Here I am, updating my blog on a bus from Stockholm towards south, towards Jönköping. Last two weeks I have been catching up with friends and family.
Our yoga teacher, Swami Janakananda, gave a suggestion: when people ask about your three month retreat, about Kriya yoga, pay close attention how long to reply. Is it 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes? People loose interest. Don't talk more than necessary.
I don't know how successful i was in this. Always trying to bring out all sorts of different elements from the three months. And in a way its boring, because the reactions are so predictable. "We woke up at 4am" - shock. Out of the pool of 1000 things I pick up a few items and that will forever mold an idea of how the retreat was like in people's head.
Sipping a cup of tea from Myanmar (thanks Kairit!), eyes glued on the screen, I'm having a Skype date with my dear friend Nada from Slovenia. After usual "hello"-"hello", "so glad to see you"-"you too", she, with genuine interest in her voice wishes to know about my retreat. I tell her that I have been talking about it lately so much, that im pumped empty and maybe she can start on her side. With no "oh but ..." she starts with her usual joyous voice to talk and I can listen. Its so great to listen. Its all new and interesting, unknown. What I have done, is done and becomes natural, normal, so not a big deal. (And still I sometimes talk a lot and loud).
And then when its my turn, she asks "Isn't Kriya yoga something that is only transmitted from a teacher directly to his students? You cant know about it otherwise." YES!! She knows! She knows!!! It was so heartwarming for me that she had clearly searched up some information on her own. Plus its like there is a common base. Easier to have a dialogue.
So I wont describe the retreat here in my blog. How was it useful? It was definitely useful both physically and mentally. Im stronger and more flexible both physically and mentally. Yes, the mental part, that's what it all comes down to. How do you perceive the world, how do you react, where you channel your energy and for start, do you even have energy?
I will give one example. Spiritual truths are often so very basic, so simple, everybody knows them. But when this common truth finally really hits home, its only then, that it can make a difference. So here comes one thing I went through:
I used to wake up every night to go to pee. I could fall asleep straight after that, so it was not a huge hazard. Also, sometimes it has happened to me in the past as well when im in a new environment. But it has passed. But this time not. Im not drinking more or late at night, so its probably mental. When the sleeping hours shrank to six, i was still getting up every single night. Once i woke up and thought, oh let me check what time it is, maybe its time to get up anyway. It was 11pm. I had slept 45min. Then there were couple of nights i woke up 2 times. I thought to myself "oh come on, this is getting ridiculous".
Now its April, the third month. After 30 days of no break, a yoga free day is coming up. Meaning instead of 4am, I can wake up at 7.50. I slept through the night no problem! Next night - pee. After that - pee again. And so on. Until one week later there is another yoga free day coming. No need to pee. So it is definitely mental. I must be stressed about getting up 4am. Well, that did not come by surprise. I was stressed about it and angry and frustrated when the evening class was delayed. Dont they understand we need to get up at 4???? I need my sleep!!!! Why are they so late every time!!!???
And then, maybe only week and a half before the end of the course, i realised - it really is not difficult to get up in the morning. No matter how tired i might feel at some point during the day, every morning when the bell rings, I actually have no difficulty to get up. It has been like this from the beginning. Easy.
So what happened - I began not to check my watch to determine how late the class was in the evening. It did not bother me. Just chatting with friends in the living room, calm, so cool. I enjoyed my new found coolness. Somebody asked about time (i was the only one with wristwatch) - I could answer with a smile, not a smirk "oh, let me check .. its 21.15"
And then it happened - I slept through the night. Not every night, but several nights of the last week.
Is it a lame example? Maybe :) But i realised how not waking up at 4 is hard for me, but the idea of waking up at 4 is hard. Once I truly realised its only the idea that is hard, I could let go of it. I enjoyed the evenings however long they lasted. I still wonder though, if a bladder reacts so strong to an idea, to an attitude, what other bodily functions (mind included) are influenced?
Our yoga teacher, Swami Janakananda, gave a suggestion: when people ask about your three month retreat, about Kriya yoga, pay close attention how long to reply. Is it 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes? People loose interest. Don't talk more than necessary.
I don't know how successful i was in this. Always trying to bring out all sorts of different elements from the three months. And in a way its boring, because the reactions are so predictable. "We woke up at 4am" - shock. Out of the pool of 1000 things I pick up a few items and that will forever mold an idea of how the retreat was like in people's head.
Sipping a cup of tea from Myanmar (thanks Kairit!), eyes glued on the screen, I'm having a Skype date with my dear friend Nada from Slovenia. After usual "hello"-"hello", "so glad to see you"-"you too", she, with genuine interest in her voice wishes to know about my retreat. I tell her that I have been talking about it lately so much, that im pumped empty and maybe she can start on her side. With no "oh but ..." she starts with her usual joyous voice to talk and I can listen. Its so great to listen. Its all new and interesting, unknown. What I have done, is done and becomes natural, normal, so not a big deal. (And still I sometimes talk a lot and loud).
And then when its my turn, she asks "Isn't Kriya yoga something that is only transmitted from a teacher directly to his students? You cant know about it otherwise." YES!! She knows! She knows!!! It was so heartwarming for me that she had clearly searched up some information on her own. Plus its like there is a common base. Easier to have a dialogue.
So I wont describe the retreat here in my blog. How was it useful? It was definitely useful both physically and mentally. Im stronger and more flexible both physically and mentally. Yes, the mental part, that's what it all comes down to. How do you perceive the world, how do you react, where you channel your energy and for start, do you even have energy?
I will give one example. Spiritual truths are often so very basic, so simple, everybody knows them. But when this common truth finally really hits home, its only then, that it can make a difference. So here comes one thing I went through:
I used to wake up every night to go to pee. I could fall asleep straight after that, so it was not a huge hazard. Also, sometimes it has happened to me in the past as well when im in a new environment. But it has passed. But this time not. Im not drinking more or late at night, so its probably mental. When the sleeping hours shrank to six, i was still getting up every single night. Once i woke up and thought, oh let me check what time it is, maybe its time to get up anyway. It was 11pm. I had slept 45min. Then there were couple of nights i woke up 2 times. I thought to myself "oh come on, this is getting ridiculous".
Now its April, the third month. After 30 days of no break, a yoga free day is coming up. Meaning instead of 4am, I can wake up at 7.50. I slept through the night no problem! Next night - pee. After that - pee again. And so on. Until one week later there is another yoga free day coming. No need to pee. So it is definitely mental. I must be stressed about getting up 4am. Well, that did not come by surprise. I was stressed about it and angry and frustrated when the evening class was delayed. Dont they understand we need to get up at 4???? I need my sleep!!!! Why are they so late every time!!!???
And then, maybe only week and a half before the end of the course, i realised - it really is not difficult to get up in the morning. No matter how tired i might feel at some point during the day, every morning when the bell rings, I actually have no difficulty to get up. It has been like this from the beginning. Easy.
So what happened - I began not to check my watch to determine how late the class was in the evening. It did not bother me. Just chatting with friends in the living room, calm, so cool. I enjoyed my new found coolness. Somebody asked about time (i was the only one with wristwatch) - I could answer with a smile, not a smirk "oh, let me check .. its 21.15"
And then it happened - I slept through the night. Not every night, but several nights of the last week.
Is it a lame example? Maybe :) But i realised how not waking up at 4 is hard for me, but the idea of waking up at 4 is hard. Once I truly realised its only the idea that is hard, I could let go of it. I enjoyed the evenings however long they lasted. I still wonder though, if a bladder reacts so strong to an idea, to an attitude, what other bodily functions (mind included) are influenced?
