The Awakened Heart

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be at peace.

This is the mantra that ends most of my yoga practices.  When we are truly at peace, we have truly come to know ourselves. When we know ourselves, our true selves, without the labels or the expectations or the past, but simply as our shared inner Being, then we have found Enlightenment.

Enlightenment comes from truly knowing oneself. It is the understanding that you are not your thoughts, your perceptions, your emotions, or your past. Each of these things are like clouds. They pass through but they are not permanent. What is permanent and eternal is your inner self. Yoga teaches us to let go of our exterior self, to let it fade away and to connect with our inner selves through our breath and our movements. The asanas, or poses, are about so much more than making us flexible and strong.  They are about preparing the mind and body for meditation. And it is in meditation where we find the stillness needed to draw inward, to awaken our heart and to recognize our Divine self as well as the Divine in others. 

This is where we come to know that we are the same. We are not separate. You are not your job, your hobbies, your past, or your thoughts.  You are an energetic life force. You can feel this energy within you at any time. In savasana, I've told my classes to find the "aliveness" in their hands.  Not with their thoughts but by simply becoming aware of their hands. When you focus completely on the feeling of your hands, you can feel a sensation. It may feel tingly, pulsing, or perhaps warm.  Whatever you feel, it is a form of energy. Eckhart Tolle refers to this feeling as "inner body awareness."  When you cease to think and you draw your attention to your inner energy you begin to awaken your heart. 

The awakened heart is a heart connected to the Divine. The awakened heart recognizes that the only thing that really matters is what can be found within, not in the material, exterior world in which we live. In order for us to survive in this world, however, we must attain certain things such as food clothing and shelter. To do this, we probably need a job or career. Yet, the awakened heart understands that these things do not define who we are.  Who we are is the energetic life force that connects each one of us. Our thoughts, words, and actions have the power to bring us together or tear us apart.

Returning to the mantra I offer at the end of my classes, I had the following heart awakening experience recently:  I heard a story on the Today Show about a woman whose health, after the age of 50, deteriorated rapidly. She eventually found out that she had emphysema. It seemed her life had taken a downward spiral. Her daughter, a yoga instructor and massage therapist, convinced her to try yoga. After her first class, she took money from her life's savings and signed up for yoga teacher training and is now a yoga instructor. At the end of her interview, she said "My mantra is 'I AM happy, I AM healthy, I AM at peace.'" Those words emphasized, to me, our connectedness. It made me realize that the words spoken within the yoga studio go beyond those walls and truly reach those in need. Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu - May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may our own thoughts, words and actions bring happiness to all beings.

"I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love.”
~ Gandhi