Yoga Is a Moving Meditation

I began my yoga practice years ago when i started to fall in love with meditation. I would sit with my legs crossed in silence as i focused all my attention on my breath... trying to slow down the momentum of my mind as it had been building for the last 22 years of my life. I didn't know exactly how to do it, and i tried to research various techniques but i found it to be a very mysterious topic... lots of people say they meditate and share all the benefits of a practice yet very few actually explain how to do it.

So i then started seeking teachers to help guide me on this new hobby of mine. I found Thich Naht Hahn and Eckhart Tolle. They helped tremendously and i started to experience deeper and deeper states of bliss. I was very satisfied with my meditation practice however once i ended each practice i noticed that my peace would slowly fade as i got sucked back into the overwhelming world of ego. Sometimes i would lose it sitting in traffic, often i lost it at work, or while dealing with certain "difficult" people.

Eventually i would get back home and find my peace again by sitting in silent meditation. But i wanted more! I wanted to be able to live every second in these higher states of experience. Then i was introduced to mindful walking. which is basically moving very very slowly so you can experience all the muscles and sensations of each step... rather than walking to get from point a to point b. this was the bridge that helped me understand how i could take my meditation practice to the next level. If i could meditate while i walk then i could reset much more easily than having to find a quite place to sit.

Yet the walking meditation was not very challenging as far as physical body is concerned, so when i found myself in a stressful situation it was still difficult to overcome the drama. Then i tried Yoga which allowed me to keep a mindfulness state while overcoming higher levels of stress on the body. Feeling every muscle (many i didn't even know i had) as i transitioned through the countless poses. It teaches me how to move through various strenuous positions while still keeping a centered state. This increases my resilience. Which then has a tremendous effect on helping me maintain stillness when i find my self in more stressful situations like work.

To me Yoga is more than just a physical workout designed to create strength and flexibility. If it is practiced with a mindful perspective than it can also become a moving meditation, and once you master the art of finding stillness even in the midst of intense physical movements than you become an unstoppable force of peace and bliss because every second holds the opportunity to find and cultivate peace regardless of the level of stress or challenge.

It reminds me of a powerful quote i heard somewhere... " It is one thing to be a monk in a monastery, it is another to be a monk in the midst of our chaotic world."

Much Love,
Know Mind