I want to offer this experiential reflection on a concept called the gunas.
By experiential reflection I mean that you are invited to participate in this in in a way that will help you really feel into the concepts.
You could just listen of course but ideally you would find a comfortable seat and that means that your hips are probably a little bit elevated so that they're higher than your knees.
Your knees then flow down from your hips like water and support you on the floor so your knees form two points of the tripod and your sits bones form the third point.
Your shins of course are also supporting you and your shoulders are balanced over your hips and your ears are over your shoulders.
Just sit there for a moment and be aware of your breath.
So the concept of the gunas,
This is from Samkhya philosophy which forms a lot of the philosophical foundations of yoga and again I think that you can feel these gunas as we go so I'll invite you to take one hand and put it on the ground your left hand and put it on the ground maybe your fingertips on the ground maybe your whole palm whatever reaches the ground comfortably and your other hand place over your heart.
So the ancients,
The ancient guides believed that everything in nature which we call prakrti,
Everything in nature was some combination of three different elements,
Forces or attributes.
All of matter comprises these three elements in unequal measure so these are present in everything from a stone to your mind to your thoughts.
Remember that thoughts are things so it's everything in nature again from the earth you're sitting on to a stick to your body to your breath to your personality even.
So let's go through these.
The first of the gunas is tamas,
T-a-m-a-s,
Tamas.
Thomas is that which is still and unchanging and sluggish.
Dull.
Can you feel those qualities in the earth that you're touching?
Maybe in the floor?
Can you also imagine how those qualities are present in your household or in your town or in the country you live in or this planet?
The second is rajas,
R-a-j-a-s,
Rajas and that is the quality of movement,
Of heat,
Of energy and change.
Rajas is very dynamic.
Can you feel that quality in the earth?
In your household?
In your town,
Your country,
The earth?
And the next is sattva.
Sattva is wisdom,
Intelligence,
Serenity,
Purity and that which does not change and balances the other two.
Can you feel that energy coming up from the earth and in your household,
In your town,
The country,
The planet?
And now take your attention to yourself and the hand that's touching your heart and we'll reconsider all of the gunas from the perspective of your body and your nature and remember these show up in unequal proportion in everything.
They all have neutral attributes but they all have what I call a shadow as well except for sattva.
Rajas and tamas have shadows or ways they show up when they're over activated.
So let's reflect on tamas again and how tamas shows up in our own selves,
That which is still and unchanging and solid and over activated it can look like dullness and lethargy,
Maybe even depression,
Sadness.
And rajas,
Remember is movement,
Energy,
Dynamism,
Heat and over activated it can look and feel like overwork,
Aggression,
Anxiety and sattva,
Wisdom,
Consciousness,
Purity and light.
It has no shadow and it is unchanging and it is ever-present in you and can get obscured by the other two.
So just take a moment and reflect on the relative balance in you,
In your body,
Your mind,
Your spirit of tamas,
Rajas and sattva.
First body,
How are you tamasic?
How are you rajasic?
And how are you sattvic?
If you're sitting right now,
That's very sattvic.
If you're anxious to be done,
That's rajasic.
If you're falling asleep,
Maybe a little tamasic.
And in your mind,
How are you tamasic?
Stuck in your thoughts and ways of thinking,
Maybe stubborn.
How are you rajasic?
Not able to focus,
Bouncing from idea to idea,
Monkey mind.
And how are you sattvic?
The knowledge that you have the ability to shape your mind and shape your thoughts and you've shown up today,
Sattvic.
And your spirit or your mood,
Your emotions,
However you define spirit,
Your soul,
How does it feel tamasic?
How does it feel rajasic?
And finally,
Can you rest in the awareness that your soul is truly sattvic?
All of the practices of yoga,
And especially meditation,
Is about bringing these three energies into equilibrium homeostasis,
With sattva being the ruler,
The great equalizer.
Let your hands go anywhere they feel like going now.
Maybe your palms are cupped in your lap,
Or your hands are on your knees,
Or your hands have come up to your chest,
Your thumbs lightly grazing your chest in a prayer position.
And sit here for a moment and just breathe.
Your breath itself is the great messenger of the signals that are tamasic,
Rajasic,
Or sattvic.
Your breath will tell you everything you need to know about what needs to come into balance.
So just breathe and listen.
And then drop all of these concepts out of your mind and just breathe.
We'll sit here in silence for two more minutes,
Then I'll ring the chime.
Namaste.
You
