I can’t seem to thank this practice enough for showing up into my life. More and more I see the reasoning of why I want to stay devoted to the core essence of Yoga. It goes beyond the beautiful postures that release stagnation and build strength In the physical body; it goes deep within my soul and mind.
Yoga was once thought of as a constant way of Self Study (Svādhyāya) to bring a being back to their higher state of consciousness; to go beyond the lower mind and it’s limiting beliefs. A place where the person can operate from truth, love, and most of all, expansion. What a funny thing consciousness is, I often think. How we humans have these spirits along with our genius minds that can do so much good for ourselves and the world but here we are, mostly standing as the root to our own suffering and pain. Then, we cause pain to others because we are in so much pain, how more often than not does this happen? My heart aches looking at the news everyday, filled with hate, crime, mental illness; separation and disconnection at it’s finest. Another is some of what social media starts to bring; another way to get on top, to make money, to build “identity.” We are beings that are meant to be filled with connection and compassion; to ourselves, to one another, and most of all the nature around us, so how did we get here?
Looking at my own life on ways in which I keep developing, I know that I can only control one thing, myself. The more I can learn of myself and contain within, the more I can give to others in a way that will mirror for them this compassion and understanding and in the end spreading more joy and authenticity. A lot of us didn’t receive that as children and let’s keep in mind not to then get attathched to blame because it’s not necessarily our parents fault, they were just going off of what they learned from their parents. It’s a chain, a domino effect, a simple repeated pattern on a pillow; it can continue to be copied or we can be the one to change the direction of this pattern, turning it into a quilt. How can we access this pain and suffering we have inside? The traumas layered in our blood, muscles, minds? What i’m learning is to see something so deep, we must be completely willing. Awareness is one of the biggest tools and the truth of Yoga can help us get there. The more we can slow down enough to realize what is going on, then we can start to attack what Don Miguel Ruiz calls the “parasite.” It takes a lot of focus, it’s dedication most definitely but the result of it is emotional freedom.
“Yoga, योग is derived from the root yuj "to attach, join, harness, yoke".” In other words, Union; union of the mind, the body, and the spirit. The practice mostly consisted on meditation, mantras, and rituals used by the Vedics. It was a way to bring ourselves beyond our “identity” and ego and back in connection to the divine. Here, try this: Think of a wild bull roaming havoc in a field where people live and raise their children. People of peace, wanting to love one another and build community. Yoga is the tool that can harness the bull and bring it into a state of more relaxation, calming the running madness inside. Now the bull can roam gently with the people, connecting to them and even being honored and admired by them. This is the same as our minds that feed off our emotions which then can create the disconnection. Most of the time we aren’t even aware of the chaos going on; the anger built up, the anxiety out of control, or the sadness that keeps us from finding relation to everything and everyone. We just get lost in the reactions that leave us feeling empty inside.
When we find ourselves in asana or even meditation, there is a bridge that happens that can take us beyond our limiting thoughts. We start to see that everything is a whole in the way it is and when we honor what we have instead of focusing on the lack of, we can then find more joy in everything we do. The way we move our body can be more enjoyable because it isn’t filled with expectations but instead gratitude. Our interactions with our loved ones or strangers become more pleasurable because we learn how to be present and also to not take it personally, how to put ourselves in their shoes and understand that they may be suffering themselves (compassion). We learn how to manage our life in a way that serves us to our higher self, knowing we are deserving of the pleasure the world has to offer and that we, our actions, our words, are all worth forgiving.
Slowing down, becoming embodied, these are ways I believe can help us heal. It’s a daily practice that needs much support and dedication and most of all, softness. If you fall out of it, if you find yourself acting from the “parasite,” you can know that isn’t the real you, you can forgive yourself and learn instead of sulk. This is a practice that needs vulnerability to know that there is no such thing as perfection. It is hard to admit we live with pain. It is hard to know we could be the one causing our suffering, but through a lifestyle of yoga we can become kind and understanding to ourselves and one another.
In the practice we learn about:
Ahimsa (non-harming, love and kindness)
Stay (truthfulness)
Asteya (non-stealing)
Aparigraha (non-possessiveness)
Brahmacharya (maintenance of vitality)
Tapas (purification through discipline and devotion)
Santosha (contentement for all that is)
Saucha (purity)
Svadhaya (self-study)
ishvara Pranidhana (devotion to a higher power)
All these can help us evolve into more of a empowered, trauma free type of life that we can share then with the ones around us. Connecting us back to the divine and back to everything; nature, ourselves, and the ones around. The truth of our human nature is the want to feel valued, heard, and understood. We must find all of those things inside of us first and learn how to hold ourselves in our imperfections and hurts before being able to be of full service to those we love. We can help one another move past pain and suffering. We can connect back to nature and help her as she holds us everyday. We can learn new ways of helping our body that does so much for us. A yoga lifestyle is more than just a learning process, its a way back home.
“‘Yoga means:
To Engage
To Get Involved
To Participate
To Connect
Yoga is a process. It’s active. It’s the way you engage with the world to create harmony. Yoga is how we participate and create relationship.” (https://oneflowyogastudio.com/the-meaning-of-yoga)
