apne ghar vich aa, e gal asli aa
dhoondan kite na jaa, e gal asli aa
Come inside your Home, this is the real thing.
Don’t go searching outside, this is the real thing.
My Mother shared this Punjabi bhajan (devotional song) with me the other day. It has been passed down for generations and captures the essence of what we are trying to do with our yoga (and life) practice: find a real and lasting sense of peace.
In yoga class, we use words such as ‘observe’, ‘savor the silence’, ‘the paramātma (universal soul) watches the jivātma (individual soul)’. But the expression that has really resonated with students is ‘Coming Home’.
Home is the place, the space where you are safe, secure and steady. It is a refuge, a sanctuary. At Home, you feel blanketed with warmth and blissfully nourished. And in a true Home you feel protected and free. Protected from the forces that pull you in the wrong direction yet free to do and say what you want and to be yourself.
Here’s the thing we often forget though – Home is with you whenever, wherever, whatever.
Just close your eyes and let yourself be Here, at Home.
It sounds easy and it can be, the yogis assure us. But we often need a bit of support in this pursuit. So here are 3 simple steps to bring yourself Home:
1. Deha Dhāraṇā (body concentration)
Shift your awareness from the outer world to the inner by focusing on the physical vessel you’ve been given
Slowly scan the body from the top of the head through to the tips of the toes. If it helps you to go in, get as detailed as bringing attention to the tip of your right pinky finger.
2. Prāṇa Dhāraṇā (life force / breath concentration)
Now shift your awareness from your gross body to your more subtle breath
Just rest your attention on the breath as it moves naturally and effortlessly – this may seem like an easy and boring activity but once the process takes hold, you will experience a softness and a profound unwinding
3. Be Present
And finally, let your awareness rest in the moment
There’s nowhere to go. There’s nothing to do. There’s no one to be.
This Christmas and New Year’s o-shogatsu Holiday season, we may not be able to go to our physical homes to visit family and friends but we can surely be at Home inside ourselves.
Happy Holidays
Maneesh