Monday, July 11, 2011

ZombieLand



The poster to the movie ZombieLand gave me an idea for my blog post this morning...  Zombie definition from wikipedia: The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli.  It's pretty reminiscent of how a majority of people behave on a daily basis.  I  speak of cultivating sensitivity in my yoga classes a lot.  Throughout our daily lives some how we've become living zombies, we wake, dress, brush our teeth, say I love you and go through our motions... Sometimes we aren't even aware of ourselves as we drive to work. We get there and think back wondering, how did we arrive?  Did we even notice anything along the way?  These zombie like motions affect everything we do.  People come to yoga class to escape the stress of daily life only to zombie through their  asana poses not feeling anything other than muscle tension and physical effort.   Cultivating sensitivity to our bodies and our yoga practice will cultivate sensitivity off of the mat into our lives.  Just like anything else, practice makes permanent.  Even if you don't do yoga, practicing sensitivity will deepen the experiences you have in your life, from washing the dishes, to hugging someone you love.  By paying attention to the task at hand, you begin to cultivate sensitivity.  For example: when you eat; see the colors of your food, what textures are there, is it hot or cold, where did your food come from, how many hands did it take from creation to your plate, how does it feel in your mouth, is it salty, sweet?  Most of us don't even taste our food, we are too busy watching TV, or scarfing it down our pipes; leading to overeating and feeling not satisfied...  This is just one example.  Creating sensitivity is creating mindfulness, practicing mindfulness is what adds meaning to your life.  Many books have been written on this subject but, in brief, when you add meaning to everything in your life, you begin to delight in the "smaller" things.  If you're always wanting more and more, you're not paying attention to the beauty and awe in what you are experiencing now.  Back to yoga; when you create sensitivity in your yoga practice you are paying attention to the sensations in your body, by practicing this simple thing your practice all of a sudden has meaning, you can flow into your poses with greater ease and comfort, feeling exactly where you need to take your pose in that moment. Creating sensitivity and mindfulness in your life leads to contentment, contentment leads to lack of suffering.  Start today, just bring your attention to whatever task you are doing and enjoy the moment.  You don't have to win the lottery or keep up with the Jones's to have a meaningful life.
There is a great section on cultivating sensitivity in a book by: ErichSchiffmann. Link below...

http://www.movingintostillness.com/teachings.html
With love and light -
Namaste.