In order for us to experience what we call freedom through Yoga, we must understand time and space and how we can transcend it through the body and mind. Freedom is our ability to transcend time and space. We need to be aware that our body is limited by mobility and our mind functions in time. Once we understand the body and mind, we will be able to transcend these limitations. In my own personal experience practicing and teaching Yoga for the past 25 years, I have found it essential to keep in mind three basic things that can help an individual to do this.
The first one is the power of intention. This intention through the practice of Yoga comes straight from the heart towards freedom of the physical body and mind. Intention means to focus your mind on desirable action that will bring you a fulfilling outcome and your intent must be very clear in order for you to get the results your heart is longing for.
The second one is attention to the breathing. As you get deeper into your practice, you start realizing that your breath has four basic qualities that you must develop and make them your own. The four qualities are the length, sound, depth, and sweetness of your breath. At the very beginning your breathing may be rough, short, and lacking rhythm and depth, but as you bring more awareness into your breathing and you increase your desire to do better, you start transcending your short and out of rhythm breathing into a more effortless state. With time, your breath will become sweet—that’s when you start realizing you are diving deep into your soul.
The third thing to remember is the movement of the body. In my experience, I noticed that the way an individual moves their body very much reflects the way the individual thinks. Through the coordination of thinking and breathing, the result is movement. This movement is an extension of your thoughts. We must pay a lot of attention to how we occupy space, our bio-location, and how we use this space in time. We must also pay a lot of attention in how this space that we are occupying with the body is conscious of itself.
Most of us are physically here on the physical plane, but we are not conscious about our bodies, internal organs, thinking, feeling, or sensing. We must develop our ability to sense and feel as well as our ability to tap into our intuition when it comes to our physical bodies. It’s through the conscious movement of the body that we will be able to transcend time and space.
About the Author:
Jhon Tamayo is the founder and director of Atmananda Yoga Sequence and the Atmananda Yoga alignment based mat. He currently has a studio in Queens, New York. For more info visit his website. (Reprinted from Om Yoga & Lifestyle.
