In recent years we’ve come to understand that the mind can be developed, trained and altered structurally in the way we’ve understood the physical body can be developed for millennia. We only need to see the variety of shape, appearance and capacity of Olympic athletes to realise using a pole volter in a weight lifting competition, a weight lifter in a sprinting competition, and either of these in the swimming pool would not lead to medals. Training develops in a certain direction. Just like each of these have different training resulting in different outcomes, in the same way the capacity of the mind develops dependent on the training we do.
So what aspect are we training to develop? Is it to accomplish more and more complex forms, ever greater endurance and strength, deeper and deeper levels of concentration? If so we will increasingly identify with this and resent and become depressed when our body and mind changes in ways we don't like or wish for, leading us to become disillusioned and unhappy.
So what do we want from our practice? Not more attachment, we simply have enough of that already in our lives. Yoga if it is to free us from all that, must offer a different path. A path that moves us away from reliance on the unreliable, identity with the changeable.
We're all going to face changes at some point and that's when the mental development of our practice will show through. Does our practice lead to less attachment to our body, less identity with it being a particular way and does our development of mind bring balance around changes we have little or no control over. If the answer is no, then we need to ask ourselves what is it we are doiing? If the answer is yes then we understand with an openness and clarity when we ask ourselves: 'What are we training for?
So what aspect are we training to develop? Is it to accomplish more and more complex forms, ever greater endurance and strength, deeper and deeper levels of concentration? If so we will increasingly identify with this and resent and become depressed when our body and mind changes in ways we don't like or wish for, leading us to become disillusioned and unhappy.
So what do we want from our practice? Not more attachment, we simply have enough of that already in our lives. Yoga if it is to free us from all that, must offer a different path. A path that moves us away from reliance on the unreliable, identity with the changeable.
We're all going to face changes at some point and that's when the mental development of our practice will show through. Does our practice lead to less attachment to our body, less identity with it being a particular way and does our development of mind bring balance around changes we have little or no control over. If the answer is no, then we need to ask ourselves what is it we are doiing? If the answer is yes then we understand with an openness and clarity when we ask ourselves: 'What are we training for?
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