Skip to main content

Peace

Friday, October 13, 2023,

For the past several months, I've been training for a half marathon (13.1 miles or about 21 kilometers). 

The race is 9 days away from today and, for the past ~2 months, my running training has amped up to very long amounts of time, long distances, etc.  I've found that, when I do a 9 mile training run, I feel that, to help recover, my body insists that I sleep in.....all that to say, for awhile now, my normal 4:15am waking time, has been chucked out the window on most days, and I sleep in as late as 6:00am (or even later, I'm afraid). 

Today, for whatever reason, I naturally woke up at my normal 4:15am time (even before my alarm went off). 

I'm on my mat writing this before I've started my practice and, for whatever reason, I felt a strong understanding of why I come to my mat, why I've developed a practice, and why I believe time spent on my mat is, by far, the healthiest thing I can do for myself.........

....Peace is what's obtained on my mat.  In a literal way, I'm in a quite room in my home......there's very little noise (other than the meditative music I stream on a low volume),........there's few distractions (other than the ones in my mind).........it's a time for me to assess myself in a gentle, but frank and objective way.

This pocket of peace-time in my mornings sets things up for the rest of my day......

I'm behind schedule as I type this, so I'm going to begin my practice as I always do, with prayers and meditation....

Part II:

I am way behind schedule, so this will be brief.  I sought peace today on my mat and, while the version of myself that gets off my mat at the end of practice is always superior to the version that got on my mat before practice, I still feel a little "swirled up".

Ah well......it's time to enter the day. 

Namaste

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rebuild

Tuesday, July 10, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning for coffee and contemplation. Feeling wonderful this morning, and not terribly sore at all.  There's a bit of stiffness in my back from yesterday's backbends, but that's to be expected. Ready to sweat it out on my mat. Tuesday, July 10, 2018 (Part II) I'm writing this off my mat, already showered up for my day. I love going to my mat.  The physical challenge alone is reward enough, but, while I've said it many times before, the mental and spiritual adjustments that one can make are priceless.  Physically, I already see a difference in my body.  Arms are still re-building their stamina, but the twists and forward bends I incorporate are already helping with digestion and elimination and the general "deflating" of my body and G.I. track (TMI, I'm sure, but this is one of the main physical reasons why I practice). Mentally, I feel prepared for anything that comes my way today and fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Asana

Monday, March 30, 2020 After no physical practice/Asanas on Friday, and no yoga over the weekend, I notice that it's difficult to stay motivated and dedicated to my practice at times.  Additionally, I ran a solo-10K this weekend (the St. Louis GO! Marathon/Half-Marthon/10K was cancelled, like most public events), and the additional tenderness in my feet, legs, etc. definitely told me not to get on my mat. Monday blues/malaise, essentially.....a "negative mind"... When I'm on my mat, feeling like it's pointless, and that the day ahead is pointless, and that the efforts I'll expend to make things better are pointless, I can go back to the foundations of my life.  First, what do I live for?  I live for God.  That is my attempted mantra every day. It is not for me/you to understand the purpose of anything.  Pulling yourself out of an equation is very liberating in that you're no longer attached to the result. It's 5:27AM as I type this, and it...
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Silent

Tuesday, November 10, 2020 (Part I),  Literal silence is seldom present.  Whether in our homes, our cars, or our offices, noise, and other physical sounds, are almost always being generated from somewhere.  Try a little experiment next time the opportunity arises; turn off all music, all noise making devices, and make your environment as quiet as possible.  Then, close your eyes and sit for 2 minutes.  You’ll, very quickly, begin to hear things you weren't noticing before.  The same is true when you silence your own thoughts. You turn off the “noise” of your own brain, and you begin to notice and hear things that are always there, but that you simply didn’t notice before.   To “turn down the volume” in your own head, physically imagine a hand turning down a volume dial. Then, select an object of meditation (a loved one, a religious object, or something plain and innocuous, like a pineapple), and hold that image in your mind.  Within moments, your ...
Post a Comment
Read more