Tuesday, June 13, 2006
practice fOr life. . . tOday
Yoga is not a religion.
Yoga is not an idea.
Yoga is not an exercise programme.
Yoga is not something that makes you feel good.
Yoga is not an option.
Yoga is not a hobby.
Yoga is not an indulgence.
Yoga is not a luxury.
Yoga is not a distraction.
Yoga is not an obsession.
Yoga is not a challenge.
Yoga is not a competition.
Yoga is life. All life is yoga.
If we live but anything less than in yoga, we live beneath our potential, we live in denial of the immense promise of life. To live in yoga means to live united in body, heart, mind, spirit. The fact that we have different words for body, heart, mind, spirit shows how divided we are within ourselves. The purpose of the yoga teachings is to teach us how to exist with the inner coherence that makes us great men and women. There is a joy from this completeness that surpasses all other joys: it is the feeling that wherever you are, whatever you do, you are not ever alone. You are always taking care of the whole. Your selfish concerns and fears have diminished to zero. You move with courage, with urgency, because what is important concerns the welfare of all. There is no more disappointment because all your efforts have already been channeled towards the highest goals for the larger good without expectations of any returns for your ego. When we live in this way, how can we believe that we can be anything less than divine.
This is the meaning of the practice. Yoga is not that which happens in the classroom for 1.5 hours, it is what we choose to do the rest of the time too. The classroom gives us a chance to learn some skills, "the rest of the time" is the arena for practice. . . this "practice" here is not a rehearsal, it is the application to real life and it has real consequences. Our yogis often come excitedly to me and report with some surprise that they tried some yoga practices in their daily lives and "it works"! Of course it works. 4,000 years of trial and error has been spent on these techniques and teachings. It is like this in the beginning. But when we realise that some practice "works" for us, making us happier, healthier, then we should grow in confidence for the effectiveness of the practice AND be committed to practice, becoming mindfully aware of yoga in all aspects of our lives. Give ourselves the chance to live in a better way. Come on, if you know something works and can make your life happier, healthier, aren't you shortchanging yourself by not actively putting it into practice. How is it that we can continue to allow ourselves to be deprived in this way? How is it that we do not recognise the urgency of the task since our lives are so fleetingly short? We live as though we will always have a second chance tomorrow, but there will come a day when there is no tomorrow. . . that day could be today.
Today, it is time, to ask yourself how serious you are about yoga. You can continue to exist as you have, an unresolved, discontented individual full of inner conflict, subject to the unrelenting uncertainties of the randomness of feelings, desires, thoughts, living apart from the world isolated by the narrowmindedness of your ego-centric perspective. Or you can rise above all this and find union within your being and come home to your place and purpose in the grand scheme of things, never be apart from the joy of knowing who you are again.
Practise for life. Our life is our practice.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Yoga is not an idea.
Yoga is not an exercise programme.
Yoga is not something that makes you feel good.
Yoga is not an option.
Yoga is not a hobby.
Yoga is not an indulgence.
Yoga is not a luxury.
Yoga is not a distraction.
Yoga is not an obsession.
Yoga is not a challenge.
Yoga is not a competition.
Yoga is life. All life is yoga.
If we live but anything less than in yoga, we live beneath our potential, we live in denial of the immense promise of life. To live in yoga means to live united in body, heart, mind, spirit. The fact that we have different words for body, heart, mind, spirit shows how divided we are within ourselves. The purpose of the yoga teachings is to teach us how to exist with the inner coherence that makes us great men and women. There is a joy from this completeness that surpasses all other joys: it is the feeling that wherever you are, whatever you do, you are not ever alone. You are always taking care of the whole. Your selfish concerns and fears have diminished to zero. You move with courage, with urgency, because what is important concerns the welfare of all. There is no more disappointment because all your efforts have already been channeled towards the highest goals for the larger good without expectations of any returns for your ego. When we live in this way, how can we believe that we can be anything less than divine.
This is the meaning of the practice. Yoga is not that which happens in the classroom for 1.5 hours, it is what we choose to do the rest of the time too. The classroom gives us a chance to learn some skills, "the rest of the time" is the arena for practice. . . this "practice" here is not a rehearsal, it is the application to real life and it has real consequences. Our yogis often come excitedly to me and report with some surprise that they tried some yoga practices in their daily lives and "it works"! Of course it works. 4,000 years of trial and error has been spent on these techniques and teachings. It is like this in the beginning. But when we realise that some practice "works" for us, making us happier, healthier, then we should grow in confidence for the effectiveness of the practice AND be committed to practice, becoming mindfully aware of yoga in all aspects of our lives. Give ourselves the chance to live in a better way. Come on, if you know something works and can make your life happier, healthier, aren't you shortchanging yourself by not actively putting it into practice. How is it that we can continue to allow ourselves to be deprived in this way? How is it that we do not recognise the urgency of the task since our lives are so fleetingly short? We live as though we will always have a second chance tomorrow, but there will come a day when there is no tomorrow. . . that day could be today.
Today, it is time, to ask yourself how serious you are about yoga. You can continue to exist as you have, an unresolved, discontented individual full of inner conflict, subject to the unrelenting uncertainties of the randomness of feelings, desires, thoughts, living apart from the world isolated by the narrowmindedness of your ego-centric perspective. Or you can rise above all this and find union within your being and come home to your place and purpose in the grand scheme of things, never be apart from the joy of knowing who you are again.
Practise for life. Our life is our practice.