Sutra 1.13: The Practice or Abhyasa

Sutra 1.13: tatra sthitau yatno-‘bhyāsaḥ

The constant effort to keep the mind free of disturbances

Sutra 1.12 declared that the two-prong approach to yoga or to presence requires both Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (detachment). Sutra 1.13 delves deeper into what practice actually means.

We have all heard the term, practice makes perfect and I beg to differ. Practice can very well make you very good at very bad things. I have heard no one ever declare, “hurray, today I have achieved, perfect at self-sabatoge.” or, “today I toast myself with this flute of champagne as the most very perfect passive aggressive partner,” or, “guess what mom, I have finally made it onto the perfect list of liars!” Practicing behaviors that are not backed by your whole hearted intention, can make your life as far away from perfect as you could possibly imagine.

Let us re-write that script to say: practice presence and live on purpose. What’s so great about presence? Presence is your key to absolutely anything and everything you want. Your presence is your freedom; it is your ability to bust out of robotics and into your realness. But here’s the thing, our cultures’ program, the one you were most likely prewired to from the day you were born, denies presence and keeps it locked away like Rapunzel. Every single moment thousands and thousands of programs are pulling your person to perform an outward expression or action all while telling you that these actions are necessary to achieve your desired goal. But wait, what is that goal? Has anyone ever asked you? Or, were you told what to want, and then after you got it, you were told the next thing to want and so began the avalanche of wishing and wanting all that is worthless.

We have been practicing practices that propel us further and further away from the one skill required to realize a reality that is right for us, not them. What we need to practice is presence. So instead of going out there, we go in here (point to your heart). We take way too many moments out of our day to connect with our devices, yet it seems that we can’t find even one or two, to connect with our very own hearts. And that is my challenge to you. Each morning as you go to reach for your screen, pause, and decide it’s more important to practice your presence than to practice a program that absolutely does not care about you. Stop, close your eyes and ask yourself what feeling you want to feel more of today, then say, today I pledge to practice patience or peace or ease or sensuality or enthusiasm or honor or curiosity. Now re-set your program so before you speak or act or make a choice, you ask yourself if what you are about to say or do will take you closer or further away from your desired feeling.

Decide what it is that you truly want, back it up with your heart, set it with your intention, and then practice, practice, practice, until you become the person whose presence overflows with purpose, priorities, and passion.

Blessings to you dear one,

I am beyond grateful for your time and attention. May you find the courage and strength and determination to practice presence as your way of being. May we support each other in this ongoing endeavor and remind each other that peace is possible with our whole hearted attention, intention, and practice.

Muchas Gracias,

Andrea Dawn