Thoughts on Yoga

Dear Friends:

Doesn't it seem right now that the world at large is just TOO MUCH?  Depending upon how you are feeling, you will interepret TOO MUCH to mean either a:) outrageous but not without humor or b:) overwhelming.

Let's look how we align our inner lives with option "A" instead of "B."

First, know that overwhelm is always going to be damaging to you on every level: body, mind, spirit, family, and pocketbook.  So you have to make avoiding overwhelm a top priority.  Otherwise everything else you try to do will be thwarted. 

We can be telling ourselves we're OK when in fact we are in overwhelm.  Being overwhelmed doesn't mean you're no longer functioning, going to work, getting stuff done.  It means your inner life is under attack.

There can be some time between the onset of overwhelm and when we first notice things are not going well in our outer world. But eventually our outer reality will start to reflect the inner one.

Overwhelm is always a reaction to a strong current of fear.  Sometimes that fear is conscious, but more often we're not even aware of it.  We can be aware of the warning signs: lack of optimism about future prospects; lack of motivation; confusion; endlessly repeating thoughts; mental blankness; emotional blankness; feeling disempowered; restlessness; exhaustion; lack of interest in others; letting go of routines and activities; sudden change in appetite; cravings; more drinking and/or taking drugs; bodily pain and illness.

Somewhere along the way, our society has come to accept fear as an unavoidable condition for an engaged life.  It has been renamed as "stress."  That makes the experience seem less threatening.  We are expected to have stress and "manage" that stress.  There isn't room to doubt the necessity of stress in the first place.  It seems a given that we'e all going to have it.

What about opting out of stress long-term?  Is that possible?  The Yoga tradition says the answer is YES.  

First, we do postures to release stress from the muscles and cleanse the cells.  This doesn't take a lot of time.  A single session can clear out a great deal.  If you practice frequently, stress doesn't have a chance to linger and do lasting damage. This is dealing with stress soon after it has taken root. It's like cleaning house.

Then we can pre-empt stress, fear and overwhelm by actually changing the nervous system and our unconscious thought patterns.  This happens at more advanced levels of yoga, in which powerful breathing and mental techniques are practiced regularly.     

Wouldn't it be wonderful live a truly calm and happy life?  To spend the morning feeling relaxed, work calmly and purposefully throughout the day, and be able to let go and enjoy friends and family while not at work?  And most importantly, to feel a deep bliss and serenity inside yourself at all times?

Many would say this is impossible.  But they don't know the power of yoga.  People can and do stay at a consistently high level of bliss.  Serenity and bliss are latent within the human nervous system.  Through diligent practice of yoga techniqes, we simply call it out again and again until the experience is continuous.  Along the way, new vistas of awareness open up in our minds. Confusion is replaced by a calm knowing.  

We don't have to take ourselves out of the worldly environment in order to make these changes.  In fact, the best place to grow in yoga is within a full, active and complex life. We keep our worldly commitments while we engage in yoga practices that nurture our bliss and serenity.

Gradually, we change from the inside out.  We know a change has occured when we feel good inside ourselves no matter what is happening outside.  We are then living in the world, but not bound by it.

If you fear that you will become a) bored with just feeling blissful or b)heartless and uncaring about others, don't worry.  That will never happen.  Bliss is never boring and when you have it you just want to give it away to others. 

May your path be smooth and joyous.