Philosophy
In our western world, yoga is no longer “only” for the Sadhu or Saint. Today, yoga is unique and can support everyone. For some, yoga is a way to connect with the body in order to stay fit. For others, yoga can be a deeply transformative experience where you reunite with your higher power and feel spirit. However, for most, yoga is a way to carve out 60 to 90 minutes of the day to decompress their lives and refocus on what is important.
In our highly connected and gadget ridden world, often times a yoga class can be the only time we “allow” ourselves not to be disturbed because, even when we are sleeping, we can receive a phone call or have a child in need. Consequently, in the yoga classroom, we turn off our cell phones, computers and essentially our day-to-day world. It is in this space that we can let go of daily pressures and focus on our practice.
In each practice, we learn to approach life from a loving and grounded place in order to help re-connect with what is important: health, family and the potential stillness within.
On a deeper and more profound level, the yoga path leads us towards our most intimate self: spirit. It is the return to that essential nature that relieves us from our conditioned mind. If you have a good memory, you can go back in time to when you were a child. In those early years, there was an innocence and freedom that allowed you to speak openly as you expressed yourself without reservation or censorship. It was the purity in your heart that revealed itself in everything you experienced and expressed. If you don’t have a good memory, you may simply observe a young child.
Throughout time, most of us were trained either positively, negatively, and commonly both, to respond and react in a specific conditioned way “in order to get along”. For the masses, an intimate connection with truth, spirit and life are no longer authentic nor come from the deepest part of self. Rather, we approach life from another’s point of view - our elders and often times our contemporaries.
It is in the transition from dependency to responsibility that develop our ego and that process will eventually make up our character and its potential defects, then we take that training (conditioning) out into the world to test it. If we were raised under threatening circumstances - such as tyranny - dysfunction will eventually present itself loud and clear through our relationships, consequently, we will receive immediate feedback from the universe that we have some “other” work to do. If we are not taught to recognize that kind of feedback, most of us will go through life anxious and/or confused. It is in those kinds of moments that a yoga practice can help to reveal an internal truth, like: ironically, a tyrannical upbringing can be the greatest gift when used to find the way back to your essential nature because it can be used to develop valuable skills such as: compassion, patience and understanding even though it usually cultivates anger, resentment, pain and heartache.
In the end, yoga is customizable, adaptable and a one size fits all system. We can either use our yoga practice to remember our truth or use it to transform our pain. It can also become our best friend, mentor, healer and Beloved.
I have been practicing yoga for 12 years and love it more today than the very first day. I invite you to open, relax and allow the limitless potential of this path to awaken you.
