Practising the Art of Learning

Image | Dave Gorvett by Lucy Lawes

Practice is a form of learning.

Reviewing our experience regularly is an essential component of any learning process. Though it may feel a hindrance at times because we just want to 'get on with it' and move to the next thing in our day, taking the time to check-in is akin to stepping onto the viewing platform on a hike.

If you don't, well, you might get further along on the trail, but do you really know where you've arrived? It might just be a spectacular vista that you are missing out on.

It doesn't have to be about measuring or meeting any goal posts, though if that helps you take stock of your journey, metrics and checkpoints can be a very useful part of acknowledging the progress. The key here is the willingness to be more observant about our surroundings, to look for cues and markers on our journeys so we don't get lost along the way.

Importantly, these are not about judging ourselves, or our accomplishment within a given practice. It is seeing more clearly what has happened, what is, and how our next choice might cultivate more understanding.

We come from many different paths of life, but when gathering together on the mat, we are all here to learn: about the practice, about ourselves; about our relationship to Life, the environments we travel through, and the connection to each other. Reviewing our experience reveals what needs tending, and what calls for celebrating.

What a privilege it is that we can do this in community.

~*~

INVITATION FOR REFLECTION

Some prompts you might like to experiment with, on the mat or for endeavours in life:

What is it I've done well / felt most rewarding through the practice today?
Where did I feel resistance or challenge most?
What is something I'd like to explore more, or do differently next time?