Smile!

Yesterday I attended a workshop with Swami Satyadharma about Managing the Mind through Meditation. I came away feeling so much clearer in the head, much more focused, and so inspired.

The workshop made me realise that I had been neglecting yogic practices that made me feel balanced. Satyananda is a tradition that does not focus purely on the physical, but provides many practices to achieve balance at all levels of our being—the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Since I completed my teacher training in January, I have neglected the subtler aspects of my practice. I've mainly focused on the physical practices that I needed to develop the gym classes that I have been covering and to ease the body tensions that arose from a tough I T project and everyday life.

Swami Satyadharma is a great believer in developing relationships with people of similar beliefs and interests; I guess the corporate term would be networking. Although my teacher had considered limiting the number of attendees, Swami Satyadharma encouraged her to let all those who wanted to attend do so, and I was one of those who received an invitation after being informed that the workshop was full. I found just being around people with similar views and interests seemed to ease my mind.

Some of the lessons from the day:

• “Yoga and meditation is the process of knowing yourself.”
• “Always believe it [the mind, your thoughts] can be changed! ... You have the power to be what you want to be, do what you want to do!”
• A recommended first meditation practice is antar mouna.

  In the workshop we practised the first two stages, immersion in the senses and witnessing the thoughts.

• When starting a meditation practice, aim for five minutes a day.

  “My master used to say 10 minutes ... that was in the seventies ... so today? Maybe five minutes?”

And my favourite teaching, the one that was really impressed in my psyche?

The best practice to feel grounded? Smile!
“And if there is no-one around, [close your eyes,] look into your heart and smile!”