the intelligence of the brain. Let the body be the doer, the brain the ob-
server.
After acting, reflect on what you have done. Has the brain inter
preted the action correctly? If the brain does not observe correctly, then
there is confusion in action. The duty of the brain is to receive knowl
edge from the body and then guide the body to further refine the ac
tion. Pause and reflect between each movement. This is progression in
attention. Then in the stillness, you can be filled with awareness. Ask
yourself, "Has every part of me done its job?" The Self has to find out
whether this has been done well or not.
Pausing to reflect on your movement does not mean that you are
not reflecting throughout the movement. There should be constant
analysis throughout the action, not just afterward. This leads to true
understanding. The real meaning of knowledge is that action and
analysis synchronize. Slow motion allows reflective intelligence. It al
lows our minds to watch the movement and leads to a skillful action.
The art of yoga lies in the acuity of observation.
When we ask ourselves, "What am I doing?" and "Why am I
doing it?" our minds open. This is self-awareness. However, it is nec
essary to point out that students should be self-aware, not self
conscious. Self-consciousness is when the mind constantly worries and
wonders about itself, doubting and being self-absorbed. It is like having
the devil and angel sitting on your shoulders constantly arguing over
what you should do. When you are self-conscious, you are going to ex
haust yourself. You are also going to strain the muscles unnecessarily
because you are thinking about the asana and how far you want to
stretch and not experiencing the asana and stretching according to
your capacity.
Self-awareness is the opposite of self-consciousness. When you are
self-aware, you are fully within yourself, not outside yourself looking
in. You are aware of what you are doing without ego or pride.
When you cannot hold the body still, you cannot hold 1he brain
'T A II I I. I I' Y 'I II 1·. I' II \' S I <.A I. II 0 I l \' ( :1 .\ A N A I