Hi friends,
As we continue our journey through the Klesa’s I think about Abhinidvesa = Fear. This picture reminds a lot about fear, fear that I am still making my way through. When my teaching and financial world fell through, it brought back a LOT of fear. What was I going to do, how was I going to find work. When I allowed my practice to take center stage, I was able to finally change the lens on my patterns and see that as Yoga went away, my job as a Yoga Therapist had not. I still had work at the hospital as a yoga therapist, and guess what there were more hours available to me.
But I had to change my perspective, I had to change my “lens”. I was fortunate to have a wonderful friend that lives in Lake Charles, I joined her on a trip to New Orleans. There I had a change in perspective. As I walked with her through her familiar places and felt the comfort of her words and the random “I love you” from her son, the fear began to leave. I remember running across these bracelets in this charming little store. One says: This too shall pass” the second one says” The best is yet to come.
I remember the moment I put the first one on my wrist, as my dear friend helped me with the clasp. I remember feeling less afraid. This simple act shifted my lens. Well done you say!
HMMM… not so fast. After yoga collapsed, the world was hit by Corona, again more fear, ah, but this time I knew how to deal. I found work, I reconnected with students who were going through the same thing I had just gone through. Work picked up, online teaching started, virtual teacher training, screening shifts, yoga jobs came back. I was making it!! It was different, but I was making it. And Fear raised its head again. I couldn’t bring myself to take off the first bracelet. Even though I knew/know that “the best is still to come” I felt comfortable where I was. So you see, even the idea of succeeding brought in Fear.
Abhinidvesa comes in all forms. Fear of succeeding, Fear of not succeeding, Fear of being great, Fear of not being great, Fear of becoming someone we always wanted to be, Fear of staying who we are. We have to change our Lens/Perspective our Patterns/Sankalpa’s. And nothing does that better than a practice designed especially for us. This is why I am extending the discounts on my website until the end of February.
To help you establish this idea of who you are, to not let Fear in, to truly know yourself.
Practice this So Hum meditation. It’s simple and can be done for as little as 3 minutes or as long as 30 minutes if you like.
The yogic mantra “so hum” is not only a reflection of the sound of the breath but also carries a contemplative meaning: “I am that” (so = “I am” and hum = “that”).
How To Practice “So Hum” Meditation
Step 1
Find a comfortable place for meditation. Place your palms facing up in jnana mudra (forefinger and thumb touching) with your palms facing up to open your awareness or facing down to calm the mind. Scan your body and release any tension.Step 2
Bring your attention to your breath, feeling the rise and fall of your inhalation and exhalation. As your focus settles on your breath, begin to chant the mantra “so hum.” As you inhale, silently say “so” to yourself and as you exhale, say “hum.” Once the “so hum” rhythm has been established, begin to contemplate the meaning of “so hum.” As you inhale with the mantra “so,” say to yourself ” I am,” connecting to your essential self.
Step 3
As you exhale with “hum,” inwardly say “that” or “all that is.” Feel how your exhalation releases you into the space around you. Visualize your exhalation leaving your body through your nostrils and then merging back into your true self. Finding that place where you can let fear go by simply acknowledging who you are.
Be well. Be Safe.
Love. Light.
JennyO
Corazón Yoga 