This weekend I took part in a workshop run by Kate Binnie, a pioneer in bringing yoga into hospices and an inspiring teacher. Kate has been working in hospices for years, helping those in the final stages of their lives to enjoy a little bit of movement, whether in their beds or in wheelchairs, bringing family groups together in shared breathing practices that help to calm anxiety and lessen fear, and using yoga in its most authentic sense: as a peaceful, grounding practice that touches every layer of being.
We all understand that yoga is so much more than a physical practice. Through yoga, we learn how to anchor ourselves in each present moment; how to deepen and slow our breath in order to calm the nervous system; how to remain composed and flexible in the face of life's vicissitudes; and how to build reflective space into even the most frenetic of days. Yoga brings us time and again, out of our fearful, riotously thinking minds and into our bodies, for it is in our bodies and not in our heads that we experience peace, love and connection.
If you are a student of yoga, then you are also a teacher of yoga - you don't need any special skills to bring yoga to loved ones with life limiting illnesses. If you are a student of yoga, then you know how to be still with someone, how not to be afraid of silence; you know how to use gentle breathing techniques to settle agitated minds and bodies; you know how to touch someone's body in order to soothe them; and how to share love.
Here is the message that Kate left us with this weekend : just begin. It's not about Sanskrit terms, esoteric philosophy or complicated concepts (as interested in those things as you might be), it's about being with another person in peace. Whether you are a health care professional, a nurse, a doctor, a volunteer, a yoga teacher, or someone with a sick relative or friend, bring yoga to those who need it, wherever they are and however near the end of their life. Yoga helps.
The One You Are Looking For
"The One you are looking for is the One who is looking" So wrote St Francis of Assisi. I find this reassuring during those periods when I feel that I am not sure where I am going, or what the point is. Those times when you feel that you have lost your way a little bit, or when you don't like yourself very much; when you start being hard on yourself or when you feel like giving up; when you have lost your clarity or you just feel low on energy. Whatever your particular way of getting lost is.
What I think he means is that what you are looking for is already there; the peace of mind that you seek is within you. It is not so much a finding of it, but a letting go of all the stuff that lies between you and it.
Here's how Rumi put it: "This longing you express is the return message." In other words, your longing, your seeking for truth, your understanding that there is something else, is your answer; it is your calling. Erich Schiffman writes: "The solution to anything is to slide into a feeling of peace instead of thrashing around to find the answer ... When you experience your essence, you will feel this natural lovingness within yourself without having to do anything"
When we take these teachings (from those much wiser than us) to heart, what we realise is this: that we don't have to keep running so fast - either towards the things that we hope will prove our worth (to ourselves; to others) or away from the truth of who we really are and what we really need and want from this life. Most of all, we don't need to waste energy on being who we are not; we should only work to reveal the beautiful truth of who we already are. It takes courage to trust that you are already enough. It takes faith to believe the path is rising to meet you. Are you brave enough to let the world know exactly who you are and to trust that that which you are seeking is seeking you right back?
Practising Wisdom
We have to practise wisdom. There are things that we know to be true and yet lose sight of every day. Just knowing isn't enough; we have to practise what we know.
Believing that you have enough and knowing that you are enough is one of these things.
If you are telling yourself every day that you don't have enough money, sleep, wisdom, energy, confidence, experience to do the things that you want and need to do, then you will come to believe it. This will make you afraid and will stop you from doing all the things you would like to do.
If you cannot appreciate all that you have achieved, how far you've come, the money you have earned, who you are, for thinking about the miles you have yet to go to reach your goals, then you will forever feel inadequate and limited. Don't postpone your gladness until you have more, weigh less or achieve something new; you know that to defer your happiness in this way is never to reach it.
And somehow we all bought into the idea that if you have enough money, anything is possible, when we know that money without love is meaningless and wealth without personal courage is worthless. Do what you can with what you have available to you and don't let lack of funds be your excuse.
Practice is as simple as taking five minutes every night to be grateful for how much you've done that day, for the friendship of others, for the small things that made your day better, whether it was lunch with a friend, a tick on your to do list, or a walk in the sunshine. It switches your brain chemistry around, so that instead of feeling the pressure of not enough, you get to climb into bed with a smile on your face and the feeling of contentment. There might be more to do tomorrow, but today was good.
Gratitude grows then, and a positive outlook; not one in which we berate ourselves for all of the ways we lack and are lacking, but one in which we hold space for all that we have, all that we are, and all that we are becoming.