VIP Class Notes (Jesse) [W]

“I was suffocated and realized all this stimulation occupies our senses…Inhale, pause, exhale, repeat.”

I like to take walks. For me, this is a moment to allow myself to collect my thoughts by observing my surroundings. As usual, today I chose the most famous busy street in Shanghai, with trees dotted along the path, covered in flower shaped light bulbs and fashionable, high-end department stores creating a backdrop of materialism and excess. Beside me, the wall of the shopping mall is plastered with the latest fashion product advertisements, and I quickly notice that the non-stop car horns have become a soundtrack to my wandering. The Sky is filled up with a variety of dazzling light effects. People walk away without saying anything as they bump into each other.
At that moment I was suffocated and realized all this stimulation occupies our senses, with no space for any refined subtlety.

The hustle and bustle of daily life limits our ability to take in what’s really happening around us, but through yoga or meditation class, we are holding this space for the self, as we inhale, pause on the top and exhale, pause again on the bottom. Let yourself to be calm and be present in this gap, placing your hands on your rib-cage, feel your heart, allowing space to open up for our innate humility, compassion, and empathy to arise. Through this awareness practice, we gain the ability and wisdom to discriminate what is Maya and pure shakti, leaving us to revel in pure joy, happiness, and love as opposed to sensory pleasure. Inhale pause, exhale repeat.

Vocabulary

once in a while / every once and a while / every now and then 

to stay in the handstand for longer, stretch out the inhale as you jump up into position 

Pronunciation

eksess = excess
aksess = access