Practice Basics
Breath Dance
No Matter What, Always This…
- undivided attention and seamless concentration
- breath awareness in a continuous flow of movement
- eyes closed
- feel the sensation of what you are doing
- kindness to the self
Developing Your Personal Practice
Beginning
Begin at the beginning. Great advice because the whenever or wherever we start is the beginning and recognizing this helps us to relax and feel where body and mind are at. We don’t want to get ahead of things or teeter about in unreality.
Resting
Rest
Excavate ~ Integrate. Ingest ~ Digest. Contract ~ Expand. These word pairs suggest that a time of unwinding and resting are of equal value to the time of effort. No matter how tempting it is to value only the action, remember that resting is precious.
Plenty of Time
Give yourself at least an hour to complete a practice. I like to use a simple kitchen timer so I can set it and forget the time until it rings.
Balance
When developing the content of your practice, consider the balance between released & sustained movement activities, between unwinding and strengthening awareness, and between systemic stimulation and inner communion.
Log & Reflection
A helpful concluding step: in your journal––perhaps beautifully ‘journal-crafted’––reserve several pages at the back as your practice log. Write down what practice you did, and how long you did it. In this, you witness your work. Note down and salient observations at the very least.
A daily practice is a companion and does best with that sense of ease and friendliness. Make it something you want to do.
“Exact philosophical knowledge of the spirit is not a necessary preliminary to entering the Path, but rather comes as the result of perseverance in the ways of the Path.” – al-Ghazzali, 13th century Sufi mystic & philosopher
