The willingness to be surprised are necessary ingredients to leading a fulfilling life. But shaking off habitual tendencies are difficult.
Neurologically, we get wired to respond to today, the same way we responded to yesterday. The circuitry of the brain gets programmed by habit grooves and defaults to connections that have been preestablished. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase nerves that fire together, wire together, which refers to the mind falling prey to the conditions which shape it.
In body- mind practices like yoga we influence the flow of impulses through connective tissues, nerves, glands and viscera (organs) to generate new pathways. This steers us away from habit body, and habit mind, towards an experience of always new.
Your weekly yoga class becomes a habit, but not routine. We’re creatures of habit, but without novelty and sensitivity to changing conditions, we can move on autopilot. If we don't make time to notice sensations in the body and mind, yoga could feel like another task to tick off the list. That’s why classes are always different, and spacious, to give you plenty of time to notice what you’ve brought to the session that day.
One of the intentions for our practice is to ride the wave of change, to support neuroplasticity in the nerves, fascia, and whole body. This is important because how we practice, is how we live our life.
The next time you open your eyes from meditation, or śavāsana, take a few moments to look through brand new eyes.
The voyage of discovery does not require visiting new landscapes, but having new eyes. When the world is experienced through fresh eyes, everything appears vivid and bright. Moments we typically take for granted become the source of subtle amazement.
Click here for details of my weekly class.
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