Bringing attention to the present moment has many benefits, but it’s not always easy… It’s often a rigorous brain exercise. Because the mind oscillates between memories of the past, projections of the future, or circumstances of the moment (“…look at that fly passing by”).
Training the mind requires will and discipline.
Give yourself that possibility, give yourself that time without judging yourself when it doesn’t work out.
And when you’re there, even if it’s just a few seconds, enjoy!
Bringing attention to the present moment is not exclusive to the practice of yoga and meditation, any discipline requires this focus and concentration. In fact, any action requires keeping attention in the present moment, in order to be effectively executed. From a complicated action that needs training to a simple action like eating, it will be fully experienced only if the mind is focused on the action itself.
During yoga practice the instructor uses different tools and focuses to guide mental energy. The location of consciousness can be directed towards the breath, or some specific body part. You can also use any of the 5 senses to sharpen concentration. The focus can be on an external or internal sound, such as a mentalized mantra.
The gaze also serves as a tool, either to keep the eyes open fixed on a specific point or closed to reduce one of the senses.
Training the mind is not simple, it requires constancy. It is possible that the first few times the student cannot or does not understand what to do, or does not understand exactly what the exercise is.
But that’s how it is, in general guided exercises are simple. But the mind doesn’t want simple… it wants to jump, it wants stimuli. So it seems that when the practitioner tries to calm down, his mind becomes more agitated, he becomes more rebellious. Scream: give me stimuli, don’t leave me here with only one focus! And if the practitioner makes an effort and controls concentration, focusing more and more… then his mind makes an itch appear, or a little pain, or hunger, etc.
The first practices are not always pleasant. It seems that the head has inside a nightclub with strong music and lots of people dancing and screaming. And on the outside the person looks so calm…
I’m not saying it’s always like this, for some practitioners to calm the mind by focusing on one thing (or being present in the moment) is natural. I’m just letting you know that it can be a challenge, and asking you to persist and keep practicing.
For some people it can be more difficult to train the mind than the body. Nobody expects a big change in the body the first time they train (whatever the discipline), and the same thing happens with the mind. These are small steps, small achievements.
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