Marya Mann : Blog : Kindness In The Ring Of Fire | Rhythms Of Yoga

Kindness in the Ring of Fire | Rhythms of Yoga

“Wash yourself of yourself. A white flower grows in the quietness. Let your tongue become that flower.” — Rumi ———————————-

Namaste, Noble Friend!

As I grew up and traveled around the world, I met many people who had hard times in their families and relationships. Why was it, I asked, that people who we ought to treat the very best, sometimes became targets for our very worst behaviors?

Why didn’t we always treat each other with respect and kindness?

What I came to see was that projections, outbursts and negative thinking about those in our families and communities came from constricted awareness and a neglect of our own inner mystery. While much may seem out of our personal control, we reign over our internal state as surely as a beneficent monarch on a throne. The true meaning of sovereignty is to cohere the inner kingdom, and there are powerful ways, both ancient and modern, to awaken the inner mystery and the soul at the center of our existence.

What does it mean to awaken the inner mystery? We all have consciousness, and with expanded awareness of it, we can harvest the messages written by ancestors in our very cells. We can live more fully and blissfully in our bodies by knowing ourselves from the top of the head to the tip of the toes, drawing on natural vitality to center, balance, enjoy friends, work, play, and live in harmony with all of life.

But if we spend our lives ignoring the consciousness in the body – as our society encourages — we can be led astray. When someone says or does something we experience as harmful, spreads gossip or threats, we tend to defend ourselves. Yet when someone is kind, we open ourselves.

It is our inner being, using awareness, that chooses whether to stay open or close down, and how to perceive the actions of others. Our awareness determines how to respond. Respond, not react. Responding leads to personal responsibility and compassion. Reacting often leads to more harm.

No matter what is happening, the quality of our awareness confronts these life events. If consciousness is cluttered with the past and small-minded ideas, our potential contracts due to perceived fear and threat. We may feel insecure and vulnerable, even hostile to the unknown and the risks that ay await us there. Even within the intimacy of family and community, as a defensive move, we may contract our minds due to fear and threat. We draw back or attack.

These are all symptoms of constricted awareness. Be conscious if you feel insecure or weak. Remember all feelings are neutral; they just are. Any emotion or thought, internal events, can be processed successfully. What can’t be integrated is anything we ignore, repress, and shove into the darkness of the subconscious. Witness internal events as we would like to witness outer events. View them with the loving eyes of an appreciative mother. Remember not to judge or shame these things (in ourselves or others). Take a deep breath and relax, letting the reactionary patterns unwind through mindfulness.

Letting your mind and blissful body ease into situations instead of contracting – that’s all expanded awareness needs to be.

Yoga and meditation are excellent ways to foster this state of being. Yoga challenges us to face the fires of modern with steadiness and ease. Expanded awareness allows us to be clear and present with what is and to change things for the better, from a heightened perspective.

One day one of my clients showed up with a huge smile on his face. “I’ve found the love of my life,” he said. “And I’m totally in love with her.”

“How did you find her?” I asked, even though I had a good idea since we had been clearing his anger and strengthening his ability to respond to situations, challenges, and even difficulties with an open heart and clear mind. His family of origin had been chaotic and left him with worries about his lovability. His yoga homework had been to look in a mirror, gaze deeply into his own eyes and say to himself: “I completely and unconditionally love and accept you just as you are,” and “I now enjoy sharing more love, joy, and conscious awareness in all my relationships.”

What my client was demonstrating was that speech has a special power, for it is through words, both spoken and written, that we invoke the great, mysterious forces of nature that sustain all life. Speech is linked intimately with prana, the life breath of the body. Together, deeper embodiment through yoga and the power of speech initiate transformation at the deepest levels.

One of my intentions as a yoga teacher is to inspire through thought, word and deed so that our intentions lead us to happier relationships and more fulfilling work.

Evolutionary yoga is not about mimicking the movements or thoughts of others, although the sacred geometry of yoga inherited from enlightened sages engages our true essence. Yoga opens gateways in the spine for rivers of prana to refresh every cell and tissue in the body and every image and meme in the mind. Evolutionary yoga is about living the life we were meant to live, one filled to the brim with people we love, strength and merit we can share, and events that increase happiness.

The art and science of yoga elevate your life through the precise placement of breath and prana. It helps create a “masterpeace” of your experience. If taught correctly, yoga expands consciousness and fosters a steady flow of healing and creativity so we can live as who we really are – the hands and heart of the divine on our planet.

When we step on the mat, we breathe and blossom! When we step off the mat, we share the flowers of our practice as love, intelligence, and kindness in the world. It’s worth the effort to bring our planet and our relationships back from the brink. With every breath, word and deed, we stir the inner mystery and help heal the world.

Big Beautiful Blessings,
Marya

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