In a world where everything is at our fingertips and our minds are racing to catch up to the next best thing, how can we wake up to ourselves and filter through all the noise?

We sit our asanas down.

Asana is the third limb in The Sutras of Patanjali, defined as a “seat or position” that is “steady and comfortable.” It is the last word in every yoga posture, for example, downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana) and mountain pose (tadasana). The intention is to find a steady and comfortable position in whatever yoga asana you are in, but taking easy pose (sukhasana) almost feels like a joke because that can be the hardest asana of all. Images of sukhasana etched in stones were discovered in the Indus Valley over 5,000 years ago. To most modern-day yoga practitioners, sukhasana is the most ancient and advanced position. Not only is it physically challenging to keep the body still, it is also mentally difficult to calm the monkey mind (citta vritti) because our thoughts swing from thought to thought.

Yoga is a spiritual practice that uses the physical body as our vehicle of connection. The upright aligned spine is compared to a portal that links us to the divine consciousness or higher power. My friend Kristen DeAndrade, author of Little Legs, Big Heart, was born with the most common form of dwarfism, achondroplasia. She refers to our bodies as “soul suits.” We all live in a soul suit and when we sit in sukhasana, we can deepen our understanding of what the yoga practice has been teaching us all along, which is making peace within this physical body that eventually transforms from form to formless.

But how do we quiet the racing mind from internal and external distractions and actually sit in a comfortable, easy seat?

We practice by getting as comfortable as possible and curious by allowing our inner wisdom to have a steady flow of
questions sandwiched between silence with three steps.

1. EASY POSE (Sukhasana)
   You don’t have to sit on a hard floor with your legs crisscrossed without any support — that is not easy. Free your mind on how it looks and settle into a shape that is easy. You can sit on a cushion with your back against the wall, or you can sit in a chair and lengthen your spine along the back. You can sit in your bed with pillows propped behind your back. The idea is to be alert, upright, using your long spine as a channel, listening to messages that well up in the pit of your belly or stir in your heart that travel to your mind! Steady the body first, take slow breaths in and out, then steady the mind.
2. BREATHE SACRED MESSAGES (Mantra)
   Inhale — Steady
   Exhale — Easy
   Repeat three to five times.
3. CALM THE MONKEY MIND (Citta Vritti)
   Your mind will bounce, swing and hop to and from many places. The moment you notice is the moment you can celebrate that you are practicing mindfulness.  Acknowledge your thoughts, then move on like a passing cloud. Ask yourself, how am I feeling physically? Wait and listen, you might need to adjust your seat to get more comfortable. Trust yourself. Ask yourself, how am I feeling emotionally? Wait for an answer. Trust yourself. Ask yourself, how am I feeling mentally? Wait for an answer. Trust yourself. Ask yourself, what do I need right now? Wait and listen. Trust yourself. You will discover your own etchings within your soul suit.

Photo by Carly Finke. 

By Rachel Glowacki
Yoga Teacher
@rachelglowacki | rachelglowacki.com