Yoga Retreat Vow


In recent months, I have listened to the stories of a number of close friends and co-workers as they navigate the difficult process of saying their good-byes to the tangible, physical embodiment of a loved one and participating in the loved one’s own good-bye.
I find myself filled with memories of those I still love though the loved one is no longer embodied in the physical form in which I met them. For me and for those with whom I share my memories, they live on as such and. in greater and lesser amounts, in how I think, respond, and act to this day and beyond.
I slept restlessly last night and woke early with concern for those who were in the metro crash. Being already a bit agitated, worries about getting things done at work also were arising. Despite my restlessness, I made sure to sit for meditation. Thoughts kept arising, but by the time I was into my sit, I was able to find a space, where I was not tangled or unsteadied by the thoughts. I felt more peaceful and able to meet the challenges of the day.
In times of agitation, I often find myself drawn to contemplate again Patanjali’s sutra 1.2: Yoga citta vrtti nirodaha. In classical yoga, it means to still the thought waves. This is meant to be the ultimate purpose of yoga: to still thought so that what is beyond mind and body can be revealed.
Practicing and studying from a tantric perspective, I think not so much of stilling my thoughts when I practice and meditate, but rather, finding a sense of alignment, an allowing of and making allowance within my being for the rhythm of the thoughts like a sailor getting sea legs on a boat, so that I can be steady (sthira) and have a greater sense of peace (shantaya) and light (tejase), no matter how wild are the thoughts arising and sensations entering in the field of my consciousness.
I participated today in the determination as to whether the noon gentle/therapeutics class at Willow Street should be cancelled due to the weather. It is hard to know when and what to decide unless the roads are absolutely unpassable or it is clear that that storm is not impacting most roads and sidewalks. Some students will have wanted to come to class regardless of the weather, even if it would have been both difficult to get the ice off of their cars if driving and very slippery going from house to car and parking spot to class. If class was held, other students would have wondered why class was not cancelled and felt it unfair that they now had to do a make-up since they were too sensible to go out in the ice. It is a balance of trying to offer the yoga as committed and making decisions about the reasonableness of trying to hold class given safety and logistical concerns. For a class with lots of physically intrepid students within walking distance, the determination is different than for one with people who are facing injuries and other challenges of embodiment, which can make it a challenge to get to class on even a beautiful day.
I’d love to get your feedback on where you think is the weather line between holding class as usual and cancelling. For me, part of the call was that within an hour of class, my porch, front stairs, and sidewalk were still solidly slick with ice. It would have been a challenge even to get to the corner, much less walk ten blocks and take the metro. Things did not really start to melt until mid afternoon.