The purpose of life is not to transcend the body, but to embody the transcendent.
-H.H. Dalai Lama
The word Transcend is a little esoteric, I know, but when it is embraced it has the potential to be transforming. Life is beautiful and amazing, but it also can be difficult and overwhelming. To be able to transcend is to be able to overcome; to triumph over the negative or restrictive aspects in our lives. To transcend is to be able to rise above and go beyond limits – further than we could ever imagine possible.
This is a very relevant word for The Dailey Method right now because we have been incorporating Dailey Meditations into our practice to help ourselves and our Students continue to find more balance in our day to day lives. And meditation is an amazing tool to help us transcend the circumstances in our lives. Our teacher, Lorna Bennett, has years of experience with teaching meditation as well as being a Life Coach. She’s recorded albums for us to use in class and at home and now has recorded videos for our online streaming platform that will be available to view and practice this month.
Lorna says: “For me, meditation is a tool for both Transcendence (recognizing I am bigger than this body, this age, this experience) and Embodiment (feeling grateful I get to be alive IN this body, this moment, this sensual experience right now!) Being in meditation is like a delicious dance between those two realms (Consciousness & Embodiment) — being-with everything that’s happening, and at the same time recognizing I am the witness not the experience. I love the way meditation lets me feel unconditionally peaceful and ecstatically alive —Both at once.”“Meditation can be sensual — a way of turning ourselves ON mentally, physically, sexually, spiritually — every day. And, meditation can be transcendent — a way of connecting with the part of us that is bigger than our body, the part of us that is the eternal witness not the human experience of embodiment.”
There are other ways to work on incorporating the power of Transcendence outside of meditation.
A practice that I have recently incorporated in my life is the act of future journaling. I was inspired to do this while attending The Brunch Series with Danika Brysha: (Which I highly recommend by the way!) This is one of my favorite evening routines. By writing about how I envision and imagine my future, I am able to Transcend past where I am right now and focus and direct my energy towards the positive direction I want my life to take. It also helps me stay focused on continual self care during the process.
Here are some ways to Transcend in your Dailey Method practice life:
1) MUSIC: When a song comes on in class that you love – allow the melody to carry you to a place that transcends your workout. When the music softens, have your movement match that energy – when the music reaches a crescendo, see if you can feel yourself on that heightened journey with respect to how many more repetitions you can carry out in an exercise. Build and Transcend on the intensity of the experience.
2) INTENTIONALITY: Welcome a positive belief or a comment into your practice–a belief or meaningful phrase that lifted you up in some way once in your life. Allow this thought or idea to become an action by saying it to yourself several times in class during challenging sections. I promise you that your mindful focus will allow you to Transcend a potentially mundane practice or class into an AMAZING journey! Let’s go!
3) ATTITUDE: Transcend what you believe to be possible by tackling every challenge we give you in class today with an “I CAN DO” attitude. Take that self-empowerment with you as you walk out of here!
Happy 2019! I hope this year allows us all to transcend towards all the beauty we deserve in life!
Jill Dailey
There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do. Anais Nin