Use Thunderbolt to Focus Your Mind and Achieve Your Goals

In Sanskrit Vajarasana
 Vajar = thunderbolt asana= pose

The word discipline has all sorts of suggestions and meanings  and when I began to practise yoga I used to shiver every time my yoga teacher spoke about discipline, all sorts of childhood  boarding  school memories would surface.
Discipline was something that happened when what I did, did not align with how someone in authority wanted  the world to be . Learning about discipline in yoga , I realised that I had to rehash the word for myself, so that I could help my students receive the true blessing of discipline in their practice. Discipline, in yoga is remembering to do  what you want every day and in every moment. It is teaching the mind to focus on your goals, your vision, your happiness and most importantly  the present moment.The practice of learning to focus is called Abhyasa or the attitude of "Persistent Effort" to attain stability in your practice.
Practising persistently is the most effective method of controlling the mind, when we get control of our minds , we get control of our bodies , when we get control of our bodies we get control of our lives.Training the mind to keep coming back to the present moment instead of running away from the discomfort is a yogic exercise by itself.

Take the thunderbolt pose for example. This pose is one of the few ways to stretch the toes and the soles of the feet and is for  many folk one of the most inflexible parts of the body.  Learning to sit in it consistently is a challenge for those who are unwilling to invest their mind in it too. Only persistance will bring a certain familiarity and acceptance . My personal  take on persistence is that of  being doggedly determined day after day  with no shred of evidence that I will achieve my goal.

Thunderbolt