One thing I used to ask myself when I first began attending yoga classes was, what does the teacher mean when he/she says to be present? My initial thought when I first heard a yoga teacher say that it was time to bring yourself to the mat, and be present for the duration of the class, was utter confusion. I thought I was present, just by physically being there on my mat. I quickly caught on that this was not the case at all. Being present is a concept that transcends the physical. Being present is more than showing up to class. Being present is the act of living in the moment, fully aware of your surroundings.
The issue many people have today, is that we are trained from a young age to multi-task. We are used to having multiple sources of stimulus, simultaneously. Multi-tasking is a misnomer. Humans are not wired to process multiple things at once. What happens is a set of tasks, in a priority order. Multi-tasking is the act of completing a to-do list, over and over, in a short amount of time. Being present is the act of taking the mind and consciously slowing down. There is no anticipation for what may happen in the coming hours, days, weeks, or months and there is no anxiety over what happened in the past hours, days, weeks, or months. Being present is about living in the moment, and appreciating what is currently happening.
It has taken me a few years now to truly begin to understand what it means to be present. I have struggled since I was a small child with a short attention span and the inability to slow down my thoughts. My mind was constantly racing. The constant flow of thoughts had a negative effect on me. My emotional state fluctuated from one moment to the next. I felt like my life was out of control when in fact, I was creating the problem in the first place.
Yoga has helped me to deal with my mind and manage my thoughts. Now, at twenty-eight years old, I finally feel like I have some modicum of control over my mind. My mind no longer rules me. I do not feel overwhelming anxiety over the list of things I have yet to do. I no longer feel burdened by the mistakes I have made in the past. I feel liberated. Being present is not something to be practiced on the yoga mat. It is something that needs to be incorporated into daily life.
The question many people have when they are told to be present is, how? For me, I try to incorporate being mindful into my daily life. Being aware that there is something that needs to change is the first step step. Being present is all about being aware of the moment. Do not become absorbed inside your mind. I am guilty of becoming so focused on me and my thoughts that I lose focus of the moment. There are times I get tunnel vision and I focus on the goal, when really the goal is just the end point. The journey to the goal is what makes the goal special.
For example, my husband and I had made plans go to a restaurant (Fogo de Chão) on December 27th. We did not think we would need a reservation for lunch on a weekday. Well, we were wrong about that. When we got to the restaurant, it was completely booked. So we had to find an alternative. I had been looking forward to eating at Fogo for a while. A few months ago, I would have been really bent out of shape about this. Having my plans unexpectedly change would have soured the rest of my day. Being mindful and present allows me relax. Not everything has to go the way I want. When things happen, just adapt.
I realized that day that I have really made an effort to be present every day. I refuse to let my expectations and my hopes rule my life. My expectations and hopes may not ever become reality and I am okay with that. I am focused on the present moment, enjoying life as it happens. I am not losing myself in the anticipation of what is to come, I am not drowning in the memories of events in the past. I am present, right here, right now.