This week we focus on Being Present. It's quite commonly used to describe Mindfulness, or Staying in the Moment; not being distracted. But what part of you is Present? Is it the mind? Is it the attention?
If we are absorbed in what we do, does that make us Present? If our attention moves from thing to thing, are we being present in each moment but in a different thing?
The Eight Limbs of Yoga
One of the eight limbs of Yoga is Dhaarana — or concentration. Prior to this stage is that of Pratyahaara, or withdrawal of the senses. Once the yogi has calmed the body with asana (another limb of yoga), and retreated from the senses through Pratyahaara, they are ready for Dhaarana — focused concentration on a single point.
This is Being Present in the true sense: not scattered attention, not absorption in an activity, but a quiet, anchored awareness that rests within itself even as the body moves, the breath flows, and the world continues around us.
Bringing It Into Practice
How do we bring this into our practice? Let's take a few quiet breaths before getting into movement, and draw the mind inwards to a quiet inner space — a place we know exists deep in us. With each movement, even as we move and bring attention to how we move, let us also be aware of that inner space, as if we're watching ourselves from there.
If we can keep in touch with it, then we are Being Present in the true sense. Then whatever might happen in the practice — maybe you are caught up in the flow, maybe you lose your balance, maybe you are momentarily startled by something around you, maybe your thoughts wander — if you come back to your inner space, it will help you regain your sense of calm and find your inner equilibrium.
"Let us try this in our practice this week — returning, again and again, to that quiet inner space."