Practice is not a rehearsal

I am a big fan of re-reading books.  There are some on my shelf that I dip into regularly for inspiration, including ‘Whever You Go, There You Are’ by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is the sort of reading where it is possible to discover new layers of meaning and applicability every time I delve into its chapters.

This morning I opened the book to the chapter entitled ‘Practice Does Not Mean Rehearsal’. As one of my life patterns is to strive for accomplishment, this really resonated with me today.

How many of us are practicing yoga with the idea that we get ‘better’ at it the more we practice yoga? How human of us!

‘The spirit of mindfulness is to practice for its own sake, and just to take each moment as it comes - pleasant or unpleasant, good, bad, or ugly - and then work with that because it is what is present now. With this attitude, life itself becomes practice. Then, rather than doing the practice, it might be better said that the practice is doing you, or that life itself becomes your meditation teacher and your guide.’

- Jon Kabat Zinn

This week I’ll be leading a practice with the intention of exploring balance. In the movement part of the practice we will use asana as a way of experiencing the felt sense of our bodies within symmetrical and assymetrical poses. Using this exploration as a way of practicing our noticing, we will also bring awareness to what we experience as a feeling tone - tuning into what is present for us. The practice will include a long Restorative savasana, so bring your blankets!