Lecture Part 3: Seeing What's Possible, Bakasana & Purvottanasana
Part One: Holding Space, Seeing what’s possible
The space between our hands mirrors the space in your body, your breath and your heart. Flatten your hands and feel your energy flatten with your will, but press the hands softly together while remaining receptive to the space they require to function optimally, and you have a very different experience. This is the space of compassion, of seeing what’s possible in a given situation, and is our work at all levels of our yoga practice.
“Having unrealistic expectations is the source of a lot of our unhappiness. We want someone to be a certain way so that we can feel happy. That never works--at least it hasn’t for me. Maybe it has for you. Our expectations often go way beyond reality. One of my favorite sayings lately is that you should always take a look at yourself and the situation you are in to see what is possible instead of what you want…It is good to have a positive attitude, but not to have to freak out when your experience doesn’t match your expectations of what you thought a spiritual life should be. Then you will be continually surprised.” SP, 44
Seeing what’s possible is how we hold the space of compassion for ourselves in our personal practice and for our students when we teach. We might always come into a situation expecting to proceed with Plan A, but in reality, every situation really functions better when your willing to adapt and create a Plan B— or rather a Plan ‘Be’, meaning that your actions are based on being present and selflessly serving the situation in the moment. This goes for your own personal practice and when teaching. Our body is different everyday, and our yoga practice should be also— holding that space of awareness in your body, breath and heart while you practice allows you to adapt your practice to the needs of your current situation— to flow through a practice that really brings you inside and nourishes you. The same goes for teaching— you gotta put together a plan A, you don’t wanna come unprepared for class, but we also have to be open to Plan B— the needs of the students and what wants to come through when you’re teaching. This all comes from your ability to hold space in your body, breath and heart while you practice— when you can hold that space of awareness, it naturally overflows and creates a reality that is far beyond your own potential. This is the compassion we seek to cultivate in our practice.
“Loving compassion is something that you feel in your heart. It isn’t something that you demonstrate by going around and hugging everyone. …Loving compassion is something that comes from inside, a place where everything is done naturally, simply, and not with any exaggerated demonstration. In the case of idiot compassion, usually you are reaching down and trying to help those who refuse to do anything for themselves. Those people simply want to take your money, or your energy, and use it to sustain their downward spiral. Loving compassion is an inner state that overflows and that is filled with positive energy.”
Without this inner understanding of compassion its easy to mistake compassion for external acts— such as feeding the hungry, or giving everyone you know a hug. These acts can be from a compassionate place, but they might miss the inner process. If we approach compassion from this externalized space, we will soon become drained of our inner resources, and become the one in need of support. Instead, it is more skillful and beneficial to find the inner mechanism of compassion, and let it express itself naturally through the circumstances of your life’s karma. This helps us get out of the way, and allow the space of compassion to do the work.
Bring the hands together in front of the heart and feel the middle path that lies between pressing the hands together with will, and letting them fall apart like a dead fish— this middle space of compassion requires effort and sensitivity. This is what we mean by ‘holding space’— right now, as you hold that space between your hands you are literally allowing your energy to manifest in its most natural way, letting it overflow into your life. This overflow is one way to interpret the wish fulfilling gem that Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion, holds between his slightly cupped hands. When we can hold the space of pure awareness in our lives, our actions themselves take the form of compassion. So practice holding space in your postures, in your breath and in your heart, and allow your practice to emanate real loving compassion.