9 Mindless Acts that Yoga & Meditation Practitioners Do!

Sometimes regular Yoga and Meditation practitioners do fall into patterns that we are not necessarily aware of!

Have listed here 9 mindless acts that I have seen people around me do; This blogpost is Just for Laughs, and It's not about Right or Wrong - It's just about being more aware of our own mind, our thoughts and acts. Please feel free to add your own special moments, in the comments section!

9. Avidya (ignorance) becomes most prominent when we go shopping. We are always on a look out for that perfect Yoga attire - one more kurta, white t-shirt, new tights, t-back, and the list adds on! -- Not enough space to keep my clothes? Ok! Lets buy a new cupboard (but the shopping cannot stop!) All this without realising that Yoga was never about external appearances, it has more to do with the space of one's mind, the contentment with what we have! Well, such is life!

8. When everyone around is knocked out and into a deep state of meditation during Rudra Pooja chanting(especially in the beautiful Vishalkshi Mantap in AOL Bangalore Ashram - you suddenly hear the loud bhastrika! and you want to stop being so peace-loving and want to go give that person a piece of your mind! Its truly Mindless, but Never Mind! 

7. Has it happened with you that just 2 days before an event - your main organiser vanishes for doing an Advance course(Silence retreat)?! People in this category are always Found with Eyes Closed: In a train, at an airport, at home, in office, just before start of a Social gathering, on the Mountain top after a trek, or when any urgent matter needs to be discussed - M E D I T A T I N G!

6. Aparigraha (Non-Accumulation) while on vacation, Really?: Where ever we go, our Yoga Mat and meditation chair and cushion and shawl and bottle of water and pillow and walking shoes and maybe also blanket goes with us! Else How will I do my Sadhana, my practice? The list of things we carry around might vary - but the point is- why is it so difficult to just be with ourselves without any supplementaries! Is Yoga really about ropes and bricks? Is Sadhana really dependant on musical instruments - any true practitioner will tell you it is not!

5. In front of every nice picturesque place- while everyone else is enjoying nature at its best - what do we do?? In Open Public places, We want to take a picture with a Yoga Pose! Will it be a Vrukshasan and a VeerBhadrasan? 
We become mindless of the Seer! - for now its the scenery thats important...

  
4. Remember that moment when there is tons of place in the room, but someone comes and puts their mat right Next to yours!! And You Suddenly want to stop your practice and just want to push their mat away!! (this one just had to be a part of my list )

3. When you talk to a dear friend about a situation in your life and the friend listens to one sentence and gives you 20mins Gyaan (knowledge).

This one is not always Mindless - I remember once a highly experienced teacher whilst showing me how to do Sheershasan using a rope- looked at my totally terrified face and had shouted at me, 'You have so much abhinivesha'!
(Abhinivesha in Patanjali YogaSutras is one of the 5 Sufferings / Kleshas. Abhinivesha  in its thickest form is fear and in its most diluted form is care) 
While he could have easily said, you are so scared, he chose to remind me in that moment of knowledge that was most applicable; and this reminder had also taught me to let life hang on to trust and faith rather than hanging onto concrete walls of concepts!

2. Have seen many Practitioners fall for Bhranti Darshan or Illusion! One can get pulled into this net without realising it! 
A person once came to Guruji feeling totally elated and said 'I have discovered who I am? I have seen the light that I am. Today while meditating, the light came out of my 3rd eye and stood right in front. I had a long conversation and got an answer to all my questions, I am very very happy."
Guruji laughed and said, 'Tell me something, if the light that came out of your body was YOU, then WHO was the one sitting in you and asking all those questions?"
Excess information, without practical application, or half knowledge gathered without proper guidance can led one into this net.

1. This one tops my list because its undoubtedly the most mindless act happening these days.

Remember waiting for one glance from your Guru / Master, waiting for that one moment that can transform my life completely?! ...and then suddenly there are mobile phones coming right in between you and your Master - because these days, more than meeting your Master, proof of the meet is important. After all its the photographs that get Likes on Fb, who cares about Transformation!

When Gurudev spoke about Guru-Mandala he mentioned people and situations, hey how come he never warned about the demon called 'mobile phone'!

The List would be longer for you all... Let's Learn, Laugh and Move On! 

After all, Life is all about Evolution, and Moving forwards is not about right or wrong - its all about New Learnings!

