Mauna - Silence

We live in a society of social connection - Facebook, Twitter... etc. So that even when we are by ourselves we are never truly alone. This weekend, we faced the challenged of practicing Mauna - taking a vow of of silence. The goal in doing this is to let the mind be still and prepare to look inward. In our normal day to day we do almost anything to avoid sitting quietly with ourselves - check the phone, double check the email, send a text... Our Mauna weekend did not allow us these easy outs.

Mauna is a practice of Brahmacharya - leading a life of pure thoughts, pure actions and pure aspirations. Compared to other practices of Brahmacharya (one being celebicy) I thought silence would be a piece of cake. I was mistaken. Our taining group of fifteen is an excitable, enthusiastic, open bunch of people. I love this about us but it proved to be our biggest obstacle - we like to ask questions, share personal insights and just 'chat'. It was the chatting that really did us in on the first day... someone would giggle or have a moment of speech and we would all feed off that verbal energy. 

On day two, we were encouraged to really commit and practice total silence for the first block of five hours. This went much better but it was interesting to see how uncomfortable the silence made us. At first we made faces at each other or used gestures - generally making light of the situation. Eventually though, as the hours went by, we all really allowed ourselves the quiet time. During breaks, people meditated or practiced or just remained still in the silence. It felt good to not be idly speaking, to internalize the experiences of the day without having to talk everything out. All in all a very rewarding practice.

Emphasis on the speak no evil.

Want to give it a try? Find a few hours in your day where it is not neccessary for you to speak (a conference call at work would undo you, for example, but an afternoon home is totally doable). Mauna can be taken on a few different levels - you can simple not verbally commincate or you can go so far as to cut as much 'chatter' out of your day as possible... turn off the tv, avoid social-internet-land etc. Just be with yourself. Jai!

Stick-Figure Sequencing

Lately one of my main focuses has been sequencing yoga poses. I have been playing with different class variations, taking copious notes during classes I've observed and making little changes to my morning routine nearly every day. One of our assignments was to write a class with three waves (mini sequences of asana) that work together to prepare the body to reach a particular peak pose.  I am in love with this - it is truly the perfect puzzle to have running through my mind all day.

I am having trouble with one part of the process though... drawing stick figures. (blush!) This may seem silly but it is also totally frustrating. Yes, I could just write out my sequence using the english or sanskrit titles of the poses - but drawing out the postures actually commits them to my memory. And it is a way to see how the sequence is building. (i.e. is the spine moving in the same direction through the wave, are the poses closer to the ground or all standing postures, which arm variation works with all the poses etc.)

So since this is a challenge I will conquer - hear me roar - I thought I would share some of my terribly funny figures with you. Enjoy!

Asteya

This weeks Yama is Asteya or Non-stealing. Not taking that which is not giving. So it is more than just not shop lifting or stealing off someone else's plate...


"You're not going to eat that are you?"


Its being aware of other people's time. Are you the person always canceling the plans and leaving a void in someone else's day? Or if you are one of those people who is always late, think of it as literally stealing time from someone else. Try to be early this week. Give time back.

The idea of giving time can also be applied to conversation. If you have a bad day, do you go on and on about it to everyone you speak with - does this cause you to forget to ask others how they are? If so, this is your week to really listen. To sit back and not let it all be about you. Give your energy instead, because we all have moments where we take more than our fair share of time and energy from someone else.

There are so many ways this can be thought of: hoarding objects you no longer need and could donate (but... but... I love that shirt from 7th grade!), finishing the milk when you know your roommate takes it in her coffee, taking credit for an idea that isn't yours, always asking for that one more thing from a co-worker without showing proper appreciation and so on and so on.

A very big part of this that I cannot stop thinking about is unhealthy, one-sided relationships. Whether its a friendship where one person takes and takes and takes or a dating/marriage situation that is just not equal... I do not think anyone has the right to totally drain you of everything you have to give no matter the scale. It is one of the best things you can do for yourself to fill your life with positive, balanced, giving people and relationships. You have to always think of Ahimsa too when going over these other yamas and niyamas - love, particularly self love in this case trumps all. Couldn't help but think of these two songs...

Asteya may seem simple - and it may be easy to tell how you are (intentionally or not) stealing throughout the week. The challenge is in the giving back.