In 2011 I spent three months teaching yoga in a fishing village in Morocco. Five times a day I would hear the call to prayer from the mosque and watch as villagers earnestly walked towards the mosque for prayer time. As I observed this the question arose in me:
"Do I focus on what matters most to me five times a day?"
I realized I did not and set an intention to reconnect every time I heard the call to prayer. The past few weeks I have been reflecting on the last decade and practices I would like to enhance during the next decade. Continuing to train my mind to focus on what matters most to me is high on my list. It is so easy to let our fears, worries and other people's values run our day. Have you ever woken up, grabbed your phone to check the time and ended up responding to email messages or diving into infinite instagram posts of people decorating cakes? I have. Last year I bought a small clock so I could power down my phone at night and not turn it on again until I had finished my morning practices and was ready to engage with it. The clock broke a while back and I started using my phone as an alarm again which has led to some sloppy behaviour. I've ordered a new clock and am recommitting!
Our energy goes wherever our attention goes. I'm passionate about yoga as I truly believes it's practices bring us closer to peace. For me this means noticing what I'm focusing on each moment, the thoughts I'm fuelling and where I'm spending my most valuable asset, my attention.
If you share these values, I invite you to journal on the following:
What matters most to you?
What behaviours do you engage in that draw you away from this?
What practices could you begin that would help you stay more connected to the true values of your heart?
Wishing You Lots of Love for 2020!
Sam
PS - If you’d like to make a commitment to your own well-being in 2020 I’d be honoured to guide you through this process in the 2020 Abhyasa Living Yoga Course. Click here for more info.