Mindfulness: affect mental space, refresh mindset

Affecting our mental "state"
ways of establishing a new mindset 

I have occasionally come across students who report that their mental space/state is often what prevented them from enjoying or getting anything out of yoga in the past. When I probe them a bit regarding their awareness surrounding the landscape of their mental state, it becomes clear why this happens with some many people. 
The preconceptions we carry regarding yoga’s efficacy and “what’s really going on” really paints us into a distant corner from the gold (the actual benefits) of yoga. I judge this is especially true with Kundalini yoga. When I first encountered some of these techniques and practices, I had much to say and even more excuses why they wouldn’t work for me or not at all. But with an open mind, perspectives can change. And with time I came to see why people keep going back to yoga. When I gave Kundalini yoga a genuine try, I was truly hooked. I’ve had a home practice in some form since. It’s my rock. My bastion, when the storm persists.

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But what do we do when we have trouble finding space or a place for peace within? 
The constantly-reported barrage of information that makes up the new constellation of human understanding within/without us regarding the world developments since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is/can be unsettling, in a figurative sense but also in a literal sense. Psyche is a captivating creature. It is entirely possible that, having no relative bookmarks for this experience (who’s with me?), our spirits/psyche have been toiling of late- grasping at any possible avenue of integration. But what exactly are we swallowing? And what do these new notions mean for our older, familiar constructs? For some, this may harken to an era of a sort of destruction. The very effort of “redefining” implies an often painful dismantling of a previously successful and now outmoded iteration. Beliefs are dear to us. When they have to “die” to make way for new ones, it can hurt. And, that hurt can manifest innumerably.

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And what if you’ve not even aware of this conundrum?
This discrepancy can feel like unease, unrest, restlessness, paranoia, fatigue, avoidance, and the list goes on. When we sit and center to initiate reflection, what comes back is sometimes frightening. And that can manifest as a multitude of avoidances and excuses that you put between yourself and yoga, practice. But mindsets change. And thankfully, the intuitive yogis and yoginis of old, tuned into their inner beings and discovered a plethora pf tools for internal transformation. That curiosity and application of will is what led to the facet establishment of what we know as yoga today. 
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Thus Spake Maek
Nov. 5, 2020

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How to affect the mindset?
a life-hack, how to change your mental "landscape"
​by Maek Modica

The Run down:

• 1.]Find space/time
• 2.]Draw focus
• 3.]Take stock
• 4.]Breathe
• 5.] Reflect
• 6.] Repeat

The Details:

• 1.) Find a space where you feel comfortable and safe enough to sit for a while
  • Sitting with the back against something, supported, if you don’t have much energy for sustaining an erect posture
• 2.) If feeling calm/ steady, close the eyes and draw the focus to the natural flow of the breath (unaltered)
  • If feeling anxious/ unsettled, you can find a drishti, or focal point, within the room/ space,
    • You can also carry a photo/ yantra that you look at when meditating/centering
    • If you appreciate fire, you can light a candle and use the flame for a drishti

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mental point of focus; the place where you are looking with your eyes when they are open and where your mind is currently “wondering” if your eyes are closed. "
Drishti

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• 3.) Then take stock of your mental “state.” 
  • If this is an unfamiliar task, see if you can come up with an adjective descriptor of the “mood” of your mind.
    • Put another, ask yourself, “What “mood” is my mind in currently? what word would I use to describe this mood.
      • In actuality, these “moods” can actually be quite complex depending on how aware or unaware you are of your psycho-spiritual awareness and or/ psycho-emotional make-up
• 4.) With a mental state in mind, find an appropriate breath practice, or pranayam.
  • Go to reference materials and find exercises designed to aid, abate your current state
  • Try them out!

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Intentional and conscious psychic exertion upon the respiratory process of the body; exerted will upon the breath."
Pranayam(a)

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• 5.) Reflect again
• 6.) Repeat this as desired

Thus Spake Maek
Nov. 5, 2020

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