“What are you not seeing because you are seeing what you are seeing?” Yogiraj Achala
“Truth has the power to right wrongs and end sorrows. It is fierce in its demands and magnanimous in its offerings. It invites us to places we rarely frequent and where we seldom know what the outcome will be. Truth demands integrity to live and our own self that is more than not telling a simple lie.” Deborah Adele
In order to know the truth, we have to first listen. Can you steady yourself long enough to hear the truth of your physical body, your thoughts, your emotions? Practicing yoga gives us an outlet to begin to quiet enough to just listen. Beware! What comes up might be tough, but holding a space for the truth of it – its simple ‘is-ness’ – is all that’s required.
As we learned in ahimsa, you don’t have to fix yourself. A commitment to truth is simply about allowing the space for what already is, to be. Looking at yourself, your life, your thoughts, your physical body with truth, can allow freedom of expression in what actually is.
How often do you know the truth of your situation, but lack the courage to move on that truth? When my son Max was diagnosed with craniosysnestosis at four months old, (the only treatment for which was surgery) my first reaction was, simply, NO. I won’t let him have surgery. I won’t allow that to happen to my precious boy. Not because I am a medical doctor and knew better than the experts, but because I was utterly terrified at the risks we were facing. The truth was, I didn’t know whether surgery was the right thing to do. But instead of making space to face that non-knowing (and consider the potential that he would have surgery) I rushed to conclusion – Absolutely not – because of my own fear.
In time, and with love, I found enough space to allow for the possibility of an outcome I didn’t want – surgery – because of something I knew to be true: there was nothing I wouldn’t do to take care of and love him, including facing my own fear.
In the end, Adam and I spent a lot of time learning and researching the right thing to do for Max, constantly checking ourselves to make sure we were moving from a place of truth, not fear. As I re-read that last sentence, it sounds so easy and clean. But I can remember it being one of the hardest things I’ve ever done; I’m not sure I can adequately express here what that was like.
Yoga helped. When Max was in surgery months later, I steadied myself by doing an asana practice in the surgical waiting room.
Often when I am leading a yoga class, I’ll advise folks to be “Right here, right now, and nowhere else.” The truth of what is, in this very moment, is the place to move from. Not last week’s practice, not the yoga body you want to have, but the one you have right now. Practicing presence opens us up to see truth.
You might as well be honest with yourself on the yoga mat.
Consider satya through your practice this month, on and off the mat, and join us for the monthly discussion on March 20 at 7:30pm.
