Letting Go of Your “Story” in 2011…

Ready to let go of your story in 2011? Come on…everyone has at least one story they tell daily. You know, the one that consumes most of your conversations, time and energy. Unsure of what story I am talking about? Read along and the story will most likely re-appear. By the end, see if it is worth keeping in 2011.

Here’s an interesting story that may help you remember one of yours. I teach yoga to a group of middle-aged and elderly students who are at a pivotal point in their life.; many have had heart attacks, joint replacements, are overweight or obese and face other serious illnesses. Whether willingly or not, they have decided to make significant lifestyle change(s) to prolong their health. Unlike any other group I teach; many of them have never tried yoga and are skeptics that it can be anything more than “physical stretching”. Yet yoga is far more than “physical stretching”. Yoga has the potential to address emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of health as well.

One day before starting the class, I inquired about names, injuries and/or surgeries. Immediately, more than half of the students’ hands were raised. After the first person explained what her injury was she began to go down a list of ways the injury had been ruining her life for years. I sat there quietly and suddenly asked her a question that startled her mind: “Well, how does that area feel today?” As a look of confusion came over her she thought for a few seconds and said it felt good. Pleased to hear this, I explained to the group that sometimes the tight spots, injuries, accidents and surgeries that our body has endured over time become “stories” we repeatedly share over and over again, even when the area has changed or healed significantly. We cling to the “story” we have created around it. Over time, these “stories “become a deeply rooted part of our identity and we become unwilling to let them go, even when they no longer serve a purpose.

In Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutra, Yoga Sutra I.5 and I.6 states that there are 5 functions or activities of the mind: correct perception, misunderstanding, imagination, deep sleep and memory. The first, pramana, or correct perception, is seeing something correctly, whether it’s directly with your own eyes, through inference or through reliable source, such as a credible person, teacher or text. Viparyaya which means incorrect understanding or misperception, occurs when you think that something is true and act as if you have perceived it correctly when in reality you have not. Vikalpa, or imagination, occurs on a subtle level as an idea that we create in our minds. Nidra, or deep sleep, is inactivity of the mind directing inward. Finally, smrti, or memory, is the recollection of our past experiences.

Yoga is one channel for understanding the inner workings of the mind’s “stories”. It helps us to differentiate unavoidable agitation due to facts you cannot change from agitation due to misperception, imagination, or memory leading to suffering. Once we can understand the function of the mind, we are able to distinguish the fluctuations of the mind from our Wiser Self.

The woman in my yoga class is an example of the “stories” we all create from one of three functions: misunderstanding, imagination or memory.  Ask yourself if any of these sound familiar to you:

-”I always fail at _______so why even bother trying?” (Memory + Imagination)

-”I am the most inflexible person alive and always have been, always will be.”  (Misunderstanding +Imagination)

-” I used to be able to do___________ but because of ___________ I can’t do anything.”  (Memory + Misunderstanding)

Most of us create these “stories” as a means of protecting or shielding ourselves from something or someone. They are based on fear and rejection. Whether the protection was necessary or not, the “stories” have become second nature to us and without realizing it, our dependency on these “stories” has become a fundamental part of our identity.

The troubles with these “stories” are that they are self-fulfilling prophecies of limitation and portray us as the victim. In the first statement, the person’s memory leads them to determine their fate without even trying. In the second the person’s misperception of them self blocks them from ever seeing any significant gains that are being made even when they are happening in their body gradually. In the last statement, the person’s memory displaces the blame on to a third party relieving them selves of the need to even try. Most of us live in the stories we have created in our mind. Isn’t it time we let go of these nonsensical stories? If you are ready, here are five steps to LET GO OF YOUR “STORY” in 2011:

1) ASK YOURSELF: what is the main story you are telling yourself over and over again? A good way to identify it is to notice the direction your conversations go in and when you are portraying yourself as victim. Notice when you are feeling triggered.

2) BREATH, CONGRATULATE YOUR SELF: Once you’ve pinpointed it. Take a few breaths to clear your mind. Congratulate yourself for catching it. Positive re-enforcement will give you the courage and confidence to catch it again.

3) IDENTIFY THE MIND’S FUNCTION: Then proceed by examining which activity of the mind (correct perception, misunderstanding, imagination, sleep or memory) is actually operating or dominant. This may seem obvious, but considering how long you have been telling your “story” and thought you were operating from correct perception, when you were really acting from imagination, memory or incorrect perception, double check.

4) LOOK AT WHAT IS REALLY THERE OBJECTIVELY?: As if you are observing yourself from the outside, ask yourself: “Am I bothered over something that has actually happened or over something I fear may happen (Imagination + Misunderstanding)? Am I upset because of something that happened in the past (Memory), or something that could happen in the future (Imagination)? Can you get another opinion to help you identify your perception and which mind function it is rooted in?

5) YOUR MIND & YOUR WISER SELF ARE TWO DIFFERENT ENTITIES: Learn to practice identifying which function is at play when you go back into your “story” regularly. What reduces suffering is being able to discern between the mind’s “stories” and your Wiser Self so that you can act from the Wiser Self. When you can do this, you are able to see unpleasant or painful truths correctly without being devastated by them. Let go of your “story” in 2011 and you will learn how to build a foundation to abide and act from your Wiser Self instead of the frantic mind.

By Liza Pitsirilos

To find out more about Liza Pitsirilos and her upcoming workshop at Synergy, Unlocking the Mysteries of the Hips, Neck, and Shoulders – A Forrest Yoga Workshop, please click here.

Also visit: www.ambrosialifestyle.com