STAYING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT

"Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry- all forms of fear- are caused by too much future and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence."


Wow, that says it all! I am definitely posting this on my refrigerator! In two sentences, Tolle elegantly sums up the human condition. I get into trouble the minute I take myself out of the present moment and flirt with either the past or the future. It's one thing to know this on an intellectual level, but quite another to live it.
So how do I translate this to my yoga practice? The beauty of yoga and any kind of purposeful movement is that it keeps me in the present. If I'm fully engaged, physically, it's kind of difficult to start thinking about a resentment from 20 years ago, or when I can get the plumber over to the house to fix the broken water main! However, when I find myself in a particularly challenging pose and the instructor is asking me to hold for what seems to be forever, I do look to the future. When is s/he going to change poses! In that moment, I look to my breath and bring my focus back to the here and now. The breath can take me deeper into a pose, or perhaps help me to ease up a bit. It is a great tool for bringing me back to the present and keeping me out of trouble. When I am able to successfully stay present in my yoga practice, I begin to see the possibility for success in my daily life.
When fear, resentment,and nonforgiveness creep in, I play a little game with myself. First, I connect with my breath. I then bring my attention to exactly what I am doing at that precise moment (eg. my hands are on the steering wheel, I am shifting gears, I am pressing the accelerator, etc.). The breath and the gentle reminder are enough to pull me out of the past/future and bring me back to the present.
Call me simple, but I love to have guidelines for living. Tolle's quote is just that.