practices for now // discernment
What is true? What is needed? How can I be of service? What do I need to be nourished?
Like the mindful space between stimulus and response, discernment is a sort of gut check. It’s a practice of asking the wisdom within - before you react, acquiesce, recoil, or re-tweet - and listening deeply.
discernment on the mat
On the yoga mat, you use discernment to determine the way of movement (or stillness) that is right for you in a given moment.
Sometimes it can feel like your “job” in a yoga class is to follow exactly what the teacher says. But you’re the only one who can really feel what’s going on in your body. Discernment helps you take in the information that is available and decide how or whether to apply it in your practice.
Let’s say you’re in a studio class breathing in a Warrior pose (Virabhadrāsana) when the teacher offers some alignment cues: “draw your tailbone down and press your front shin forward.” Now it’s your job to decide if that offering is for you. Hmm. I’m already drawing my tailbone down, and if I try to deepen that action I’ll be tucking my tailbone under. That kinda hurts my back knee... But yes, I can press my shin forward a bit more; that’s challenging my muscles, but my joints feel aligned. Maybe I can let these two actions balance each other... Of course, you probably don’t actually think all these words. You just try things out and see how they land in your body. The important thing is, though you have a teacher to guide and support you, you are ultimately responsible for your own practice. You have to discern the way of moving that is right for you by asking within (being curious) and listening (being open to truth).
In the moment, it might feel easier to follow directions without asking questions, especially when the information is coming from a trusted source. But if the result doesn’t feel right in your body, you’ll be unsure, likely ungrounded, and at greater risk for harm. When you take that little pause for inquiry before you act, you can move with more steadiness and clarity. It’s the difference between am I doing this right?? and this feels right.
In the same way, you can be be curious about cues from our own bodies. When you deepen your Warrior pose, your immediate reaction might be to escape that depth, that sensation of challenge. Discernment asks: am I unsafe or merely uncomfortable? Is this discomfort I need to sit with and learn from, or do I actually need to move to protect myself from harm? Does this challenge benefit my body-mind-spirit, or only my ego?
(Our girl Natalie frequently and beautifully weaves this into her teaching. Flow along with her in a practice for discernment, here).
discernment in the world
It’s the same away from the mat. We are inundated with information, from all kinds of sources, pretty much all the time. Truth and noise flash before our eyes in tandem, vying for our attention. At the same time, we are pushed to express and proclaim our own messages, our own opinions and reactions and solutions, just as quickly as the information comes to us. The practice of discernment asks us to pause, to listen beyond the soundbytes, to look beyond the flash, to ask what is true? what is needed? do I have something of value to offer? and to move from there.
what is true?
Yoga is a practice of deep inquiry. So much of our practice, on and off the mat, involves going deeper than what we think we know, shedding misconceptions and illusions that we’ve collected over our lifetimes, determining what we need to unlearn so that we can see more clearly. Similar to discernment on that mat, this applies to information we receive from outside of ourselves, and from our own minds. Be curious about what’s true in your own actions and re-actions: am I unsafe or merely uncomfortable? am I moving to serve, or to serve my own ego?
Even when information comes from a source (say, a news outlet or elected official) we have trusted in the past; even when we are certain which action to take - if we can pause for inquiry before we take action, we’ll act from a place of more steadiness and clarity. As Meera Vijayann writes, “Stay purposeful with your politics. […] ‘Why do I support this? What are the consequences of my beliefs and actions?’ Because without the questions, there will be no answers.”
what is needed? how can I be of service?
You might be familiar with the Three Gates of Speech, a discernment practice from the Sufi tradition, popularized by the poet Rumi - before you speak let your words pass through three gates: is is true? is it necessary? is it kind? This is another example of a moment of inquiry.
It’s this pause that helps us to act and speak with intention, so that we can offer what is needed rather than what is noise.
…because sometimes posting about an issue on social media is performative, and sometimes it’s exactly what is called for. Sometimes yours is not the voice to be amplified, and sometimes every voice is essential. Sometimes we need to march together, and sometimes we need to move in our own ways. Discernment is a practice of asking these questions, letting the answer arise, and moving from there.
First, ask what is needed. Listen to the people you want to serve. Listen to the people who know more than you do. (This is a practice too). Then, listen within. Is there something you have to offer that meets this need? The answer might be a simple yes or no. The answer might be no but I know someone else who does. Whatever answers arise, move from there.
what do I need to be nourished?
Let’s think back to that Warrior pose. You’ve taken on the challenge to deepen the lunge. What do you need in order to stay here? For starters, remember to breathe. Then consider other cues you’ve heard or tools you’ve used before: press down through your feet for more support from the floor; hug toward the center line and upward to avoid sinking more weight into your legs; you’re still breathing, right?; soften where you can, balance effort with ease…
You can do the same thing off the mat. What support will nourish you? (For starters, remember to breathe). Ask this question when you’re challenged or stressed, when you’re offering a little more than usual and when you’re not. Ask this question all the time. Most of us forget until we’re in dire need of support.
I know one student who wrote themselves a note, “how can I help today? what would help me today?” and reads it every morning before meditation. With this simple practice, they’ve committed to starting the day with inquiry and deep listening.
for the good of all
In esoteric terms, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras assert that unwavering discernment (viveka, in Sanskrit) removes the obstacles to discovering one’s true nature (sutras 2.26-27), on the path to liberation. In a practical sense, being curious helps us see beyond the surface, and to take aligned action that feels steady and true. On the mat and off, aligned action just feels better, and it moves us closer to the truth of liberation.
In your own way, in your own practices, how can you remember discernment? How can you support yourself in taking aligned action?
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editor’s note: yeah, sometimes teachers offer more questions than answers and it’s ok if that annoys you for awhile. 💓