Shoes For the Soul: Learning’s from My 1st Trek

The Word “trek’ would mostly only have reminded me of the television Series ‘Star Trek”. Never ever had I visualised even in my wildest dreams ‘an actual, real, on foot’ trek up a mountain-top at a height of 1600 feet (490 metres) above sea level. Sharing 6 Life Transforming Lessons learnt on my 1^st Trek:

(Original Pictures from Trek in July 2017 to Sarasgad Fort, Maharashtra)

We started from the foothill at Pali Village (Raigad, Maharashtra) on our way up to Sarasgad Fort. First step onwards was an upward climb on a hilly terrain, in the mild drizzling rain.

1.  Well Begun is truly Half Done: 
        My biggest lesson was, Planning and Prior-preparation helps give a good kick start to an upward climb. Good to have at least one person along whom you trust fully. It's also a great help to join the company of people who are explorers on the path, but more knowledgeable than you.
        Be sure to make prior arrangements for atleast the known or predictable challenges ahead. For Eg. For a trek, prepare with good walking shoes; carry a haversack with minimal necessities like enough water, Glucon D, and some biscuit packets; maybe also a lightweight raincoat.

    The key is to travel light without any baggages (physical and emotional) and this gives a good kick start on  any uphill climb.

 2. On Every Difficult Path - There is No Substitute for Experience:

        the most important element was the presence of an experienced professional trekker who would help and guide at every complicated step of the climb. The trek leader asked us to either follow his exact foot steps, or, to place the next step forward, check if the foot is stable and then transfer our body weight on the front foot and lift the back leg. A technique that was most helpful through out.

        A Guru or teacher in our lives does exactly the same – sees a pathway where we cannot see one and guides us on every single step in our lives.

3. We find Our Best Friend and also Our Worst Enemy in Ourselves:

    All the way Up and Down the mountain, we were all in a single line. Even though, we are in a group, yet on an uphill climb, it's each to his own. One single person slipping downward would also mean throwing all remaining people behind him / her off balance.
    On a challenging path & in critical situations, opinions and judgements of other people don't matter at all. In the end, one's own mind can either be one's best friend or worst enemy. Win Over Your Mind and you can win the whole world!

4.  Letting go of knowledge about myself, helped discover a new 'me':
        On a Mountain trek, Nothing beyond the last 3 steps and next 3 steps existed in the world. No matter how big a worry or fear or anxiety might fill one's mind and heart, we cannot but keep your mind in the present moment and focus only on the immediate next step.  

        In life, just incase the tried and tested Meditation techniques are not appealing or working for you, go for a Trek. A Trek is as good as a 6 hour ‘Open Eye Meditation’, literally! 

    End of a long trek, the resultant satisfaction, sense of accomplishment, inner quiet and contentment is unparalleled. It changes the way we see ourselves and what we think we can do and cannot do!

5. Crossing Your Threshold: Its all Mind Over Matter:

        I am quite a fitness-freak, but still, nothing could have prepared me for the physical exhaustion that comes from climbing upwards continuously for couple of hours. At One point, I felt totally out of breath, throat parched, my sugar levels really dropped and I felt cold sweat on my forehead. 

        My legs were shaky from exhaustion. I felt unsure about going on. At this point, a dear friend said ‘Take a sort break and then continue. And Don’t worry, once you have crossed your own threshold, then you will be fine through out the remaining trek’. AND TRULY that is how it was! After this I even climbed 111 steps of more than 2 height each, without any problem whatsoever.

    This is true even in our lives. Once we manage to cross the maximum-known threshold of a seemingly impossible situation, then the problem ceases to exist completely.

6. We Take back Only Pictures, We Leave back Only Our FootPrints:
        Our Main Guide on the trek, Hitendra Patel, was ONE Consciousness “with the pathway, with the mountain, with the group”. In the Spiritual World, He would easily be referred to as a ‘true Yogi’. I was telling my friend at the end of the trek, ‘Remove this one person from the trek and it will all not be the same’.

        When even One person believes fully in a cause or a life path, then his consciousness is able to carry many other people along, up a mountain with total safety. Belief of the leader and willingness of the followers – truly helps Scale Mountains!

        An unbelievable experience, this 1st trek was followed by many more and each experience was extremely fulfilling because ultimately on completion of any challenging climb we leave back only our footprints and take back only memories!

Do share about your own trekking experiences and learnings from the same, in comments section below! Look forward to hearing from you all.