Thoughts on Yoga By Lyn Moes – December, 2007
If you look at the ebb and flow of the tides, the blossoming of a flower or the movement of the stars, you do not see nature straining. There is rhythm and balance in the natural world. Timing and finesse are the tools for transformation. The energy of love and harnessing the power of love to use the energy creatively for healing, transformation and evolution is the way to go.
The greatest benefits of yoga come from relaxing into a pose, rather than forcing your body into it. When moving into flexibility find the point of resistance rather than muscling your way through this point and breathe into the resistance, surrender into the resistance and you will find yourself extending your reach and enhancing your flexibility. Stay present with your full awareness in your body and engage an attitude of surrender. In yoga as in life, patience is a virtue. In yoga, the more you are able to embrace rather than fight your limitations and vulnerabilities, the fewer limits they hold and more balance and energy you experience.
In your yoga practice and in your life, practice acceptance. During your yoga practice, accept your body the way it is. Give up your need to struggle.
In your daily life, practice accepting people as they are and circumstances as they occur, understanding that every moment in your life is the consequence of every prior choice you've made. Rather than resisting who or what is currently in your life, practice acceptance of what is present. Having accepted things as they are take responsibility for the challenge you are facing.
In yoga make a commitment to nurture your body through appropriate exercise and nutrition. Remember that every challenge is an opportunity in disguise. Establish your awareness in defenselessness. Do not waste your life energy defending your point of view without rigidly attaching yourself to any one of them. Yoga is a system dedicated to awakening flexibility in body, mind and spirit; yoga can accommodate and celebrate the many diverse approaches that have developed over the years.
Every teacher and every system has its own variations on postures, pace, style and intensity. The right yoga system for you is the one that enhances your vitality and flexibility. The right Yoga Teacher for you is the one that embraces your inner most yearnings of fitness, health, vitality, joy, happiness, meditation and connection with the Divine. Try not to waste your vital energy in friction and conflict. Liberated, this energy becomes available to you for creativity, personal growth and healing.
The practice of yoga asanas is considered by many great yogis to be the foundation of one's preparation for dhyana (or meditation). Through the practice of asanas, the body and mind are prepared for the state of inner stillness that would otherwise be elusive. So watch out, Yoga becomes addictive….once you begin to master the asanas your desire to be in a meditative state increases and your connection with the Divine becomes stronger. This creates a rippling effect through the whole of your life…you no longer desire the things that you thought would give you happiness like money, luxury, power, rich food and parties….your taste changes back to your true essence. Mahatma Ghandi one of India's most beloved children, was an equally strong advocate of the benefits of meditation, once saying "today I have so much to do I will need to meditate for two hours instead of one".
Swami Satyananda Saraswati, another great Yogi said,
"You may remain Hindu, Muslim, Christian or a follower of any other religion. But while living the pleasures and pains of human life, do not live even a single day without inner meditation".
When asked why do Yogis and almost all Religious start their day early? "Brahmamuhurta" This is the time between 3am and 6am believed to be the most favourable time for sadhana (spiritual practice). During brahmamuhurta, so called as it's considered the most auspicious time for meditating on Brahma (God), the mind is calm and less engaged with worldly thoughts, worries and anxieties. Also the atmospheric energy during this time is more charged with sattva (purity) increasing the likelihood one's practice will go deeper, with the corresponding benefits to health and wellbeing.
Paramahansa Yogananda, famous for bringing Yoga to the Western world says
"The ordinary person is influenced by his worldly environment. The man of concentration shapes his own life".
"Every day you look into a mirror to observe your face and body, because you want to look your best before others. Is it not even more important to look daily into the inner mirror of introspection, self-analysis?.....all outer attractiveness derives from the divinity of the indwelling soul".