Calmness

When I do a yin yoga practice session and added on meditation afterwards,  I am spending upwards of an hour and a half on my mat.    Most of the poses I do are 3 minutes long and at a minimum and,  while not painful, are not exactly comfortable either.    This requires me to just sit and think  (or not think) and stare into my mat , my head or space for quite a long time.  This goes against my general nature and has required me to adjust myself to be able to do this practice.

I am by nature an unsettled person.   My attention span is pretty short and like a normal child of the 60's,  I need something to entertain me at all times.   My grade school report cards always said things like "Eugene likes to speak out to much" and "Eugene needs to settle down".    I am thankful that Ritalin came after my early school years or I would have joined the doped masses. 

Yoga has allowed me to find a sense of calm and to be comfortable with just my thoughts and to shut down my thoughts at certain times.    I am a much  calmer person than I was before I started my practice.   I have learned to take a few breaths and calm down when stressed (even when driving).    This has been a real plus for my mental health.     I am a very mellow for a long time after my practice and meditation.   The sense of peacefulness that I have is something that I very rarely if ever have had outside of my Yoga practice.  This has gone a long way for my general health and well being to be able to control stress.

In a Yin class I took today,  we had a very long (five minute) side twist to hold.   It was not very comfortable but I was able after a time to almost shut down my mind and my feeling of discomfort. I was able enter a zone where I could have probably done 10 minutes without realizing how long I had been there.   It was a great feeling and it will continue to feel great.


Namaste.