Realizing stuff about yourself...

Yoga is often referenced as a path to self-realization.  And while that sounds lofty, it is actually pretty simple. When you are quiet enough, you notice things about yourself that you may not have noticed before.  I've been having this experience more and more lately.

Many of the practices in yoga focus on building agni.

Agni means fire.  And while it is responsible for drive, willpower, etc, it is also about digestion.  The thing is that yoga doesn't differentiate what you digest.  Agni is as responsible for the digestion of emotions, learning and thoughts as it is for food.

My personal practice at the moment centers on building agni, and on the mat the other day I had a huge realization about myself.  I rarely take time to savor.

Not food. Not ideas. Not emotions.

I've always had this sense that time is short, so I move at a rapid pace to be able learn, experience and get as many things done as I possibly can. The downside is that it takes time to digest the things we take in.

Digestion needs to be slow. You have to give it time.

I'm realizing it is important for me to slow the pace to savor more.  To pause long enough to fully digest information, experience, and well...food.  It is something that must become part of my practice.