Now is the Time For…
When you go through a 200 hour yoga teacher training class as I did a couple of years ago, one of the elements you’re introduced to is the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali. The Sutras are an ancient text made up of 196 aphorisms that tie the different aspects of yoga together. (One of the translations for the Sanskrit word, sutra, is thread.)
The first yoga sutra is Atha Yoganuśhāsanam. There are a lot of different translations of those words from Sanskrit. The one that stuck with me the most from teacher training is “Now is the time for the study of yoga.”
What I like about that translation is the direct way it calls out the purpose of what you’re there to do. In a world full of distractions, there can be a lot of value in stopping to intentionally say, “Now is the time for,” whatever it is you’re there to do. What is now the time for? Completing the most important task of your day? Coaching a teammate? Being fully present with your child? It could be any number of things but it’s almost certainly going to be one thing at a time. What is now the time for?
Here’s a simple practice for you to try this week. Before you begin a new task, meeting or conversation, stop to make an out-loud declaration to yourself that “Now is the time for…” If you notice that you’re distracted and scattered at some point during the day, pause, take a few deep breaths and focus yourself by saying, “Now is the time for…”
It couldn’t hurt and it might just help a lot. Let me know how it goes. In the meantime, now is the time for me to end this blog post and move on to the next thing on my list today.