Today marked 1000 days in a row of Satoyama Yoga’s online class. It has been a pleasure to lead this class every day. Without it, I certainly would not have a regular daily practice for myself.
It’s hard to digest everything that’s happened in this time, but these statements are true:
- We are consistent.
- We prioritise our bodies and minds.
- We encourage & support one another.
- We build friendship and trust.
Personally, I taught through joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health. I’ve asked for help. I have given advice. I have learned about myself, yoga topics, and maintaining motivation. And the class has been a reason to get out of bed every morning through the multiple waves of pandemic precautions.
Today we celebrated all of that by connecting 1000 dots. Each dot represents a day of yoga practice. Some stand out as big, beautiful points. Others are small but they are there. Some dots are perfectly round and others a little bit wonky. A few even overlap and blur together. The dots reflect our experience in the past 1000 days.
How does this page of random dots turn into a meditation? Mindfully. Start by thinking about the purpose of the meditation. You can make it what you want. Do you want to relax? Answer a personal question? Review your connections to a topic? Gently hold that purpose in your mind, but you don’t need to dwell on it.
Then set a rule or pattern for how you will connect the dots. As you stick the the rule, your subconscious mind has space to roam free. There are nearly infinite rules and patterns to choose from: trace out constellations; make starbursts; create lines of 7 dots each; make closed shapes containing one unconnected dot; spiral in towards the center or out to the edge. Use your imagination and intuition to create your rule.
After you pick a pattern that seems interesting, draw the connections until the pattern is complete.
When you wind up the meditation, pay attention to where your thoughts go. Notice your emotions. Did you have any insights on the purpose of your meditation?
