Practicing Trust using Yoga

There is a posture (asana) in Hatha Yoga called Eka Pada Pranamasana.

In this asana you bend one leg and place the sole of the foot on the inside of the thigh of the other leg.

It is hard to maintain balance in this posture and not to fall. It is much harder to maintain the balance when eyes are closed.

When you practice this posture with eyes closed, you realize that if your attention is drawn to the maintenance of the balancing, you will soon fall. In order not to fall when eyes are closed, you must disregard completely the issue of the balancing and move your attention inwards by concentrating on something mental or internal, preferably the breathing. Needless to say, you need to cultivatre a lot of trust in order to ignore the balancing issue at this very situation.

Then something else is taking charge of the balance and you remain aloof in the position without falling. This something can be your body's subconscious intelligence, some instinct, some energetic aiding, some nervous system dormant process - it doesn't matter - what matters is that you, the present consciousness, the controlling entity, the mind, has renounced control and trusted something that is beyond your control - something that consequently is not considered by your mind as being you.

This is a very easy and effective exercise for cultivating a trusting attitude while enjoying also from this asana's standard benefits: development of nervous balance, increased tranquility and the strengthening leg's muscles.