Curiosity
“Do not grow old no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like children before the great mystery into which we were born.”
Albert Einstein
I am often inspired by this quote. It reminds me of the precious gift I have, to be here writing this blog, breathing this breath, living this life. How many of us stop growing when we become adults? We slip into the monotonous, auto pilot mode of adult life. But it doesn’t have to be that way! We have a choice every day we wake up…the choice to be curious.
For many of us, stepping onto our yoga mat is the opportunity to pay attention to what is happening right here, right now. Perhaps it’s one of the few times in our life where we are able to be quiet. No phones, no conversation, no distractions. This quiet space can be a wonderful place to start listening - listening to the breath, listening to the body, listening to the mind. We cultivate an open and compassionate awareness, not judging, comparing, contrasting or criticising. We allow ourselves to be curious about this human experience. Each yoga pose offers the opportunity to notice “What am I feeling in my body? How’s my breath? What is the reaction of the mind?” We can learn so much about our habitual patterns. Are we quick to anger, frustration, boredom? Where do we hold tension in the body? What poses or practices help to slow the breath down and which ones cause it to speed up? There is much to learn.
An incredibly useful technique can be to cultivate a beginners mind, a concept from the Zen tradition. How often do we assume we already know the answers? Our mind will use past experiences to make assumptions and help us make decisions. However, jumping to conclusions means that we miss out on experiencing what is actually happening, which will be different from what has happened in the past. When we come into a yoga pose, even if we have practised it many, many times before, we cannot assume it will be the same. Every day is different and a beginners mind reminds us to pay attention in this moment. We can apply this to our work life, conversations with friends and family and many other situations we encounter in life. How can we learn if we believe we already know the ‘right’ answer? Here is a wonderful Zen story to illustrate this point.
Listening is a vital skill if we want to cultivate the quality of curiosity. We can start by listening to our inner experience on our yoga mat and with time, we can take this skill of listening off the mat and into our life. When we are in conversation with others how often are we really listening to what they say? Sometimes we are so desperate to say what is in our head, we don’t actually listen to what the other person is sharing. In modern day life this has got worse because often we will be speaking to someone and they will be on their phone or watching the television or listening to the radio. We have been conditioned to think we can multi task but in reality our attention is split in half and we are not fully present for each other. I believe one of the greatest gifts we can offer each other is the gift of listening. The gift of showing genuine interest in another person’s life. And developing this ability to listen fully with curiosity is incredibly rewarding because it fosters human connection, something that is much needed in these times.
Curiosity is really at the heart of yoga. Traditionally, yoga was considered a science of the mind. Ancient yogis would observe nature and animals and then experiment with different movements and esoteric practices to discover the effect they had on the body and mind. This is why there are so many varied and opposing practices, techniques and theories within yoga. For thousands of years yogi’s have been exploring and experimenting and being curious about the human condition. Those of us who practise yoga with an open mind and heart are part of the continuing tradition and evolution of yoga. Our experience is no more or less valuable than a yogi who practised 5000 years ago. One thing that has become so clear to me is that there is no one size fits all approach. There are many ways, many options, many paths.
Patanjali, a yogi who shared his wisdom in the form of the “Yoga Sutras” includes svadhyaya, self study, in his step by step guide to enlightenment (The 8 limbs of yoga; ashtanga yoga). Svadhyaya includes the study of the self through practices like meditation, yoga and chanting, although in a modern context we could include journalling, talk therapy and self reflection here too. Svadhyaya also includes studying the ancient scriptures, like the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Vedas. In a modern context studying yoga books, listening to podcasts, watching documentaries or videos or studying with wise teachers can be part of our study. I have found that curiosity includes taking responsibility for my own learning. Rather than relying on a teacher or expert to give me the answers, I seek out differing opinions and perspectives and then try out the practices for myself to find what works for me.
Curiosity is a key that can wake us up to our lives! With awareness, we can start to notice our habitual patterns and make an active choice of whether that is how we want to spend our time. The more we practice, the easier it becomes. We stop assuming we know what is going to happen and start waking up to now - we are able to direct our time and energy into the things and people we want to rather than being dragged through life by our habits. Curiosity allows our mind to be more flexible and open - and a flexible mind is of much more value than a flexible body! It allows us to ride the wave of inevitable ups and downs of life with greater ease and grace. Life has so much to offer and by embracing curiosity every opportunity, challenge and relationship we encounter can help us to grow.
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
Lao Tzu