When we step onto the mat, we often think about the postures themselves—the shapes, the stretches, the mechanics. But in practice, the postures are less the point and more the preparation. They are not the destination; they are the threshold. In this week’s Yin Yoga and Meditation session, we enter that threshold through just a few shapes: Dragon, Melting Heart, and a balancing twist. These postures gently open the hips, heart, and spine, softening the body into stillness so that the deeper work of meditation can unfold.
In meditation, the focus turns toward the subtle distinction between container and content. The content of experience is endlessly varied: thoughts, sensations, emotions, sounds, even silence. They arise and dissolve like waves on the ocean. But the container—the spacious field of awareness in which all of this unfolds—remains steady. Like the sky holding weather, it doesn’t resist the storm, nor does it cling to the sun. It simply holds.
From a Buddhist perspective, this shift from content to container is profound. When we identify with the content—our stories, moods, or sensations—we’re caught in the push and pull of craving and aversion. But when we rest in the container, we discover a different kind of freedom. We see that awareness itself is not troubled by what it contains. The body may ache, the mind may wander, the heart may surge with emotion—yet awareness remains open, calm, and vast.
This is the invitation of the practice: to use the poses not as a way of perfecting form, but as a way of steadying the body so that awareness can flower. Dragon softens the hips, Melting Heart opens the chest, the twist balances the spine. From there, we take a seat not to control experience, but to hold it—to let the container of awareness embrace the full content of our humanity.
With warmth,
Josh
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