Sometimes in life you just need to go with your gut. To stop questioning, just go for it. This is where the taming of the monkey mind comes in handy. Once the mount is kept at bay, you can think from the heart and trust your intuition in making your choices. How many times have you ended up saying to yourself: “I should have listened to my hunch, why did I hesitate so much…” Yes, there are moments when you need to think things over, to let them simmer and ration your decision. But most of the time your first impression proves to be most accurate. Sometimes you need to weigh things out, but other times you just have to jump, without thinking about the consequences. Just stir things up, so you can exit the vicious circle of doubt and procrastination that impedes your proactivity.

But how do we know when to go for things impulsively, and when to patiently wait for things to come to us? It is a subtle art of honing your intuition and trusting your inner judgment. In Yoga this state of inner knowing is an interval between faith and trust. The Sanskrit term for faith, shraddha, means “truth of heart”. It has no religious implications but denotes the “ gracious way” in which we live our lives. It is an act of faith arising from the heart. It arises when the mind surrenders to the intelligence and truth of the heart. Once we tune to the heartfelt desires we cultivate purpose and resilience.

While reading recently “The Healing Power of the Mind” I encountered a moving story about faith and hope.

Many centuries back a severe famine swept through a valley in Tibet. A father saw that he and his children would not live much longer since all their food was gone. And so he filled some bags with ashes, tied them with ropes from the ceiling, and told his little children, “We have lots of tsampa (barley food) in those bags, but we have to save it for the future.” The father died of hunger, but the children survived until some people came to rescue them. Although they were weaker than their father, they lived because of their belief that they had food. Their father died because he had lost hope.

What was the source of the children’s faith? They believed in their dad and in the truth of his words. They took his words to heart, where they were transformed into faith. They survived because of this faith, without questioning whether it was based on valid facts.

For each of us, faith arises from what we deeply perceive to be true, what wells deep in our hearts. From this intimate perspective faith makes the foundation of our being—as both the source and the consequence of our deepest intuitions about life.

Another aspect of faith is expounded in the Bhagavad Gita, the Sanskrit “Song of the Lord” faith resides in our most steadfast convictions. When our mind is pure, we find faith in benevolence, having little attachment to our personal gains. In Yoga faith refuels our inner resolve so we can grasp transcendental truths. It is not just a mere belief in hitting the jackpot. It is a state of inner trust that dissipates all doubt, suspicion or fear.

When I visited India 5 years ago I was impressed to see the statue of “Faith” in a mother Goddess effigy. It made me smile and think, that faith is like a feminine force that nurtures and sustains us. It brings hope and trust in the cosmic flow. But I also experienced the other fanatic side of faith – observing the worshippers at the temples blinded by a notion of God that they sought in images and appeased through sacrifice. These people were strong believers in a truth they really never experienced, but that was handed to them and packaged in sacreligious offerings for generations. This is an act of faith based on external habitual patterns that is not a reflection of inner reality.

Yoga reminds us that the real sacrifice is to carve out personal time for daily practice – meditation, asana, body care, ample sleep and cultivating compassion to the suffering. As such, the practice of faith depends of honing the intuition and maintaining discipline. This takes us to the concept of faith, which is not a religious commitment but a deeply personal expression of inner harmony.

As you deepen your Yoga practice you feel that every action and decision you make is an act of inner truth and devotion. This is how we develop our courage, find confidence and overcome doubt. But the real reward of faith is to be able to manifest your visions, to see what you believe. Such a reward doesn’t happen overnight. Before we get there, faith graces us with courage and strength. It’s worth pursuing this path. Are you ready now to take a leap of faith?

Arm-balancing Yoga Flow: Leap of Faith (advanced level)

Performed by our sublime performing artist and yogi Richard Scandola

This fluid and artful Yogea sequence blends empowering and purging poses in a sequence that culminates in arm balances and builds faith and inner resolve. A seated breathing and mudra practice opens the center of inner vision and sets for a smoothly strung flow of pose and counter-pose. A warm up of standing neutrally rotated and revolved poses open up the hamstrings, calves while lengthening the sides of the waist and firming the arms. Kneeling leg lifts open the hips and rotate into heart-openers to morph into hip openers – all preparing the entire body for the arm-bearing poses to come. Empowering standing poses are adorned with energizing mudra and meridian crossing binds as the body shifts weight seamlessly back and forth, down and up. Standing hamstring stretches and twists alternate with arm balances, and spiral down into seated spinal bound hip and shoulder openers to build internal strength and smooth transitions. The sequence culminates into forearm balances and winds down through forward bends and relaxing twists. A progressive relaxation eases tension and fuels courage through letting go of the meanderings of the mind and trusting the divine flow.