PMAG -15 Contemplation Achievement May 2015 Contemplation June 2015 Achievement | Page 12

YOGA

YOGA

CONTEMPLATION
And The Search for the Self

Image credit: Dustin Quasar

T

o contemplate: the act of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time. Taking the
form of meditation when directed inwards or prayer when directed outwards; contemplation can be used as a powerful tool of self-inquiry in many of our yogic practices.
Contemplative meditation, meditating on the Self or our true nature, is a strong and challenging practice. Practicing in this way will help us dissolve our identity with the individual
self, our ego, and show us a greater connection of unity of which we are all apart.
Many of us who practice yoga have heard this idea of meditating on the Self. But our
practical experience with such a state is limited, or non-existent. Often when we sit to
meditate we discover that our mind is either ready to run a marathon of thoughts in multiple directions, or we start to feel sleepy and drop out, falling into a state of almost sleep. It
is my belief that in order to practice contemplative meditation we must first practice and
cultivate our powers of concentration. Cultivating these powers can take many forms:
asana practice, sitting meditation or any number of everyday situations. When we find

ourselves in a situation
that challenges us, either
mentally, emotionally or
physically, a deep breath
and focusing the mind
on the task at hand can
render the impossible
possible.
As a yoga teacher I
sometimes have the
experience of unity while
teaching. Everything falls
into place, the energy is
aligned and I feel I am
one with the students, the
asanas and the room.
The energy flows in such
a way that all present
have a profound experience. This doesn’t always
happen. Sometimes I feel
the energy is off, I’m not
in a flow with the students, they aren’t getting
what I’m talking about
and the class feels flat.
This can be triggered
when I walk into the class
and there are only a few
people there, I catch
myself immediately going down a dark tunnel,
questioning my abilities
and like-ability as a yoga
teacher. In these situations I have a choice, I
can cultivate my con-

centration to put the
necessary energy into
the class for some form
of experience to occur.
I can choose to see the
situation as an opportunity for me to practice
staying grounded, cultivating my concentration
to stay focused on the
creation of a class that
stays in harmony with all
who are in the room. Or I
can stay in the place of
self-doubt and deprecation. With a small number
of students in the class
they may have a deeper
or more transformative
experience. This is an
amazing opportunity for
me to reach people in a
more personal way, allowing me to offer more
of myself to them.
The deeper I examine
the Self, the more time I
spend in my own practice in this state of unity,
the more I can cultivate
that when teaching.
Every time I find myself
in a state of duality with
the students and the
class it is an opportunity
to practice pulling myself out of that state and

grounding myself back in
oneness with the energy
of the class. The energy
is continuative through
the practice of teaching;
I have the opportunity to
strengthen my abilities of
contemplative meditation deepening my own
experience, therefore
allowing me to offer a
more meaningful experience to the students.
Every moment of everyday provides the opportunity for experiencing
the Self or realizing our
true nature. I find these
moments most often
when teaching. For others they will come in a
different form. We don’t
necessarily have to be in
a contemplative meditation to have these experiences; we only need to
be open to possibility and
keep our awareness at
every moment for the opportunities as they open
up to us.

Crystal Ellis Nitzan holds Bachelor and Master degrees in exercise and
Simone is an early 30s Yoga gal with a passion for community
continuous learning. She can always be found with her head in a book,thea
physiology. She brings to the yoga room a unique understanding of in
silly body’s alignment and her musings overwell hera desire Twitter. With a fiery
yoga pose, or sharing functionality, as on as blog or to make each
personality feel constantly strives toand mind.others to see their greatness,
student she great in their body motivate She teaches in Toronto at
while always making sure Center and herself. Follow along on her journey at
Downward Dog Yoga to laugh at YogaBe.
yogicrystal.wordpress.com or on Twitter at @YogiCrystal.
For more information about Simone, please visit simonenitzanyoga.
com.