Spring Sadhana 2014

Day 8 of 30 in the Spring yoga sadhana at YCT coincides with Day 13 at my new job.

I'm exhausted! I forgot how taxing starting a new job can be. The program I'm with has just launched and as a result has a lot of us 'newbies.' Put it this way, there is a lot of forming and storming going on. Very engaging! But also tiring.

I'm pretty sure the 90 minute yoga session at the start of my day is helping me be more mentally agile in the next nine hours of work. To step back and look at the bigger picture of what's going on, to try to look with less criticism at my performance, but also with a critical view to how to make it 'better.' And just what exactly IS better, according to who?

Needing to be at the studio by 6 a.m. is getting me to bed sooner. My yoga mornings help me make better food choices during the day, encourage me to take a walk at lunch, and pay more attention to the people around me.

We are reading sections of the book, Yaugika Manas by Iyengar (Yoga Mind), which explores the yoga sutras. The last few days we've been reading about Past Lives. Who knows for sure? But I can relate to the idea of the many past lives I've lived within this one life. Different jobs, different life stages, beginnings, endings. What have I learned that I can apply right now, in this new job, in this new day, in this moment?

Take a very simple truth, that with basic knowledge, we may avoid unnecessary suffering. So here is a very practical example: why would I skip lunch when I can get outside, take a break, and return clear-headed and less likely to make stupid mistakes? It seems such an obvious thing, yet knowing it changes nothing, unless I put it into action with a bit of discipline. My list of practical examples is quite long these days.

Focusing on alignment in downward dog has some very interesting side effects.