Lift Your Consciousness Higher
By now most of you at Being Yoga have an understanding that there are many dimensions to practicing yoga. As you all know, yoga is first practiced on the physical dimension. There are, however, many other dimensions waiting to be discovered by the dedicated yogi. For example, just by stepping on the mat and focusing your thoughts on the present moment, you begin to understand how valuable “being present” is. And with that in mind, you can walk out of the studio and begin applying “being present” to all the other areas of your life.
Think of the yoga studio, therefore, as a training ground for life. It is here that we train not only physically, but also mentally and spiritually. We train to walk out of the studio with elevated health and an elevated consciousness level, helping us along whatever path lies in front of us. Please read on to explore Being Yoga’s theme of the month, “lift your consciousness higher” to understand how you can train to elevate your consciousness:
Probably the quickest way of training to “lift your consciousness higher” through yoga is simply by setting the intention of becoming more conscious during class. Make it an intention to be present. Make it an intention to focus on your breath in order to slow your mind and relax your body. Set an intention to stay on your mat for the entire class.
Start becoming aware of how intricately related your actions are to everyone in the studio. Notice the impact you have on all the students when you walk in late, or you leave your mat in the middle of class, or you forget to turn off the cell phone that begins ringing during a posture. Notice how you add to the tranquility and the unity of the whole class by staying still and following the dialogue—not fidgeting or moving in and out of the postures at a different pace from the rest of the class. At the same time, set an intention to let go of judging those around you who might be fidgety or disruptive. In fact, set an intention to open up your heart with understanding and compassion for all fellow yogis in the room (especially keeping in mind that each of us has been disruptive at some point during our practice).
Start to realize that, as Neale Donald Walsch says in his book Happier than God, “If you wish to experience your Divine Self and your true identity [or higher consciousness], cause another to experience their Divine Self and their true identity.” In yoga, you train to do this by practicing your own peace, your own compassion, and your own sensitivity to others. As you practice, you’ll begin acting upon a higher consciousness. You’ll also begin modeling a higher consciousness and, therefore, passing it on to others—first in the yoga studio, and then outside the yoga studio. In short, by endeavoring to “lift your consciousness higher, you’ll begin creating a higher consciousness in yourself and others.