DHARANA

 Dharana - The sixth of the eight limb of yogaThe yogi learns the ability to pay attention. To be in the here and now. Dharana teaches us concentration and focus. On our yoga mats we learn through the drishti to direct our gaze to one point focus. When a teacher calls out alignment points it helps us keep our minds focus in the here and now and not on tomorrow or the grocery list or a text message we need to send. Can we be present ? The present moment is all we have. In the first sutra Patanjali says; " The Time For Yoga Is Now". No matter what is going on in our lives the time for yoga is right now. Eckhart Tolle wrote one of my favorite books "The Power Of Now". When we bring our minds into the now, we can than experience joy. Joy can only be experienced in the present moment. Foremost if we are always occupying our minds with what will or will not happen tomorrow we miss out on this precious moment which life offers you right now, as a gift from the Heavens. We are alive and that in itself is a miracle. On our mats we practice dharana while holding pincha mayurasana, (forearm balance) , handstand, arm balances, headstand and really all postures. In balance poses when we loose the dharana we fall. Our yoga mats is a great tool to practice all the principles of yoga and they will translate into yoga on and off the mat. Ultimately dharana leads us to the state of dhyana - meditation - from there and on we can transform and transcend into the many layers of our subtle body and our most inner Self. The practice of yoga gives us the ability to clear samskaras , to evolve as multidimensional beings, to clear past, present and future traumas and even karma. Dharana along with all the other eight limbs of yoga is a gate way so we can be who we really are, the highest version of ourselves: our most authentic Self - living a life of truth and love - not only for ourselves but for our whole planet. Namaste.