Yoga and specifically yoga therapy are tools for living here, together, today.
Yoga is not (only) stretching. Yoga can be defined as the practice to witness yourself as infinite and creative. How do you see yourself? The self you see reflects your beliefs and habits. We think “that is just how I am” and our habits seem like “us”.
What if you’re so sick and tired of being sick and tired that you can’t even look? What if the bright spots are so bright that we can ignore the dark spots until the dark spots are black holes? Yoga doesn’t say you should be happy. Yoga says you are creative and the Self is infinite. The body dies. The universe infinitely shifts and changes. Yoga is making the choice to consciously consider who we are and how we experience each relationship, however temporary and mercurial it is.
We spend so much time taking care of other people, living our lives, working toward goals, and attempting to have meaningful relationships, we don’t know how, or we cannot find the time to have a relationship with ourselves.
What happens when life drastically changes? We gain or lose a loved one, a career, health… What we believe is “us” is suddenly unrecognizable. We suffer. What happens when life doesn’t change, we feel stuck? Yoga asks us to become witness to our beliefs and to discern which ideas are supporting us as infinite creative beings and which beliefs lead us to suffer.
Yoga models of reality suggest our beliefs come from and reflect our self-knowledge in expanding and contracting layers. We “know” ourselves and reality in relation to the whole universe, our planet, place in society, religion or spiritual practice, and our place amongst friends and family. We relate to ourselves as a body, a mind, some intellect, emotions and maybe even a spirit. How much time do we spend really contemplating who we are in these relationships? How easily do we accept a default self that is built by responsibilities to and expectations of these layers?
The practice of yoga leads us to examine ourselves pervading through each layer and ask, “who do I believe I am I in this”? Yoga recognizes the obstacles we face as humans that distract us from asking these questions, how convoluted the answers may be, and the difficulties in rearranging our beliefs and relationship to reality.
Yoga offers simple, practical strategies to accurately establish ourselves throughout these layers. When we experience instability or illness, yoga’s tradition of therapy directs human energy toward balance and manages mental and physical distractions with ancient tools of gentle exercise, breath awareness, meditation and if applicable, chanting and ritual.
Mind Your Own Business
