Be Here Now (Var.)


Advancing
The practice.
Community.
I spied this sign yesterday in the exhibitor hall on the lower level of the Marriott in Woodley Park. I was attending a portion of the 38th Annual Conference of Enrolled Actuaries. (Go ahead: I dare you to put that into your favorite search engine).
Although this sign was to invite enrollment in one of the actuarial professional organizations, it seems most similar to the stated aspirations of various yoga groups and schools.
I’m not surprised by this symmetry. I think that anyone who seeks to live so that employment and dharma (aligned life) are in harmony and who supports, participates, and works in community, is living like a yogin, though perhaps never knowing about or having any interest in yoga per se.
There are many life paths and humanistic and spiritual practices that guide life towards a contented path of service, the true reason, to my thinking, for a steady, long-term yoga practice (including asana, pranayama, and meditation).
I personally find the yoga practices to be among the most helpful ways to engage my body and mind for my health and well-being. Among other things, the practices have helped me listen with open enough awareness to be able to comprehend with my law-trained mind some small portion of the language of actuaries.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
I came home from the workshop with much to explore in my own practice, and it was good to see old friends from the yoga community and make new acquaintances.
One of the things I appreciated were the demonstrations of therapeutic applications. Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen noted that the first issue is survival, observing that since we were all safely together in a nice yoga studio, that we had survival covered.
The second thing, she suggested, before offering healing, is to make sure that both the person receiving and the person making the offering are comfortable.
I add to the latter that having both people be comfortable increases the likelihood that they will be able to stay present and mindful, which should increase the possibility of efficacy.