Awareness: Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice | Yoga International

1 de 4

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/awareness-easy-in-theory-dif...

(/)

Meditation (https://yogainternational.com/channel/meditation) >

Meditation Tips (https://yogainternational.com/topic/meditation-tips)

Awareness: Easy in

eory, Di cult in Practice

BY Sarah Dykins (https://yogainternational.com/profile/125977)

ON June 18, 2015

Be conscious of the Truth, the center of consciousness, and perform your

actions selessly with non-attachment. No matter where you arein your

o ce, in the kitchen, in the shopping center, or in the midst of a crowd
meditation in action can be practiced. Learn not to forget the center of
consciousness within you. Do not allow your mind to be scattered, and
whatever you do, do it with full attention. Beneath all your deeds there
should be awareness of the center of consciousness within.
Swami Rama, Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita
My ten-year-old daughter slams her ngers down on the piano in frustration.
I wish I didnt have to do scales! she says vehemently. Upstairs her sister
grapples with a particularly di cult three-octave climb on the violin. Our
eyes meet in sympathy. I know how she feels, but we both know that only she
17/08/2015 13:54

Awareness: Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice | Yoga International

2 de 4

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/awareness-easy-in-theory-dif...

can do it. She sighs and turns back to the music. I watch her back fondly for a
moment, reecting that practice is often hard and tedious, and we sometimes
simply dont want to do it. We want the benets of practice, the beautiful
music, and we know that the way to do it is by sitting down each day and
practicing, but still we are reluctant to do so.
Awareness is a simple concept, but practicing it isnt always easy.

Bhagavad Gita presents a challenge: How can we carry the stillness of

meditation into the clamor of everyday life?
Yoga and meditation teach us to
focus our mind and be still. For a

For that short period of

few precious minutes of each day we

time, we hold back the

sit, breathe, and remember the

consciousness within. It does not
always come easily, but the
simplicity of the practice can be
beautiful. We know that it is
important, and we recognize the
peace that exists within us.

future and the past and

live in the present,
basking in the beauty of
the here and now.

at is why we meditate, why we go to our yoga

classes. For that short period of time, we hold back the future and the past
and live in the present, basking in the beauty of the here and now.
But what about all the other minutes of our lives? What is meditation for, if
not to transform our lives, to allow us to experience the truth through action?
Again and again I return to Swami Ramas passage, and attempt to take up
the challenge of the Bhagavad Gita.
In the process, I have discovered a little exercise, simple in itself, that I
practice every day. It can be done with almost any activitymaking
sandwiches, tying your daughters shoelaces, typing on the computer. At
di;erent times in my day, I practice mindfulness in my actions. Heres the
exercise.
Take your attention to the point at which the action takes place. Youre
17/08/2015 13:54

Awareness: Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice | Yoga International

3 de 4

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/awareness-easy-in-theory-dif...

making co;ee for colleagues at work. Fill the kettle, watching the water
stream out of the tap. Plug the kettle in, observing which of your senses is
involved in the action. Open the co;ee jar, spoon the co;ee, add the milk. All
the time focus on the point at which the action takes place; i.e. your hand,
your eye, the water, etc. Observe what happens. Breathe.
Notice how the mind becomes still and one-pointed and how the activity is
transformed. By focusing your attention on the action as you are performing
it, you are gracing it with your presence.

e action becomes skillful and

seless.
Like many yoga practices, the technique is simple. Try it in the marketplace
and in the kitchen, in tra c jams and in the o ce. Mindfulness brings us
into the beauty of the present, and transforms the actions that make up our
lives into a form of meditation.

(https://yogainternational.com/guide/15-for-30-yoga-challenge)

17/08/2015 13:54

Awareness: Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice | Yoga International

4 de 4

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/awareness-easy-in-theory-dif...

First Name *

Email Address *

(https://yogainternational.com/profile/125977)

ABOUT Sarah Dykins (https://yogainternational.com/profile/125977) Sarah Dykins, a

writer, public speaker and teacher, has been practicing yoga for many years. She and
her family live by the sea in Brighton, England.
#support your practice (https://yogainternational.com/article/tag/support-your-practice)

Suggested Next
Meditation Is Not What You
(/article/view/meditation-is-not-what-you-think) Think (/article

/view/meditation-is-notwhat-you-think)

(/article/view/meditation-is-not-what-you-think)

Related Event
The Art of Meditation (/events
/view/the-art-of-meditation)
WITH Rolf Sovik (https://yogainternational.com

(/events/view/the-art-of-meditation)
SEP

/profile/100)

READ MORE (/events/view/the-art-of-

(/events/view/the-art-of-meditation)

meditation)

25
Related Content

(/article/view/10-tips-forreducing-distractionsin-meditation)

(/article/view/7breathing-lessonsfor-meditation)

10 Tips for Reducing

7 Breathing Lessons for

(/article/view/walking(/article
meditation-japa-on/view/walkingthe-go)
meditationjapa-onWalking Meditation: Japa

(/article/view/pointsof-practice-focus-within)
Points of Practice: Focus
Within (/article

All Content Copyright Yoga International 2012-Present. All Rights Reserved.

17/08/2015 13:54