Atha - Now Begins . . .
Atha in Sanskrit means Now Begins. The now here refers to right now. not tomorrow, not a week later but this exact moment in time; after which, it is lost forever.
Every morning before my yoga practice I set a goal posture for the day and prepare a vinyasa sequence of how to reach that goal posture. And then I sit on my yoga mat cross legged, eyes closed, palms on my knees and just observe myself. But I have no idea how my journey till my goal would be on this particular day, all I know is that I'm right here with myself in the present moment.
And when I start doing the planned sequences to reach my goal posture at every step I check with myself if I'm doing OK and if I can go to the next posture. In case I feel I'm not able to move forward with the planned sequence, I pause and gently end my practice. I did not give up on my goal, instead I just accepted that today in this moment I'm not ready for this goal and so I move on.
When I start the sequence tomorrow, I'll be better prepared as I'm aware of the challenges I faced the last time I tried this. This time it will not be as difficult it was last time. And this becomes my Atha. My current reality. The challenges I face now will be different.
Isn't this exactly how life is?
That moment in life when we are about embark upon a journey which we have chosen, be it starting a new weight loss regime, or enrolled our-self into a writing class or if we are an entrepreneur about to start our new business. We just need to pause. And accept ourselves. Accept our present reality.
Yes I am over weight now, yes I do not know how to write or yes I am scared about how my business will do. And I accept myself flaws and all.
From this perspective when we start our journey forward we would be completely aware of how this path is transforming us as a person. How in each step we pause to reflect how far we have come from where we started.
“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
- Frank A. Clark
When we face obstacles in our path which is inevitable, we pause and check what do we need that will help overcome this obstacle. We accept that we lack something which is required for our journey forward. And so we gather our resources, skill or whatever it takes to move forward and do so.
This is how we refine our yoga practice and hence our life.
Accept yourself today, flaws and all. You are who you are today because of everything that you have undergone in the past.
Every morning before my yoga practice I set a goal posture for the day and prepare a vinyasa sequence of how to reach that goal posture. And then I sit on my yoga mat cross legged, eyes closed, palms on my knees and just observe myself. But I have no idea how my journey till my goal would be on this particular day, all I know is that I'm right here with myself in the present moment.
And when I start doing the planned sequences to reach my goal posture at every step I check with myself if I'm doing OK and if I can go to the next posture. In case I feel I'm not able to move forward with the planned sequence, I pause and gently end my practice. I did not give up on my goal, instead I just accepted that today in this moment I'm not ready for this goal and so I move on.
When I start the sequence tomorrow, I'll be better prepared as I'm aware of the challenges I faced the last time I tried this. This time it will not be as difficult it was last time. And this becomes my Atha. My current reality. The challenges I face now will be different.
Isn't this exactly how life is?
That moment in life when we are about embark upon a journey which we have chosen, be it starting a new weight loss regime, or enrolled our-self into a writing class or if we are an entrepreneur about to start our new business. We just need to pause. And accept ourselves. Accept our present reality.
Yes I am over weight now, yes I do not know how to write or yes I am scared about how my business will do. And I accept myself flaws and all.
From this perspective when we start our journey forward we would be completely aware of how this path is transforming us as a person. How in each step we pause to reflect how far we have come from where we started.
“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
- Frank A. Clark
When we face obstacles in our path which is inevitable, we pause and check what do we need that will help overcome this obstacle. We accept that we lack something which is required for our journey forward. And so we gather our resources, skill or whatever it takes to move forward and do so.
This is how we refine our yoga practice and hence our life.
Accept yourself today, flaws and all. You are who you are today because of everything that you have undergone in the past.
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