Why Start a Yoga Practice?
Yoga is so much more than poses on a mat.
One of the modern assumptions about yoga is that it is very much an active, physical practice. There are really eight limbs of yoga and asana, while an essential component of our overall practice, is simply one of these eight limbs. We learn as students of yogic philosophy that five of these eight limbs are taught, and three of them are caught, suggesting there are some things we can learn and others we discover by falling directly into. Yoga is so much more than movement on a mat; it’s a science - the science of the mind…so yogic philosophy is extremely helpful when we are looking at attaining stillness and space within. It’s this very space that needs to be created for our true self to be revealed within us.
Each of us have a unique opportunity to cultivate a relationship with the divine within and to live a life that brings contentment and real bliss, although not all moments will be happy. This is where we can yield a practice of being that takes over this process of overthinking and stress, providing us with something reliable that we can return to in moments of challenge. That we can continue to rely on to align with our most effortless rhythm. In a state of inner-connectedness, we can release all of the self-limitations that are created, self-created really, out of this mis-understanding we have about ourselves and our true potential.
Your mind is chemistry. With the proper ingredients and mixtures, your chemical reaction can either produce something magnificent or something dangerous. All these places where we are not being as honest with ourselves or have a mis-understanding about this true potential creates a distortion in our overall internal chemical environment. Learning to watch what bubbles up from the inside has been like learning to watch my own chemical equation. The pot of water can’t sit boiling on the stove forever. At some point the water will run out, even though the fire keeps burning.
The different limbs of yoga offer us different opportunities for self-study and self-realization. Each of us need tools, techniques and practices to help us tame the fire when the fuel runs hot. Over time, our consistent efforts to be with ourselves allow any veils of self-illusion to thin and gradually fall away, even deeply rooted wounding that’s been stored in the body for years. We can return to the oneness and connect to the truth within and just be the the expression of this Truth expressing effortlessly into form. Forming a yoga practice can help you bridge the world of Spirit and matter through the intentional way in which your body, mind and emotional spheres of experience unwind together.
