I was recently contacted by an individual who also writes on Yoga & Spirituality. This person complimented me on my writing and asked for my opinion on his. I visited his website numerous times and I had a hard time relating to his writing, I couldn’t read a single post all the way through. This is my experience with most of the articles I encounter about Yoga & Spirituality. This time, because of his request, I gave it some thought, and the bottom line is this…. I feel there is too much talk and too little practice.
We live in disturbed and volatile times (dominated by Rajas). We generally have more options, consume more information, make more choices then ever before – and it seems this over-stimulation is still on the rise. It is only natural that people are looking for a way to deal with this. It is only natural that people turn to Yoga for answers. It is only natural that Yoga gets caught up and affected by the prevailing disturbing energy. The popular and available Yoga that survives this process is mostly a disturbed and low potency Yoga.
I try to embrace this state of Yoga (it’s not easy for me). I am hoping and assuming that this is best for now – that people will find Yoga by practicing play-Yoga (as I did), by shopping for Yoga clothes and by drawing inspiration from promises for a better day and toying with ten-step recipes for self-improvement. Some intentions are good, others are abusive. From my vantage point the remains are not even the tip of the iceberg of Yoga – they are a melted residue.
As for me, I know that already there are teachings of Yoga that I will not receive from my teachers, as there are teachings they did not receive from theirs. What I write about Yoga is intended to make the teachings I have received available knowledge available and to give them a bit more reach and longevity. My choice is to focus on practical tools that can be put to action in the hands of people who will, when the time is right, be able to benefit from them by practicing.
Enough said. You can start practicing now! If you’ve never practiced Yoga and don’t have a teacher here is something you can do on your own:
- Get familiar with your natural breathing.
- Learn to do Ujjayi breathing.
- Find your preferred seated position.
- Learn about the four parts of your breath.
- Learn to count & time your breaths.
- Start a simple breathing practice that takes a few minutes and you can every day.
If you did start practicing I’d love to hear about it – please let me know by commenting on this post or contacting me.
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