Enable the process

I am generally up around 5am. I like those precious moments that I spend in solitude. Whether I get to sit for 5 minutes or 30 minutes, I just let it happen!

Today I had a thought as I was getting ready to sit for my meditation. It was to try sitting with the fan off. As we enter the summer months, the humidity is quite high here and the sweat is something that flows without any inhibitions. To decide on fan off mode was to actually test (my capacity of reaching that state) what we have learned in our Yogasutra. The Yogasutra cites freedom from opposites as one of the benefits of practicing yoga.

Now, freedom from opposites means that the mind and body are not affected/troubled by the two extremes of a situation – like hot and cold – fasting and feasting – back arches and forward bends – the body is able to adapt with ease to the two extremes. Now, this is an amazing thing to feel and enjoy.

And today morning I sat with myself, fan off, trying to see if my body was able to feel at ease in that situation.

I sat with my eyes closed. The silence of the fan was too loud in my ears. I started to feel so hot. My breath felt hot. I thought early mornings are supposed to be pleasant with a gentle breeze. Hmm…there was no breeze and that thought made me sweat more.

I slowly shifted my attention to my breath. I tried to do Sitkari pranayama to cool my body. I was fighting against that sweat – I didn’t want that drop of sweat to slowly trickle down my spine.

And then I realized something that I keep telling everyone – “go with the flow” 😁

I gently changed my strategy – I was sweating, yes, I let it happen! I ENABLED the process of sweating. I told my body that it was ok to sweat. When I enabled the whole process, I felt much better. There was no fight with the sweat. I continued my focus on my breath and tried hard not to be on sweat!

And slowly and gently, without my knowledge, I stopped sweating. I felt comfortable. My breath had turned cooler and I was enjoying the whole process of sitting without the fan.

This might not be a big deal in everyday life filled with hurdles and challenges. But here is a point where we can start. Instead of fighting what is happening, we can allow it to happen. We can observe how we feel and process the feelings. Then slowly enable the process of how we want the situation to be.

I am sure this is a lot of work and effort but it is worth a try to meander through life!

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