A DAILY PRACTICE
Each day I do a physical yoga practice (yogasana). Each day I practice sun salutations – there are 10 steps to a round, synchronised with the breath. Each day I practice 108 rounds of these this breath-to-movement dancing meditation. This continuous physical movement takes around one hour to complete. I have done this for 216 days (2 rounds of 108 days). Why would one do such a thing, you may ask. Well, if you have to ask the question, you’re probably not going to understand the answer anyway, but I’ll give it a go…
108 IN YOGA PHILOSOPHY
From the yoga angle and philosophy, when I do 108 sun salutations (surya namaskar) I am making an offering to my higher truth. The number 108 has many important and symbolic meanings in diverse disciplines including mathematics, religions, spiritual traditions, martial arts and yoga. For the yoga practitioner, practicing 108 rounds of surya namaskar turns up the heat (physically and energetically) – it becomes an effort-full act of surrender towards a higher power, one that is already within us.
This daily “yoga mala” pays homage to my spiritual journey, giving me strength and patience to guide my way on. “1” represents higher truth. “0” represents ’emptiness’, i.e. completeness in spiritual practice. “8” represents infinity or eternity. Therefore having honoured the sacred number 108, I rest in the completeness of my higher truth for eternity!
MAKING SENSE OF 108
The number 108 has much significance in many traditions and science (continue reading to find out more). My first set of 108 days was titled “108-Tuning-In-Challenge”. I hoped to inspire others to move in their own way. Soon I realised that the challenge I had set was mostly self-serving; feeding my ego rather than bridging a link for other to tune inwards. On the last day, after the last exhalation of the last movement, I cried. Humility overcame me. And I decided that I would continue for another 108 days, not for my ego this time, but for my soul… my connection to the greater love and abundance within and without. I did it for yoga. During the second set of 108 days I did not feel the need to anyone about my practice, nor did I post it to the virtual world.
I am committing to another round (set 3) of 108 days of 108 sun salutations. This time it is for the pure simple beauty of this dancing meditation. Simply put, I am doing it because I can. Because I believe in myself and I am not afraid to fail. I thought I would be doing this to inspire others, yet I have been inspired by so many others who have believed in themselves against all odds.
So why am I committing to another crazy set of 108 days this time? I am doing this to honour those who continue to inspire, those who have chosen to say yes to living, those who have embraced a life true to themselves.
As with any yoga practice, it is the sentiment and intention behind the action that infuses the practice with purpose, motivation, discipline and sustainability. In this way the seemingly mundane sun salutation can be transformed to the extra-ordinary auspiciousness which it has the potential to be.
SUMMARY OF THESE 216 DAYS
The most challenging place – at sea on the deck of a boat in the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Myanmar.
The most peaceful place – in the Helderberg Nature Reserve.
The busiest place – a beautiful late Sunday morning on the beach (high-tide doesn’t leave much beach).
The most random place – in a prayer room at Nairobi International Airport (Kenya) while in transit.
The smallest place – in a hiking hut with an available floor size not much bigger than my mat.
The most irritating practice moment – being photographed by bus-loads of Asian tourists whilst in the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens.
The most relaxing place – on my mat at home with no one watching.
The most beautiful place – two stand out: both where under the stars in the Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, and on the banks of the Limpopo River in the Mapungubwe Transfrontier Park.
The most challenging practice day – after an ultra trail run event, where I fell and impacted both my knees, it was physically painful to bend my knees to a certain degree or to put pressure on them. Needless to say the next few days of practice were a real physical challenge … but slow and steady got me through.
My weakest moment – in the beginning I was still trying to figure out what time of day would suit me best, and I sometimes didn’t get round to my practice until last thing before bed. I really had to dig deep mentally after long days when I only got to my mat at 11:30pm.ill be for infinity.
108 FUN FACTS
- The sun’s diameter is 108 times that of the earth.
- The distance of the sun from the earth is 108 times the sun’s diameter.
- The moon’s average distance from the earth is 108 times its diameter.
- The metal silver (which represents the moon) has an atomic weight of 108.
- The angles in a pentagon are 108 degrees.
- In Ayurveda, there are 108 vital life-giving marma points.
- In Indian astrology, there are 12 houses and 9 planets (12 x 9 = 108).
- There are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet which can each be mentioned as masculine (Shiva) and feminine (Shakti).
- There are 108 Puranas and 108 Upanishads (ancient texts).
- The powerful Sri Chakra Yantra intersects in 54 points, each with a masculine and feminine quality (54 x 2 = 108).
- There are 108 energy lines which converge at the heart centre (anahata chakra).
- In Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna had 108 gopis (servants).
- It is said that humans have 108 feelings, 36 of which are past related, 36 present and 36 future.
- There are said to be 108 delusions or forms of ignorance (also explained as mental afflictions or mind poisons).
- If one if able to be so calm in meditation as to have 108 breaths in a day, it is said that enlightenment will come.
CONCLUSION
I have practiced 108 in five different countries, at sea, on land, under roofs and under stars, with people staring, with birds calling, alone and on the odd occasion with a companion, with aching bones and shortness of breath from the cold, with sweat dripping from my body and sunburn, to music and to silence, sometimes I shake and sometimes I cry, but mostly I am filled with joy.
This practice has been with me when I’ve been physically strong, mentally focused and emotionally balanced. It has also been with me when I’ve been weak, distracted and sad.
My practice has become my gift – a reminder of the abundance of life. I gift myself this daily opportunity to set a new intention and to renew my motivation for life. Each day I perform this sacred movement ritual in gratitude for what I have been given. Each day I give thanks by dedicating my last two rounds of this dancing meditation to each of my parents, and to the lineage of ancestors from which I come. I honour the energy and natural world from which abundance flows. It begins and ends with sound, with the word “Om”. Thereafter there is stillness. Life continues, as it is, and as it has been and w
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I’m on day 114 and it’s already life changing! I’m lucky to have a room that the windows face the east sunrise every day in Maui ! Mahalos and Aloha to you always for showing how!
How wonderful to get this feedback, Robert! Thank you for sharing. May you find the balance in the practice, as the flow and change present themselves.