Yoga Is the Journey to the Center of Your Wheel
So much of our practice is about getting to a place where there is more peace and calm, a place where we can be of service to others, a place where we can hold space for others, a place where we can support each other, a place where we can empathize and have compassion for each other and a place where we can love each other.
I’ve been talking a lot in class about how the practice is like one of those children’s wheels in the park that spins around. The children laugh and scream, holding on tightly, as the wheel spins faster and faster.
When you’re on one of those wheels and it’s spinning, everything around you is moving very fast. You’re flying around and the world is moving by very quickly.
Yoga is the journey from the outer edge of the wheel to the center.
The closer you get to the center of the wheel the slower the wheel seems to be moving and at the center of the wheel there is stillness. When you are at the center of the wheel, the wheel is still moving, (but from your perspective) there is stillness and in the experience of this stillness you find peace and calm.
At the outer edge of our wheel there is the ego, the mind and our thoughts. Everything is spinning and moving very fast. The senses are bringing us endless thoughts to process. The mind is bouncing back and forth between attachment and aversion. The ego is judging and fighting for control.
When you are at the outer edge of your wheel it’s really hard to hold space for others. It’s really hard to be of service, to be supportive, to empathize, to have compassion and to love. When you are at the edge survival is the most important thing to you, gaining pleasure for yourself and avoiding pain and your ego is desperately trying to find some sense of control.
When you get closer to the center of the wheel you experience Universal intelligence flowing through you. The answers come to you. Creativity moves through you. When you reach the center of your wheel and find stillness you experience Universal love and connection to everything and everyone. Now you’re ready to be of service. Now you can hold space for others. You know what it’s like to be at the outer edge of the wheel and you know what it’s like to take the journey to the center. Now you can empathize with those who are still suffering. Now you can have compassion and now you are able to love.
The journey in yoga is to get to the center of your wheel.
