Conscious Pausing
Pausing in discomfort is not something that comes naturally. The self urges us to push on, push through, and demand change. But what if we take a moment to consciously pause, to reside in anakhya? This tender step could help us access anugraha, bringing profound and meaningful change! Find out how this month’s Jivamukti focus can help you on your journey both on and off the mat.
Is keeping busy robbing you of clarity?
Our lives are busy, it is so very easy to get swept along from one action, thought, promise, or task to the next. Even with the best intentions to stay present and mindful, the reality is that we are living a human life, always looking ahead, often looking behind, and rarely being in this very moment.
But right now if I am darting from one thing to the other, what will I find? Where will I grow?
You’ll find that in the busyness of it all that there is no clarity, and as such, there will be no opportunity for revelation.
Anakhya is about asking the practitioner to consciously pause, especially in moments of difficulty, where there is a tendency to conceal what we are experiencing, hiding the truth from others and ourselves.
The Five Acts of Shiva
The cycle of experience goes like this: creation, preservation, destruction, concealment, revelation. However, Anakhya, this one that is not spoken about, also known as the nameless krama, sits between the fourth and fifth Acts of Shiva: Tirodhana (concealment) and Anugraha (revelation).
- Sristi – Creation Birth Flowing forth
- Sthiti – Sustainment, Maintenance, preservation
- Samhara – Dissolution, reabsorption, retraction
- Tirodhana – Concealment, forgetting, hidden
- Anugraha – Remembering, revelation, recognition
Anakhya – the nameless krama
When we understand that the Five Acts are precisely what we ourselves are doing all the time, we can cultivate the awareness that between concealment and revelation there is an opportunity for conscious pausing. an opportunity to be still within concealment rather than push to move on.
In this pausing we can move into anakhya, where there is a possibility for revelation.
For example:
- When receiving uncomfortable words from another, can I allow the pause so that instead of retaliating and reacting with defence and blame, I pause to consider? And in doing so gain time for a valuable response, one that pulls myself and possibly the deliverer into revelation.
- When washed with the feeling of grief, rather than hurry to try and fill my time so there’s no space for grief, can I pause so my grief is fully heard? And in doing so be granted the full revelation of its teaching?
Concealment as an “auspicious squeeze”
We can look at concealment as an “auspicious squeeze”, where there is eradication of the ego. Understandably some people don’t want to wait in that, they want to move through the discomfort as quickly as possible in an effort to make the uncomfortable feelings go away.
So instead they turn to distractions, this could be drugs, alcohol, binge watching box sets, socialising… whatever it takes to constantly keep busy and distracted. But it is these distractions that prevent the opportunity to pause and acknowledge, preventing access to anugraha (revelation).
Ask yourself:
Am I darting around all day from one action to the next?
What happens if I consciously pause between?
This month in class we take the time to consciously pause, using our practice to bring clarity to our actions in our everyday lives.
Pose of the month
Pose – Archer Pose
Sanskrit – Akarna Dhanurasana
Pronounced – AH-kar-nah DAH-noo-rah-sah-nah
Type – Seated
In Archer Pose we call upon strength and flexibility both physically and mentally. Directing our physical energy into this pose allows us to cultivate a moment of conscious pausing, directing an arrow of awareness towards the revelation that awaits.
Don’t worry!!
In Jivamukti the class is structured so that the body is prepared; stretched, strengthened and opened by visiting the requisite shape and effort in preparatory postures so that our destination posture each month begins to feel more and more accessible over the 4/5 weeks of practice.
Book your first discounted class now! Use the code AUM
Mantra of the month
Bhagavad Gita 3.34
इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ |
तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ || 34||
indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣhau vyavasthitau
tayor na vaśham āgachchhet tau hyasya paripanthinau
The senses naturally experience attachment and aversion to the sense objects, but do not be controlled by them, for they are way-layers and foes.
Listen and practice in preparation for chanting in class!
