Yoga, An Idea, and the Beating of My Heart

Last night I went to sleep with every intention of waking up for an hour jog. I've been good about running and feeling great in prep for the marathon. However, something kept me inside this morning. Looking back to about an hour ago, I needed to not go fast this morning, but to take it slow.

I rose out of bed in silence and darkness. Peace, actually. Rolled out my yoga mat, lifted the curtain to let in the dim light, and proceeded to notice my breath and stretch. At first, it was a bit difficult to really get into the motions. I was going through the poses mindfully, but with an attitude. Eventually that shook away and left just me and God on the mat. It was a very beautiful and inspiring experience. Then something happened.

While I was preparing for yoga-mudra (the yogic seal at the end of your practice) a thought popped into my head and resonated. Simplicity. Usually you dedicate your daily routine to something - peace, a person, light, God, etc - at the beginning of your practice. But as if it were a message from above the idea, not the word, simplicity filled my entire being.

As I came up from yoga-mudra, I bowed my head to pray and another amazing thing happened. There, in the silence of my little apartment in Brooklyn, NY I sat on the floor. There, in the silence of the morning I could hear the beating of my own heart and feel its vibrations throughout my body. My breath inflated and deflated my chest cavity changing the tone and rhythms of my heart as if waves lapsing the shore. I sat and listened and filled myself with the moment's harmony.

Simplicity. Huh.

And now, I am here sitting with you waiting for my tea water to boil. I can't help but to think this idea of simplicity may be part of the "answer" or "path" I've been searching for. We are bogged daily with consumption and wants when all we really need is here within us.

I do not need a fancy pair of shoes to go for a run. I need a will. I do not need a fancy gym to exercise. I need creativity. I do not need 500 channels of television. I need other activities. There are a million examples on a moment to moment basis and they are distractions. Distractions from what is really important and what is really necessary.

We take ourselves and each other for granted so often we fool ourselves into believing the next gadget will make life more simple and convenient. I'm afraid, however, convenience is a path toward laziness and dependence. I am guilty of this, we all are. But I'm going to change something. I'm going to change something small every day in my life to turn this around.

Aaaaaah.