Flow State

Exactly one year ago, I started contemplating the concept of “Flow”. I wanted to find a deeper understanding why we practice Vinyasa Flow. I enjoy doing flow sequences because I like the state that flow sequences bring me to. At that time what I understand of it is: being in the moment, flowing with the sequence, flowing with the rhythm. And in that state, I have moments where I do not think about myself, about my body, it is almost as if my physical body, my mind and the present have all merged into one; there is almost a transcendental element in the flow. Even though I first started doing flow sequence in 2010, but it was only last year in 2017 that I suddenly was very intrigued by this concept of “Flow” and the state of my being when practicing Vinyasa Flow.

 

One day while at work, I was thinking about seasonal changes (I work in the hospitality industry, which is very sensitive to seasonal changes. With different seasons, the landscape and local food will be different and the information we share with our guests changes accordingly). And then I started thinking about situations at work and family; situations change often too, and sometimes we react negatively to it. And I slowly started making the connection (although making connections is not what meditation tells us we should be doing), I started to wonder how to feel the peace in the practice of Vinyasa Flow in our daily lives; in the Vinyasa Flow practice, the asanas change constantly yet I still feel at peace. It made question why am I not able to feel the peace in daily life when conceptually the state of the situation is the same: Asanas change in the Vinyasa Flow practice, situations change in our daily lives. I started to realize that everything is about Flow. This realization astounded yet fascinated me!

 

I start to realize that the Flow State is not just a way of life; it is a fact of life. As the saying goes “Change is constant”, change is not easy to deal with, but what helps us cope and adapt to change is being in the flow; Change is the situation, Flow is the state of being. Once in this Flow State, there is no struggle, just acceptance, and with acceptance, there is peace.

During this period of time, the understanding of “Flow” deepened a little more. We were discussing Truth (Turiya) during class last week. When practicing asanas, we are also releasing the energy blockage in the body, for me I have come to believe that releasing energy blockage is to enable us to be more connected with our highest self and the universe. What does it mean by being connected? It actually means to be in the Flow State. The Flow State is the foundation, the starting point for the liberation of ourselves.

 

I will break it down to this:

Flow State → Greater Connectedness → We see things as it is (Truth) → No fear, No anxiety, No uncertainty (All-knowing because we are connected to our highest self and highest truth) → Liberation of ourselves and our souls

 

This depicts the process of self-realisation ultimately leading to the liberation of our souls.

 

What I enjoy about Yoga is taking the lessons on the mat off the mat, and I particularly enjoy contemplating and experiencing these lessons in real life. And I really enjoy having the ah-ha moment, the epiphany when I begin to uncover a different side of things, a different side of me. Over time, it deepens my understanding of my practice and deepens the understanding of life. There is no end to this journey of discovery and unearthing more of me, my understanding to life and what there is, and I think that is what is fascinating about this journey.

There is no distinction between yoga and life, in fact, there aren’t any distinctions in life at all; all distinctions are defined by the mind. Yoga is life; everything is one; similarly on the same concept, there is no distinction between you and me, we are one, union of a whole.

 

Carol Wong
200hrs YTTC March 2018