The weekdays are a grind for many of us. Work, household chores, family responsibilities, health maintenance all fill the bucket of our brains and bodies. And an over-full bucket can mean a cluttered and confused outlook on life. Even when we fully enjoy and feel energized by all the ways we fill our days, we need to build in the time and space to drain the bucket to a balanced level.
Two hallmarks of a yoga and mindfulness meditation practice are "calm abiding" and "clear seeing" (in Sanskrit, shamatha and vipassana). Slowing down and narrowing the focus of the mind on one thing for a dedicated stretch of time – it could be the breath, the posture, or a guided imagery – helps us calmly abide all the other things vying for our attention. And that calm abiding leads to seeing all that is arising in the moment with extra clarity and insight.
These mindful practices are like taking a soft cloth and wiping the smudges off the window of our busy brains. In this way, we polish our perspective, making room for extra wisdom, patience, and compassion.