Free Your Spirit, Free Your Mind

Today's 4th of July theme is about freedom...your mental and spiritual freedom.

"Yoga frees you
 from the drama,
the tragedy, the saga
your mind creates and allows you to 
experience your True Joyful Self"              Yoga Sutra I.3

Try out this analogy. There has been so much construction around here.  It creates havoc on our normal routes and lengthens the time it takes to get anywhere.  There is so much more traffic than I ever remember before. Every intersection is backed up for numerous lights before you can even get through.  Picture in your mind's eye any of one the insane intersections around here and imagine it is a four way stop rather than a light.  When everything is going smoothly, 2 opposing cars will go and the next two opposing cars and so on. There is a rhythm and flow to the movement and a balance of sorts, even when someone wants to turn.  Now imagine that I am stressed out and my emotions are on a heightened level and I get to that sign and I just STOP.  The cars in the other three directions keep moving but I do not.  Traffic builds up behind me.  Anger builds up behind me. Horns are honking. People are yelling. Fists are waving.  This seems like a good description of what happens to most people when stress builds up or emotions build up until a force from behind explodes and pushes you through.  The test is to use your yoga to "free you from the drama", to breathe and stay within your rhythm. 

"If I tell you what freedom is, it will not be freedom anymore. Nobody can say: "That is freedom!" you would be chaining yourselves to a definition of freedom. I think that the native American Indians were not seeing the world in terms of freedom, never an Indian has spoken about freedom. Freedom is a prisoner's concept, not a concept of a free man." The Inner Revolution

Today, on the mat, find a way to move through the transitions and still stay centered and balanced.  Calmly release your emotions through your soft breath.  Be one with everything and everyone the way the Indians lived in harmony with the Earth.  If you live in such a way, is there a need for the word freedom?

“We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil.” - Swami Satchidananda

"May you listen to your longing to be free.
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart
...something good is going to happen to you.
May you find harmony between your soul and your life.
May you never place walls between the light and yourself.
May you be set free from the prisons of guilt, fear, disappointment and despair.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world to gather you, 
mind you, and embrace you in belonging."    
-  John O'Donahoe

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