A few weeks ago, a friend asked about others' personal yoga practices for the morning. I knew he was interested in physical exercises, stretches and such, and I do not do that, so I did not reply, but I've continued to think about the topic.
For years I've found two relatively short prayers very helpful for my morning focus. In the extended sense, they are my morning yoga. The two prayers are Modeh Ani ("I am grateful"), and the Sh'ma / Ve'Ahavta ("Hear O Israel" / "You Shall Love"). It so happens that the amount of time necessary for saying those prayers is exactly the time it took me everyday to walk from my front door to breakfast at my previous school. Nowadays I say the prayers on my morning dog walk, and fill in the rest of the time with other thinking and singing.
Traditionally, one says "Modeh Ani" while still in bed, just as soon as one is aware that s/he is awake. It makes a big difference to transform waking up into waking up on purpose. Then the discipline is to get out of bed with enthusiasm, without delay, to begin the day. Subjectively, I don't "wake up" until I head out the door so I've modified the practice to fit my temperament.
The two prayers bear different messages for me, day by day, but generally "Modeh Ani" is a moment to embrace my life, my special circumstances. "Sh'ma" is a moment to embrace a larger reality in which I am not the center, and "Ve'Ahavta" is a moment to dedicate myself to its service.
I can't claim that those rituals get my head put on straight, day by day, but I think they help me be happier and more peaceful than otherwise. Not as a chore, a rule, a should, or a have-to. Just as a natural part of my waking-up process, as often as I do it. Since I find it a naturally reinforcing experience, "as often as I do it" ends up being almost every day.
I could go on about how those two or three basic thoughts make for a good mindset for me. There are many "Golden Rules" that embrace those affirmations that (1) Each of us individually is God's child; and (2) None of us individually is God's *only* child - everyone is equally special, sacred, wondrous, or, as Yoda said, "luminous."
Jesus famously said that the Torah could be summarized as (1) Love God; (2a) Love your neighbor (2b) as yourself.
Hillel gave my favorite Golden Rule when he advised, "(1) If I am not for myself, who will be? (2a) And if I am only for myself, what am I? (2b) And if not now, when?"
I really like the Albert Einstein quote that has become very popular through a recent book (Naomi Levy, Einstein and the Rabbi, 2018): "A human being is part of the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish the delusion but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind."
That is what my little "yoga" means to me. Devoting a moment to thinking gratefully about the part that I am. Devoting a moment to thinking and caring about the whole. Then living out the day with as much vigor, love, lightness and happiness as possible.
For years I've found two relatively short prayers very helpful for my morning focus. In the extended sense, they are my morning yoga. The two prayers are Modeh Ani ("I am grateful"), and the Sh'ma / Ve'Ahavta ("Hear O Israel" / "You Shall Love"). It so happens that the amount of time necessary for saying those prayers is exactly the time it took me everyday to walk from my front door to breakfast at my previous school. Nowadays I say the prayers on my morning dog walk, and fill in the rest of the time with other thinking and singing.
Traditionally, one says "Modeh Ani" while still in bed, just as soon as one is aware that s/he is awake. It makes a big difference to transform waking up into waking up on purpose. Then the discipline is to get out of bed with enthusiasm, without delay, to begin the day. Subjectively, I don't "wake up" until I head out the door so I've modified the practice to fit my temperament.
The two prayers bear different messages for me, day by day, but generally "Modeh Ani" is a moment to embrace my life, my special circumstances. "Sh'ma" is a moment to embrace a larger reality in which I am not the center, and "Ve'Ahavta" is a moment to dedicate myself to its service.
I can't claim that those rituals get my head put on straight, day by day, but I think they help me be happier and more peaceful than otherwise. Not as a chore, a rule, a should, or a have-to. Just as a natural part of my waking-up process, as often as I do it. Since I find it a naturally reinforcing experience, "as often as I do it" ends up being almost every day.
I could go on about how those two or three basic thoughts make for a good mindset for me. There are many "Golden Rules" that embrace those affirmations that (1) Each of us individually is God's child; and (2) None of us individually is God's *only* child - everyone is equally special, sacred, wondrous, or, as Yoda said, "luminous."
Jesus famously said that the Torah could be summarized as (1) Love God; (2a) Love your neighbor (2b) as yourself.
Hillel gave my favorite Golden Rule when he advised, "(1) If I am not for myself, who will be? (2a) And if I am only for myself, what am I? (2b) And if not now, when?"
I really like the Albert Einstein quote that has become very popular through a recent book (Naomi Levy, Einstein and the Rabbi, 2018): "A human being is part of the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish the delusion but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind."
That is what my little "yoga" means to me. Devoting a moment to thinking gratefully about the part that I am. Devoting a moment to thinking and caring about the whole. Then living out the day with as much vigor, love, lightness and happiness as possible.
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