Press pause on the world

I sent this as an email to people on my subscriber list, but thought I would also make it public here..

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Is it time to press pause on the world for a bit?
It's been a difficult few days since the events at Christchurch on Friday.  The grief of trauma imposed on any members of our global community is a hard thing to digest, and to discover that the perpetrator is an Australian created a visceral reaction of heart break for me.

Over the weekend we showed our support to the Muslim community by attending the vigil at the Marion Mosque, along with many others.  We were struck by the grace and gratitude shown by the Islamic community, and their sense of hospitality and welcome as they handed out freely bottles of water to all who were standing in the hot afternoon sun as we gathered in their car park.

On Monday I gave a scheduled presentation through my day job as a counsellor at Flinders Uni to students on vicarious trauma.  Later that day I discovered that my teenage sons had seen part of the footage of the killings, thanks to modern technology and teenage curiosity. I don't know about others, but for me, sometimes it can feel like too much all at once.  

And of course I started thinking about how yoga can help in traumatic events.  And I remembered our class from last week on Pratyahara, the fifth limb of yoga. 

Pratyahara is withdrawing the senses inwards and away from the business of the world.  The Yoga Sutra tells us that when we encourage the senses to draw inward, we can glimpse the inner light and dwell contentedly within.  It is a perfect practice for when things are overwhelming, distressing or traumatic. 

It doesn’t mean bury your head in the sand, or pretend that everything is perfect. Instead it encourages us to PAUSE. To retreat into the security of our inner world, to reflect.  It is not a way to escape distress, but it is a way to digest distressing experiences. 

Taking some time out of the world then helps us to re-enter with grace, to help us see clearly what needs to be done, and helps give us courage to act with conviction towards our values, for example to be able to call out racism, or work towards a world which is more tolerant, more just, or more sustainable, or whatever your calling is to contribute to the world. 

Like much of yoga, it exists in paradox.  Sometimes, only by withdrawing and pressing pause on the world, can we be effective in creating change in our world.

The practice of Pratyahara is often implicit rather than explicit in yoga.  One of the main practices we do to encourage going inwards is yoga nidra, where we are encouraged to relax the body deeply, and rest in our inner being.  There are also specific practices to gradually dissolve the senses into each other, like we practised last week.  I also use a brief pratyahara practice during the day, sometimes just as simple as dropping in to my body and listening to my heart beat. 

We will keep exploring these practices in class as well as gentle movements and nourishing massage to support our physical bodies.  You are very welcome to come to the Church on Thursday, even if you haven’t been to yoga for a while.  Perhaps this is the perfect time to take time out for yourself, to pause, and reconnect with your inner world.

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