What yoga means to me

Since I found yoga, it has always been a tool for me to get through the tough times in my life. Of course, yoga amidst happiness is pure bliss, but perhaps more significant, yoga amidst adversity can be times for growth and change, however painful. One thing I know, without yoga or for some people, without running or biking or journaling, those tough times would be far more difficult.

How many of us lie awake nights or find ourselves drifting off in the middle of our workday dwelling and brooding on our troubles of the moment? How many sleepless nights and less-than-productive workdays? When I'm in the middle of a tough, sweaty session of yoga, there's no room left in my mind, body, or soul to focus on anything but the alignment of my knee and the opening of my chest as I reach for the stretch or command my body to lift gracefully in a strength pose. A moving meditation. "Yoga citta vrtti nirodha." The second of Patanjali's yoga sutras. This is translated as, Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. Oh boy, it sure is. Most times my thoughts race from one topic to another, and my emotions inevitably follow suit. Sometimes it feels like all the disparate facets of my personality have their own voice in my head and clamor to make themselves heard when attempting to understand a particular situation. But without perspective and objectivity, it can feel impossible for one voice to win out over the rest, leading to a state of chaos and confusion. Yoga gives me a chance to take a deep breath and allow my thoughts to settle - to cease its fluctuation. And hopefully, it is in the silence, in the quiet, that I find my answers without active searching. Answers that come from a deeper aspect of my being, a more integral and foundational energy. I feel that these answers are more trustworthy in that, they come from a place stripped of emotion whether happy, sad, prideful, or selfish.

There are several lucky people out there who are able to be in this state of stripped down awareness throughout their consciousness, whether or not in an hour and a half yoga class. Or, maybe I'm in error calling them lucky. Luck implies that it is good fortune and not hard work that has gotten them to that state. In actuality, these meditative gurus work terribly hard day in and day out to cease the fluctuations of their minds in hopes of achieving that transcendental state. Anyone who thinks meditation is easy needs to try it sometime. Achieving an unassisted handstand in the center of the room is easier and less scary than having to face yourself in the stillness of your thoughts and mind.

It is through the continued practice of yoga that I begin to realize how much more there is to yoga than just the simple postures. Asana, or posture, is only one of the eight limbs of yoga. And, it is perhaps the easiest and most accessible of the eight for those of us who have grown up in the western world. It looks like I have a long way to go before I can make a guess at what yoga can really mean to me.

Namaste,
Cindy