The yoga teacher said what, now?!

I once giggled for 15 mins of a yoga DVD because the teacher kept saying "chat" (said like "shat") (which is short for "Chaturanga Dandasana", which is long for "low push up"). 

The word "shat" in my part of the world means "to poop a little when you fart", and normally 'fart humour' doesn't giggle-my-funny much any more, not like it did when I was 10, or even when I was 16 or 21. I must have lost my fart-humour along the way. Whatever.

I was having a silly day that day.

So, hearing the word "shat" mixed in between beautiful Sanskrit words and English yogic poetry that day was enough to send me into a ridiculous giggle-fit. If there had been other people with me or if it happened in church, I would've been rolling on the floor by the end posture.

Sometimes yoga teachers say weird things.

Sometimes they (meaning "I" as well!) say things that stir the dirty-minded humour I fell helplessly in love with as a young, slightly rebellious girl. Some of the things I hear or say in a yoga class now, I wouldn't be able to hear without snickering or say without laughing back when I was young. 

I love comparing my mind to how it once was to how it is now. It's an obvious evolution. Evolution of humour. It's a real thing!

And then there are times, while I'm teaching, I will lose track of words, like "I'm not sure where I'm going with this".... sometimes something fitting pops up, or sometimes something not-so-fitting-but-enough-to-keep-going pops up, or sometimes, I run with the complete blank and cut it off with a "take a deep breath in" in hopes that no one noticed too much or will judge me about it. 

There are some other times, a word with a thick Newfoundland accent slips out by accident (like, "breeding" meaning "breathing". My lips or tongue sometimes remember its native tongue while I'm so focused on my breat' and posture that I forget how I talk.)  

I always assume people can giggle at the mistakes and silly-word slips.

On the other side of the spectrum, sometimes yoga teachers say the most beautiful things. One of my favourite quotes from one of my teachers is: let your mind fall into your heart. (Which actually could sound "weird" to some people! But to me: it is sweet perfection!)

What are some weird, funny or beautiful things you've heard (or said!) in a yoga class?

We gotta ask ourselves:

Do the things we focus our attention on benefit us and contribute to society in anyway?

• 
  

  Do the things we spend time doing or talking about or reading or watching or listening to or thinking, actually help anything? Do the things we give attention to have a greater purpose? Do they motivate us to be better people? Do they cultivate love and compassion in us? Do they make us feel relaxed, awed, in love with life? Do the things we experience and words we speak and think inspire us? Inspire other people? Do those things evolve our minds? Open our consciousness? Give us a sense of purpose?

  Or do the things we focus on hinder us somehow? Numb us? Make us fearful? Create tension in us? Cause unhealthy thoughts, feelings, desires? Do these things disable our creative minds with noise and clutter? Do they cause feelings of separatism? Entitlement? Judgement?

  Perhaps we all need to sit back and really begin to observe how the things we focus our energy on affects us, other people and the planet. 

  We must start with our thoughts.

  Being in a constant state of awareness can and will be exhausting for a while, especially in the beginning. Always seeing the deeper meaning behind everything. Maybe no one knows for certain if it's even worth it or not. Maybe being numb and idol is ok. Maybe what we do as humans doesn't affect anything in any special way. Maybe it's all pointless and we can just do whatever we want with no consequences whatsoever.  

  But I don't believe that.

  In evolutionary terms, human consciousness is in the beginning stages. We, as a spices, have only been around a few hundred-thousand years. Thats not a long time considering the billions of years of existence. Over the last few decades, a lot of us are starting to "wake up" together, becoming more aware of ourselves, our societies, our purpose, and our magnificence. Some are more awake than others. Some just stirring, rubbing the sleep from their eyes for the first time. What is all this "waking up" talk about anyhow? What does it really mean? (I dont think I will answer those questions here in this lil ol' blog, but I will ask them, anyhow.)

  I believe we are given the task of evolving the human mind. Allowing consciousness to see itself through us in, what seems to be, a whole new way. It's our purpose to make sure we take care of it, nurture it and allow it to thrive. 

  That will look different for different people. We each evolve in different yet very connected ways. We each have a purpose to find our individual and collective "awake states". Being here for each other, to thrive the earthly plain for all creatures. We need to wake up to see how we contribute to the pain, ignorance, and destruction of the planet. Any small change inside of us is a massive change and will cause chain reactions in ourselves and other people. We are lucky enough to have been blessed with a human mind, experiencing consciousness as we do. Exercise it. Don't let it get lazy and run on a default setting. No. Take control and be awake in mind. Really watch ourselves, the people around us, any and every thing that comes into our perceptions. Watch with love and evolution as our purpose. Be with it all, see any truths that are available to us in each and every moment and make choices as we go. Dream big, live simply (as complex as it all gets sometimes), love ourselves and others as if we are the same... because we are. 

  Surrender to trust. Trust to surrender.

  It will be exhausting sometimes. Sometimes we will fall down, flop on the floor, become disheartened by the pain, watch a stupid movie, eat a bag of chips, make pointless mind noise, perhaps yell at someone, we will react. We just have to think of the slip-ups on our path as shutting down, clues to specific charging stations, to re-boot, re-start and rev that soul-engine again and be further along the evolutionary path as soon as we wake up and start moving again. We must instantly forgive ourselves, let go, and Love the shut-downs as if we planned them with great purpose, because perhaps we do. Darkness is inevitable in a world full of light, one cannot exist without the other.

  One of my favourite quotes: "Be in a constant state of arrival and departure" (from the movie Waking Life). Always aware of the flow, the changing states of mind and moments of life.

  Be in a constant state of awake. Always waking up with the very next breath. 

  Exhausting yet invigorating.

  Trust it.

  Just let the love in.