In transit – Embracing the in-between
PYS I.1 Atha yoga-anuśasanam | Now this is Yoga as I have perceived it in the natural world.
Getting from A to B used to be filled with breaks. Small moments of pause, being in-between flights, waiting for the bus, commuting – being in transit gave us the gift to hold, let the mind wander, take in the place we happen to be in and the people surrounding us. Nowadays these moments are rare. We tend to fill every moment, any short pause we might have with input.
Living in the digital age and a culture of distraction, information seems to be ever accessible and we seem to be always on and available anytime. We’re constantly being distracted and processing information; we’re reacting. Staying in this rut, reactive towards this constant flow of input, there is no space for us to evolve. For us to transition, to get from A to B consciously – going through a breakup, changing careers, moving house, leaving behind habits that no longer serve us, or just coming from work onto our yoga mats – we need these in-between moments to grow. Being in transit enables us to observe, process and reflect, to take note of what moves and calls us.
In the very first sutra Master Patanjali invites us to do just that. To be in transit, to be here now. Atha means now, reminding us that any given moment in time, we can experience yoga. We can decide, now in this present moment, to hold and be with what is: what is surrounding us and what is within us. To observe our transitioning from one phase into the next, respect the process and honor the in-between.
As Patanjali writes, nature provides shasanam, instructions, for us. Observing trees changing from one season to the next reveals their transitioning. It doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a process that takes time and effort. While we wait for the first signs of spring in winter, the tree might seem idle at first glance. But when we observe carefully, we will learn that it’s actually in-between, preparing to move on to the next season, consciously collecting all its energy in its roots, which is needed for the first leaves to bud in spring. The practice of observing carefully, will attune our senses to our environment and raise our awareness for Mother Earth, making us more compassionate for all living beings – plant beings, animal beings, human beings – including ourselves.
As yogis, rituals like a daily meditation practice or chanting OM at the beginning and end of yoga class can help us to transition from one phase into the next; or from wherever we came from onto our yoga mats. We can practice this conscious transitioning through practicing asana. Taking note as to how we move our bodies from one asana into the next, e.g. during surya namaskar where each movement is connected to the duration and direction of one breath. How do you move through the sequence? Can you notice a tendency or a preference? Are you savoring chaturanga or are you rushing through to finally arrive in adho mukha svanasana? How slow do you need to bend your elbows in order to fill the duration of that exhale with that transition?
In Japanese there’s a word to describe the space in-between. Ma means space or pause, focusing on the perception of the in-between, rather than on the pause itself. Like the empty space of an art piece, the interpretation can hold as much significance as the rest of the artwork.
Atha yoga-anuśasanam is a wonderful reminder that we can start to embrace the in-between anytime. Even though the in-between phases might seem to be empty at first glance, their meaning becomes visible when we observe carefully. Like Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön writes: ‘It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately filling up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as well as fundamental spaciousness.’
