Blow Your Mind: the point of yoga
In Gurmukh's Kundalini yoga class on Monday, she said the point of this practice is to blow your mind.
Literally.
Blow it up, blow it out, silence it. Take away the control.
And give it to your heart.
I've never thought about the meaning of those words before, and I've often said the phrase, "blow your mind." I always meant that it would be something unbelievable, ecstatic. I never thought about the literal meaning.
Wipe it out. Get rid of it.
Why would I want to?
Except that's the key to true happiness and success.
Blow your mind.
Really, you ask? I kind of want to hold onto it. That's my knowledge base.
Yeah, yeah. I hear what you're saying.
But the truth is that our knowledge and education has nothing to do with transcending the potholes of life and making a difference in the world.
In the beginning of class, Gurmukh asked the hundreds of us on our yoga mats, "What are you doing to leave a legacy of goodness?"
She told a story of a doctor she met in South Africa who had lots of money and possessions and a thriving medical practice, but she was unhappy. She wondered if she should abandon her career and do something else.
No, Gurmukh told her. Take your talents and your expertise and serve the world. Make a difference.
A year later, the woman was treating patients on the border of Zimbabwe in refugee camps - and she was ecstatic. High on life, on her true dharma, her life's purpose.
Just a little tweak can make the biggest difference.
Do you ever consider what your legacy of goodness will be? Is that your goal with your work? Your relationships? Where you live? What you eat?
If not, how would things be different if you shifted in that direction?
Literally.
Blow it up, blow it out, silence it. Take away the control.
And give it to your heart.
I've never thought about the meaning of those words before, and I've often said the phrase, "blow your mind." I always meant that it would be something unbelievable, ecstatic. I never thought about the literal meaning.
Wipe it out. Get rid of it.
Why would I want to?
Except that's the key to true happiness and success.
Blow your mind.
Really, you ask? I kind of want to hold onto it. That's my knowledge base.
Yeah, yeah. I hear what you're saying.
But the truth is that our knowledge and education has nothing to do with transcending the potholes of life and making a difference in the world.
In the beginning of class, Gurmukh asked the hundreds of us on our yoga mats, "What are you doing to leave a legacy of goodness?"
She told a story of a doctor she met in South Africa who had lots of money and possessions and a thriving medical practice, but she was unhappy. She wondered if she should abandon her career and do something else.
No, Gurmukh told her. Take your talents and your expertise and serve the world. Make a difference.
A year later, the woman was treating patients on the border of Zimbabwe in refugee camps - and she was ecstatic. High on life, on her true dharma, her life's purpose.
Just a little tweak can make the biggest difference.
Do you ever consider what your legacy of goodness will be? Is that your goal with your work? Your relationships? Where you live? What you eat?
If not, how would things be different if you shifted in that direction?
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