"Yoga is to still the patterning of consciousness" Y.S. 1.2
So says Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras.
Yoga is to bring a natural quiet to the mind and body - so that we can for the first time, see clearly.
In my philosophy class, we have been talking about cultivating this inner stillness.
I have also been weaving some of it into my yoga classes.
I read this poem about stillness in class this past week. Several of you have asked for copies of it. This poem is by David Wagoner:
Stand still. The tress ahead and the bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or bush does is lots on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.
In the wisdom of the ancient yogis, we find an answer for those of us caught on the hamster wheel of doing. Stop. Become still and quiet. Stop the world. Stand perfectly still and listen:
You don’t need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Don’t even listen, simply wait. Don’t even wait. Be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet. -Franz Kafka