On being | In a trance

Ever feel like the anxious, terrifying feelings will never go away? Like they are here to stay and that's all there is- nothing beyond it; no getting around it? Sure, I've been there, too. 

When overwhelming emotions get the best of us, it can feel like we are never going to make it back over to the other side. Our preceptions of self become so "I" focused- so that nothing exists beyond it, until we finally come out of this state (if, and however long it takes). An example of this is when a thought lands somewhere in your mind and you go over and over it again... seemingly, to no end. 

According to Yoga Philosohpy, and the law of impermanence, all states are transient-- meaning all states arise and all states eventually pass. To acknowledge this phenomenon can help us to ride out the wave instead of getting knocked down by it. The nature of the mind-- has a funny way of tricking us into forgetting, (even though we 'know better' through our past experiences) that there is another side, besides the one we are stuck on.

Each and every time we bring ourselves back to our Yoga practise, our trust/faith (also referred to as Shradda) is restored and brings us closer to feeling and knowing this reality deep within our bones. It is almost as if our Yoga practice begins to remember itself, from exactly where it left off.  

Yoga allows us to cultivate new neural pathways in our brains which creates new habit patterns in our minds and in our bodies...slowly dissolving and erasing negative habit patterns that no longer serve us. Almost like filling in the negative loops where we used to get caught up, and recarving new circuits that keep us on the right track. Habits are referred to in Yoga as Samskaras- good or bad. Through Yoga we start to replace the old, negative patterns with new positive one's, and the good news is-- the positive habits are actually more powerful in overriding the negative ones! 

Some food for thought...