After spending the day with all the fathers in my family, I came home and caught an episode of Les Francs-tireurs documenting the world of extreme sports in our lovely province…from base diving to speedboarding, most of the people interviewed who spent their time pushing the limits of adrenaline-chasing gave the same answer when questioned what drew them to and kept them coming back to their chosen extreme sport: it was what brought them to their personal state of meditation. Some compared it to yoga, to the unconscious alignment of their mind’s focus, their bodies’ actions, and the breath that fuels it all. My partner has been an avid cyclist for years for exactly the same reason. He has told me that he starts cycling and before he’s aware of the time and distance that has passed by, he looks around and can see the Montreal skyline in the distance and feels an overwhelming sense of being at peace.
I’ve often spoken to people who tell me that the practice of asana does very little for them, while jogging, cycling or countless other activities allow them to plug back into that frequency that nourishes and recharges their souls, and I’m all for all of it. Anything that leads us back to our Selves is the right path to be on…so I wanted to find out what is your source of bliss? What activity or environment allows you to plug back in? What’s your yoga?
Hi Bram!
My yoga is travelling… Waking up in a country I never imagined visiting. Eating foods I never heard of and ordering just by pointing at a faded image off of an old menu in Laos. Renting a bicycle and getting lost and stumbling upon a waterfall in the Indonesian jungle. Hiking and snowboarding Japanese mountains and volcanoes even if I know I won’t remember their names in 3 years. Eating raclette in a chalet with no electricity in the Swiss Alps. That is why, even after 2 years living in Japan and a couple months away from my return to La Belle Province (which I miss profoundly), I still don’t know where I’ll be in 6 months or 6 years.
I’m glad you found your yoga and I wish I could try it, but my yoga is what’s keeping me alive. I hope all is well my friend, it has been a while.
Take care et à bientôt peut-être
P-Y aka Pie in the sky
Hey Bram!
A great little analysis of what our individual ‘yoga’ is. It reminds me of the film, Enlighten Up, particularly with the discussion that viewers were having at the end of whether or not the guy found his ‘yoga’. I think he did! If you’re interested in a more scientific explanation of what researchers interestingly enough call ‘flow’, check out some Csikszentmihalyi (if you can say his name, you don’t need to do pashi……..that’s all I remember) quotes and information. It’s pretty neat!
My yoga is any activity where my body is moving, but mainly ultimate frisbee, running, sea kayaking, and walking/running.
(P.S. Thanks for a butt-kicking on Saturday morning)