There is really only one reply. Why do you want to be able to do the Lotus posture?
There are lots of ideas about yoga, and one is that the pose has some special quality that once you achieve it, will be bestowed upon you. The myth is that sitting in Lotus posture will mean you are finally 'good' at yoga, or can 'do' yoga, or will be able to meditate more effectively. Perhaps the ego will finally be satisfied (!), or your discomfort with sitting quietly will go away. Truth is, many people will never be able to sit in Lotus posture. Or if they manage it, could well damage their knee, hip, ankle etc. or create other undesirable outcomes. The bigger question to explore, is to understand why have they come to yoga and what can yoga offer them. It might not be obvious at first. There may be paths to pursue that then require a change of course. This is life. But starting them down a safe and satisfying route of practice, while exploring why they want a particular posture so much and helping them perhaps see a greater use of their time, is part of being an effective guide. It may be that 6-months to Lotus pose is a wonderful pursuit, if it gets them on the road to daily, safe, practice. This term in my group classes, we are focusing on sitting in some variation of cross-leg pose. Not because at the end of the term everyone will be able to sit cross-leg, that would be a fools promise. But to help those who can and want to, move towards it safely, and those who can't (or can but shouldn't) realise that another pose, or sitting on a chair, may well be far more beneficial and fruitful for their meditation practice. Enjoy the practice. Comparing yourself or aiming for someone else's practice is a reliable way of making you unsatisfied and unhappy.
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 Advertisers, social media, TV, radio, friends, family, sales people, chores - many things want a slice of our attention. It is a valuable resource and there often doesn't seem like enough to go around.
Your attention is literally for sale. Advertisers pay good money for it, news companies are funded by it. Treat it with high regard and choose what you do with it wisely. Yoga practice includes the art of cultivating sustained attention towards that of your choosing. In our practice we gradually discover that we can 'do' less, so that we can 'be' with ourselves more fully. Our practice might start with 'attention grabbing' poses and bold breath focus, and from there the practice unfolds. We gradually settle into being more comfortable in our body, our mind settles down, and we are able to discover relative stillness. We turn away from the external world for a while, discover our own internal sanctuary and find a wellspring from which to restore ourselves. Have you noticed that in yoga practice we start with more energising, external facing, open poses, and gradually become quieter, more internally aware, more subtle? Our attention is encouraged to settle onto the body, the breath, the inner sensations, and this process unfolds as we continue through our practice. What feels like a stormy body and mind at the beginning of practice, becomes more calm and steady by the end. The art of paying attention, of intentionally choosing what you attend to, is really a radical act in today's world as it goes against what external forces would command. But it is a skill well worth cultivating. Find more space and freedom in your life as you give your attention to what you choose, rather than by-design what you encounter. Spend your attention wisely and reap the rewards. |
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Princes Place, Bishopston Just off Gloucester Road Bristol BS7 8NP |
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