience exactly as it is, dropping the need to change it any way.

When we are fully present in our bodies in this way, we can shift from tasting from the glass to sipping from the lake. We begin to use the techniques of yoga for our own healing, psychological growth and for the awakening of our spirit.

So the next time you you find yourself in an afflicted state, breath and investigate where it is in your body. No way around it; you have to lean into the aversive states. Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch and Allow. Come home to yourself just as you are.

Namaste,
Chris