As PB is creating Awareness Wear, I find myself becoming every more present to what is means and feels like to be 'Aware'. Yoga Sutra 1.1 states 'Atha Yoga Anusasanam' There are several variations of the translation of this, but most of them relate to the first word in the phrase, Atha, which means NOW. "Now, we have the teachings of Yoga."***
When I think about this, I get a strong sense that every time we can be in the 'now' then we are in the teachings of Yoga. We are present, connected and AWARE. When we fade into the past or project into the future, we have lost AWARENESS of the present moment and thus to what truly exists.
As a human being, my first way of connecting to 'now' and becoming more AWARE is to run through a 'senses' check. Smell (Earth), Taste (Water), Sight (Fire), Touch (Air), and Hearing (Space).
For example, right now, I am on the train from Amsterdam to Cologne for my next workshops. It smells like the nice woman's perfume across from me and the other person's pastry. My mouth has the residual flavor of Apfel Tarte from de Bakerswinkel and is moist. My eyes are focused on the screen but there is the beautiful Dutch landscape out the window and about 10 other humans in my peripheral vision. My clothes feel soft on my skin and the air is a pleasant temperature. There are lots of sounds from the train wheels rolling over the tracks, a bell from the conductor, 3 different languages of the other humans around me, pages turning, my fingers on the keys....
Now that I feel AWARE of what is actually happening around me, I feel present and the moment. In this example, it was just to demonstrate how to 'drop in'. However, we often get 'caught up' in the challenges of life and lose touch of the moment. When we're agitated, angry and sad...it is very helpful to get present / AWARE so that our emotions can run their course and we can come back to center. However, this is also true when we have joy, happiness and pleasure....they too, pass. Obviously, it is more pleasant to be AWARE of the joyous states and make space for them, but life is a full spectrum and we can practice Awareness / Atha / NOWness as a way to have a deeper life experience.
What are you AWARE of in your life right now. Start with the your senses, and then see what else you feel.
*** I will continue to use Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as references in my BLOG posts, so if you're new to them....do some research and become Aware of what they are and how we can apply them in our lives.



