Thoughts on Yoga
What's it All About, Alfie?
2007-10-24
I have heard and read that the epic struggle for most Americans these days is the struggle for meaning in their lives. By and large, we have figured out how to provide for the basic needs of our selves and families. Now we are left to face the question of what our existence is all about.
I suspect that we all have a need to relate to something larger than ourselves, and to feel we are an integral part of the order of things.
In yoga, there is a concept called "Isvarapranidana." A strict interpretation of this Sanskrit term means "surrendering your ego and dedicating all your actions to God."
Sanskrit, the ancient proto-Indo-European language from which our modern yoga terms come, is complex and subtle. There are lots of synonyms so it allows for broad interpretations. So if you are inspired by the idea of dedicating all your actions to God, then by all means, do it. But if that idea leaves you flat, don't worry. You can still practice "Isvarapranidana."
I have found myself saying to my students lately "Yoga is all about the love. If you don't have the love, you don't know yoga. It's a heart practice."
As I watch my students in class, I see how serious they can get. I recognize their desire to do well at their practice. I feel for them when they are missing out on the joy that is at the heart of it all. I want to say to them "Hey, it's OK, lighten up on yourself, it's just yoga."
I suppose we all take ourselves too seriously sometimes. That's why we need this concept of Isvarapranidana--devotion to something much greater than ourselves.
Yoga--when practiced with this sense of devotion--makes us feel more free and easy with ourselves. We appreciate ourselves, take ourselves less seriously and find some open space in our hearts.
At the beginning of class I invite students to practice Isvarapranidana by reminding them to recite their own inner prayers, to offer up the fruits of their practice, and to reflect on the amazing circumstances that allow us all to be where we are.
At the end of class, I ask students to become willing to offer themselves their own approval and appreciation, without conditions or limitations. Appreciating yourself unconditionally is actually an act of humility because you have give up believing that you are an accurate judge of your own inner worth. You surrender your negative opinions about yourself and instead offer love and approval.
It's painful and limiting to be so harshly judgemental about oneself. True happiness comes when we can quiet the ego and experience love and bliss that shine forth spontaneously from within. You can't think your way through yoga--you have to experience it with your whole being. Yoga contains both the philosphy of absolute bliss and the technology to attain it.