Practice Outside

"When the mind grows silent, the thought I am also disappears, and Pure Awareness shines forth to illuminate what one is, was, and always will be, beyond all worlds and all universes--infinite and beyond time."

~excerpt from Power vs. Force, by David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.

Our practice group did a little something different today. We practiced outside at dawn, facing east. Definitely a different experience being in the elements. Had little critters meander on my mat from time to time...with the humidity being fairly high there was a bit of condensation on my mat...had a few slips...haha. Anyway, practice was good. Primary Series. Oddly, I felt out of my body, and found myself easily distracted. Just one of those days. Gotta keep...keeping on...

In my car I keep these Para-Grams, a collection of inspirational cards by Paramahansa Yogananda (author of Autobiography of a Yogi), I picked up at the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas, California the last time I was there. Today's card was Endurance. A perfect word to describe the Ashtanga Yoga experience... with the daily practice...which leads to a life long sustaining practice if willing is a culmination of what endurance is all about. Sometimes it doesn't matter with what...but if we choose to simply endure, with faith, things have a way of coming together. Yes, everyday is different. Yet the practice, with its repetition is the constant. Having both elements truly gives one a training ground to practice endurance, and experience transformation.

I absolutely love what the end of the card stated...

Develop your will power by striving to do things that you thought you could not do. Work for others. Thus will you develop endurance and strength.