“Discipline must be without control, without suppression, without any form of fear...It is not discipline first and then freedom; freedom is at the very beginning, not at the end.”

― Jiddu Krishnamurti, Freedom from the Known

I don’t know about you, but I can go through phases of not doing what I love most - yoga and writing. I practice different kinds of yoga and I write fiction and nonfiction (so far, just for me!). Both yoga and writing make me feel free, whole and alive. But when I don’t write or practice yoga regularly, I feel far from free. I feel trapped in living a half-life. So why do I purposely get in the way of doing the good things and then wonder why I feel a bit rubbish? This is not a blog about the psychology of self-sabotage, but just a brief, unfinished beginning to explore threads of similarity I can draw between writing and yoga and discipline and freedom. Maybe some of it will resonate with you?

Actually, before I go on, I’ll get to it – what I’m really trying to say here is that I dare myself and you to DO MORE YOGA! Or anything else that feels good. You can do more yoga with me or with someone else, online or in a public class, early in the morning, the middle of the day, or the evening. And as Krishnamurti suggests above, try letting a little bit of discipline flow from the freedom of knowing what you really want to do and how you want to feel. This is at least what I’m trying to do at the moment. I reckon as a result, you and I will experience more freedom in body and mind than we may have expected.

Out at sea, the dawn wind

Wrinkles and slides. I am here

Or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning.

(T.S. Eliot – Extract from Four Quartets)

Have you ever experienced yourself as if for the first time? Free of assumption, expectation, and habit? As if you’ve grown a new skin or a dormant part of your brain has been ignited? Free, in an instant, from a million layers of conditioning and history?

Perhaps you experience what Jiddu Krishnamurti calls a Freedom from the Known, when you plunge, breathless, into cold water, or if you surf the crest of a perfect wave. Maybe you experience this newness, when a piece of music fills you up entirely – as if the whole of you and not only your ears are receptive to sound? Or maybe you surprise yourself with a flurry of written words on a blank page – words that seem to have nothing to do with you or your capability. Possibly this freshness, this aliveness, is what you seek from a Yoga class, or in fact any kind of class that explores and refines the body-mind relationship.

The possibilities for finding freedom from the known are endless.

Do you remember what first drew you to a Yoga class, whether in person or online?

Many different things, I imagine.

It seems that mostly, we find ourselves in a class for the first time, because we’re looking for an improvement in our lives. And sure enough, we quickly notice positive changes - possibly even after the first class. We feel more at ease in our bodies - maybe stronger, more supple, more alive. Or perhaps we sleep better. And then after a few more classes, we might notice that we worry less and some of our relationships with people at home and at work have become smoother.

Do you recognise any of this for yourself?

We could say that all the above positive changes - and more - help to make us better versions of ourselves. And there’s nothing wrong with that is there?

Have you ever noticed how busy your eyes are and how tired they can become? Have you noticed how you tend to focus in on close details and perhaps enjoy less the full expanse of your peripheral vision? How, for example, in a body-mind practice such as Yoga Nidra, when you hear a voice inviting you to drop your attention into a part of your body, your eyes seem to have to get involved? Even behind closed eyelids, our eyes seem to search for the sole of the foot, or the weight of the sacrum. Most of the time we don’t notice, but then have you had a go at resting your eyes, even having a sense that they’re softening deep into your brain, as you simultaneously feel into physical sensation in another part of your body? This separating the eyes from everything else can be challenging, but with practice, allowing the eyes to be off duty can be a hugely refreshing and relieving thing to do. Try it some time!

First time I’ve ever planned a retreat a year in advance -

We’re going again to Mandala Yoga Ashram in South Wales, having had a beautiful time with a great group of people last month.

The dates are 11th - 15th April 2024 and a booking link is in the full post.