Transitions

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I've been thinking a lot about transitions lately.  I see a lot of people in yoga class who, when prompted to forward fold, or lift a leg into three-legged dog, zoom along in overdrive. I wonder, where are they trying to get to by going so fast?

It's a fact that we all spend most of our mental "lives" in either the future (worrying, planning, anticipating, fearful), or in the past (regretting, reminiscing, rewriting).  We fall into the habit of thinking that we are in "transition" between one "important" thing and another: on the way to work, getting from downward dog to low lunge, getting "through" warmups. In fact our lives are one long transition from the two most important moments, birth and death. Are you really in such a hurry to get there?

But rather than beating ourselves up about our these habits, it's worth just looking at how we handle all the transitions in our lives. Do you tend to want to stay where we are, resisting the change?  Do you try to get "from" point A"to" point B as fast as possible? I suggest you approach this question with a sense of curiosity and lovingkindness.

Then, it's possible to take a different approach to these transitions. Practicing even the most simple things, like a forward fold, or a scale, or a ki exercise, with mindfulness, is a very powerful way to train the mind to remain in the present. It's cognitive programming of the best possible kind.


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