Playfulness
Today's theme was playfulness. I was thinking back over the weekend, to all those Surya Namaskar that we did at the Yoga Mala. I was thinking about doing repetitive movements over and over, and what that does to the body. I was also contemplating about how often I find myself in routines and in a rut, in my own life:
I eat the same breakfast every single day; I do laundry every Thursday. I do go to Canele every Thursday night; I go to the Farmer's Market every Sunday...
I love routines and rituals but sometimes I feel like Mark Twain wearing the same white suit every day.
I think it's important to bring a quality of lightness and playfulness to our practice. Staying open. Seeing what happens. Sally Kempton has some luminous words about the insights she garnered from bringing a more playful attitude to her own meditation practice, in her classic book, "The Heart of Meditation,"
"So I began approaching my daily practice as an experiment. I decided that I would let myself work with the teachings in an open way, not looking for specific results. I wouldn't expect anything when I sat. I would simply regard the time I spent in meditation as a time of learning, as a time to be with my own consciousness and with the basic teachings of my tradition. I would see what was there. I also decided to meditate with a sense of fun. In other words, I would give myself permission to bring an element of lightness and spontaneity into my meditation. I would let myself play. In fact, each time I sat to meditate, I would consciously remind myself, 'It's okay to be playful.'"
Classes were fun and light today. And the Wednesday morning class was especially light. We had a surprise visitor. My brother showed up half-way through class with two of his puppies. We stopped class to go gaga over the two Chow Lab angels. Everyone was cooing. Then Jorge left and we went back to practice.
So sweet!
So grateful to have my brother here in this city and to witness the playful way he lives his life.
He certainly inspires me to stay more open.
May we be open to what our practice has to teach us.
May we see what is there the next time we go to the mat, without rushing into the poses.
May we bring lightness to the mat, and off the mat.
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