make room for exploring and discovering

i had such a fun day with my son, Lars today. on Fridays we often go on some kind of exploration. today we journeyed [from brooklyn] to manhattan to check out the farmers market at 14th street (forgot to take a picture of that) and walked to SoHo for a breakfast dosa at Hampton Chutney (picture below). well, i had the dosa and Lars had an oatmeal raisin cookie.


on lafayette street, we discovered this wall writing:

the way we are on the mat is often the way we are off the mat. if we allow ourselves to explore, discover and have fun on the mat, it happens off the mat (and vice versa).

in my experience, we get stuck, lack energy, feel un-inspired when we do the same things over and over again MINDLESSLY. yoga is all about repetition, but MINDFUL repetition. with joy. with curiosity. just like a kid. i notice this with Lars. he repeats movements and words over and over again, he never gets tired cause for him it's a game, and it's fun. to me, it's so inspiring. he is an amazing GURU (teacher). through him i reconnect with my own inner child and allow myself to explore and re-discover or discover new things by not thinking so much, or editing myself too much.

we adults get so easily bored: what do you mean? AGAIN???? the mind gets bored before the body, that is the problem.
so if we train our mind to increase its attention span (dharana - focus) we will move into the higher stages of yoga, into meditation (dhyana) and ultimately higher consciousness (samadhi).

i heard Malcolm Gladwell, author of 'Blink' and 'Tipping Point' say: we have to train ourselves to be curious, to be interested in everything.

exactly. it increases our consciousness. the yogis say the possibilities are infinite then.

making room for exploration has just as much to do with being curious and interested as in quieting the mind. a paradox ...? well, much in yoga is a paradox. curiosity killed the cat because he/she got too greedy and wasn't paying attention. so you need to know when to PAUSE.
as wonderful as the TV, blackberry, iphone, computer, internet and YouTube are we got to give ourselves a break from them.

should you feel that you don't have time to 'make room for exploring' think about how you spend your time.
sit and breathe and let the mind settle into a quiet place. when the mind clears; there is all the time we need.

happy exploration to you.