On My Mat

My beloved Jade mat - I have 3 Mandukas and a few other randoms, but this is the only mat that I  truly love! So much beautiful, healing, validating energy on this one!! So much for non-attachment! tee hee hee 

Each time I unroll my mat, the familiarity of that simple action resonates to the core of my heart! How many thousands of times have I performed that simple action in my life? And in how many dozens of studios throughout the world - from Miami and NYC to LA and Santa Monica. On a rooftop in New Delhi at dawn. In a studio in Rome taught entirely in Italian! And so many other corners of our beautiful Earth.

Yet that initial action, and all that follow it, exists in a sacred space, an entire universe, on my beloved mat. When the madness of the world has invaded my lovely precious bubble, and I have allowed others' negativity and self-loathing and misery to permeate my equanimity, I can ALWAYS roll out my mat and let it all go. 

Just like that. At least for an hour, I can truly live in the moment, my breath bridging my mind, body and soul with something much bigger and more significant than external distractions, attachments and aversions. Linking my breath with my body's movements, I experience the physical sensations of pure, utter bliss within my physical body. Yet my mental focus allows a transcendence of the physical into a true oneness with all things, everything and nothing.

My mat has supported me through heartbreak, total sublime happiness, guilt, anger, bliss, excitement, fear and self-doubt. The one thing that is consistent is the impermanence of each emotion...whether the highest of highs or the lowest of lows, nothing endures! 

That simple reminder of the nature of life - it goes on! - grounds me firmly back in 'yathabhuta' reality 'as it is' not how I wish it to be! And the ultimate universal truth: All I need for true happiness can be found ONLY WITHIN and ONLY BY ME.

And as I roll my lovely mat back up, my bubble is once again safely back in tact and filled with love, peace and compassion for myself and all others.

Bhavatu Sarva Mangalam - May all beings be happy!