Some principles of
Now Power Yoga

From the The Power of Now . . .

The Mind

A great affliction (dis-ease) of humankind is the constant spinning of the human mind - the root cause of much human suffering. By letting go of past and future and becoming present in the current moment, we can learn to use our mind when we need it instead of letting the mind use us.

The Past

Most of us have emotional scars of our past buried deep in our connective tissues. Our issues are in our tissues. Through the practice of yogasana, our deep connective tissues are massaged, exercised, stretched, lengthened, shaken, and stirred, and as a result our emotional baggage is freed. Those places where our emotional scars once hid become revealed. The impacted emotions are brought to the surface, dealt with, and discarded. And we are able to free ourselves from the pain of the past - anger, sadness, grief, etc. - all forms of non-forgiveness.

The Future

Our ego, which usually maintains firm control of our mind, is typically focused on the future:

• I will only be successful if . . .
• What will happen if . . .?
• I will be fulfilled and happy only if . . .
• I must do this or else . . .

But the future is a mystery. To worry about the future is insanity. The mind can deal with the current moment; the mind cannot deal with problems of the future that are mere figments of our imagination.

Our ego's preoccupation with the future is typically associated with fearfulness. There are four basic mind/ego fears:

• The fear of rejection
• The fear of lack
• The fear of losing power or control
• The fear of not being good enough

The purpose of our ego is to protect us, to keep us safe. However, because we are human animals, our ego is programmed from birth to operate from fear. These fears compel us to "have," "own," "win," etc. Our job is to shift our ego out of fear and into our truth, our soul, our heart.

To release the control that ego has over our minds, we plan for the future, we take actions, as guided by our inner spirit and with non-attachment to outcome, and we free ourselves from all forms of fearfulness. These and other techniques for shifting ego from fear-based reactions to truth-based actions are presented and practiced during Now Power Yoga workshops.

Conscious Presence

During an intense, challenging power yoga practice, we cannot help but be present in our bodies, free from past and future, and conscious of the inner energy field of our body. Mindful alignment of Virabadrasana I (Warrior 1 pose) alone requires us to think about so many different macro-positions and micro-adjustments of our body that we cannot possibly focus on past or future events.

Every body is different, and every pose is different for every body. We are each individual, unique waves of the infinite sea of consciousness - separate physical beings yet divinely connected to the universal source. The collective consciousness generated during shared yogasana practice serves to deepen the Now presence of each participating wave.

These principles, and more, are introduced and practiced in Now Power Yoga workshops.