Just be.

It doesn't appear to require a lot of effort to just be, and yet it can be the most challenging and least attempted practice. When did you last take the time (outside of a yoga class) to just be?

We spend a lot of time, even in our attempts to be more spiritual or improve ourselves, but what if we were to just be... full stop, with no other words to follow.

We may get a glimpse of that kind of stillness and presence on the yoga mat, but that practice doesn’t have to start and finish there. We can practice yoga without even getting into an asana, by allowing ourselves to just be… not attached to a thought, emotion or a need to do anything.

The reason many of us find this so challenging is because we think we are being lazy or unproductive when we feel we have so much to complete or achieve. Yet, what better gift can we give ourselves, than the gift of time, stillness and inevitably more time as we are then able to function better due to clarity of mind and renewed energy.

I certainly function much better when I have taken time out each day to just be. It helps me to have the energy and clarity to deliver my classes which are mostly at night. Without it I would have great difficulty trying to stay focused through-out the whole class remembering the sequence, adjusting students, keeping an eye on new, pregnant or injured students as well as delivering the philosophical message that week.

Quotes:

·       "If you have time to breathe, you have time to meditate." ~ Ajahn Chah.

·       What if ‘to be’ was your only ‘to do’? ~ Unknown.

·       “This is a journey without distance, stop travelling and you arrive.” ~ Anthony De Mello.

·       “Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”
 ~  Robert Brault.

·       “Be. Don’t try to become.” ~ Osho.

·       “Search your heart and see. The way to do is to be.” ~ Lao Tzu.

·        “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.” ~ Kafka.