Keeping Your Eyes on Your Mat...

If we give ourSelf permission to let go through these asanas- soooooo much more can happen!

Chances are, if you have taken a yoga class- you have heard the saying "Keep your eyes on your mat" or "Keep your eyes on your eyes" (if there is a mirror in the room).  Just about every teacher will say it. We don't say it to be redundant or to fill space with sound, because if you teach anything like me- I want less words and more silence for you to find yourself on that mat!

What does it mean to keep your eyes on your mat? 
     It means you are here SOLELY (solely: not involving anyone or anything else; only) for yourself and your own journey. You come to your mat, your sacred space, and you practice for you. It's not about how you look, what yoga clothes you have on, did you "master" the posture, because your friends are doing it, etc. You are on that mat because you need to be. It also means, keep your eyes to yourself. Now while physically looking down the entire class is not what we are aiming for- we ask that you look inwards at yourself. Not what is going on in the room around you, on the street, out in the world- we are asking that you look at what is going on inside of you! Physically, mentally, spiritually. The moment you begin to watch another person and their practice- you come out of your practice and you are now in their sacred space. 

There are so many things that can spiral (downward) here:

1. Your ego comes out to play. You are watching someone else judging them, or yourself, on how they, or yourself, is performing. Yoga is a practice some days are better than others and some days we move a little easier, but there is a lesson in those days where it is difficult (as life can be as well). Every body is made differently and has had different experiences- what I can do you may not and you can do things I cannot...that's the beauty of yoga- and life! We are all different yet we are all connected by the same thread of love that makes us ONE! Judging someone, or yourself, further creates a divide. 
2. Negative self-talk because now you are all in your head and not in your body. The goal of yoga is to get you out of your head and into your body. The body speaks!
3. YOU start an internal dialog and you are talking over the "truth" "spirit" "universe" "God" whatever you want to call this voice that gives you cues on where to take your path in life.
4. You miss out on those messages. And what a shame- because really, some yoga classes can give you the most profound message on where to go in life and you can make some of the best choices by listening to them.
5. You pull someone out of their sacred space because they can feel you watching- or you simply violate their space and they may have no knowledge of it- but that is still a violation. 
6. You are bypassing a lesson that is right there in front of you if you allow it to come in.
7. You spent money on a class that now you are angry about, but it's not the class you should be angry with- rather the bypassing of the lesson that you quickly allowed yourself to avoid. 

We spend our days busy busy busy and constantly avoiding the Truth that wants to come through to us. Yoga gives us that opportunity to turn on, tune in, and drop out! Drop out of this "real" world filled with facades that further bring us down into that spiral of negativity and tune in to the ananda, bliss, of the REAL world of love and light. 

Next time you are on your mat, see what a difference it can do for you if you "keep your eyes on your mat". You may just hear a little truth ring in your ear at the perfect time!