I have written on the concept of concealment and revealment before on this blog (like maybe a year ago). With all things as we grow in practice, the practice reveals more to us about a given subject including ourselves, and so in the spirit of evolutionary growth, I offer my thoughts on the idea of concealment and revealment.
In Hatha yoga and meditation there is an opportunity to open up to ourselves in such a way that anything that is concealed (hidden) can be brought forth into conscious presence so that we can align with it, create with it, or allow it space, or to release it. We are like the sculptor who in the moment has a slab of concrete and through his or her art form (yoga, meditation) reveals the art beneath the slab. They do not create anew, but reveal the inherent beauty that is there already. They allow space for the form to emerge from the formless. They release the heaviness and allow freedom for the art to express itself.
The practice is this, and yet, I am finding it is much more in the context of revealation. Not only is it the total process, but also the individual moments of practice. Each breath, each pose, reveals to us, if we pay attention--something that has been concealed or something that can assist us in freeing up more space and beauty inside ourselves.
Each pose can reveal what we are holding back, how we respond to fear, what excites us, what we are passionate about, what makes us laugh and smile, what challenges us and how we respond to challenge, what feels sensual, what feels pleasurable, what bores us and how we react to boredom. All these things and so much more are revealed to us within a moment, within a practice.
Our task then when on the mat is to practice being with the revelations without judgment and remain open to the process of self study that this provides for us. We allow what has been hidden or stuck to come forward. We have tremendous freedom in opening up to the revelations because the more we allow what is concealed to be revealed--we know more about ourselves but also allow more space around everything.
From this place of deep and healing space our inherent spaciousness is revealed and we remember that in any given moment we can align with that as infinite creative energy. From this energy we can sustain our artistry and allow our artistry to expand to new heights.
Sit with this passage from the radiance sutras:
#20
The radiance of space permeates the body
and all directions simultaneously.
Space is always here,
Already here before your noticing of it.
What we call space is a presence,
Permission to exist
And worlds within which to express.
Without thinking about it,
Without forming mental images of it,
Rest in this vast expanse,
Friends with Infinity.
(find out more about the radiance sustras www.lorinroche.com)
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