SPIRITUAL STUDIES: ABHYASA-PERSONAL PRACTICE

Abhyasa: Personal Practice.
"Personal": individual, private, particular
"Practice": do again and again, regular, constant
Ultimately what comprises your personal practice is a private connection to a particular thing you will commune with constantly. Your private way to pray God into your life, or as Rumi says, "Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."
"Sa tu dirghakala nairantaryasa tkaraseulto drdhabhumih" (1.14 Yoga Sutras of Patanjali)
"It becomes grounded by being continued for a long time."
How does one become grounded in a practice? Four Chapters on Freedom: Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Satyananada Saraswati (Bihar Yoga) comments on this sutra discussing the methodology of practice:
1. Deep patience.
2. Continued practice without interruption.
3. Continued practice with faith.
4. Love your practices. Love your body.
5. Practice willingly, with respect and devotion.
6. CONTINUE DOING THESE AGAINST ALL ODDS.
Whatever your practices, I recommend exploration, not only of the things that come easy and are pleasant but giving yourself the opportunity to grow by doing a few things you don't like and breaking through the resistance. (Years ago I suffered from fear of heights. One of my students observed that I had mentioned several fears and, upon his reflection to me, deciding I did not want to be a fearful person, I began a practice of doing things that were extremely uncomfortable. Rock climbing. Ropes course. Climbing trees. Ziplining. Trapeze. One day, I stood at the top of a wall. I was just hanging out talking to others and suddenly it dawned on me, "Hey! I'm not scared!" It took years, a couple times I almost puked, but the exhilaration of persisting, of continuing against the odds, was a practice worth sticking to.)
Do many practices you love. Get to know it intimately. Set goals. Meet them. Exceed them. Extend time. Deepen your relationship. This is your sanctuary and you are using your body as a vehicle to expand, perceive and embody spirituality as you understand it to be.
Chapter 1: Sutra 15
The pracitces we choose are not about the outer life--but the inner life--all practice starts from within--what relaly matters is your attitude. The integrated approach increases feelings of love and compassion without attachment to the efforts of action. In other words, practice from a good place of love and compassion, then act authentically with a peaceful mind experiencing undisturbed happiness. Release ideas of reward. Get lost in the moment. Enjoy the silence of samadhi in your perfect moments of bliss.