I read an article yesterday that left me wondering if the reason that brought us into the practice is still the reason we practice today. Is it? I started my own yoga practice, a long time ago, because I wanted to relax a little and also, I confess, find a cool yogi boyfriend. (picture)
I got happily married last July so right there there is a significant change a sense of "been there done that" if you would.
The reason why I practice now is becacuse I truly want to be enlightened, to remember who I really am, the I am that I am. I want full happiness as, I realize now, that is the only way in which I can help anyone else be happy. It only works by example. We can only teach, spread, share, what we have experienced.
The reason why I practice now is becacuse I truly want to be enlightened, to remember who I really am, the I am that I am. I want full happiness as, I realize now, that is the only way in which I can help anyone else be happy. It only works by example. We can only teach, spread, share, what we have experienced.
What do you think? Why did you start yoga? And, is that the same reason why you get on the mat or the cushion today?
Here is an excerpt of the article written by someone called Laura (via Elephant Journal):
...no matter how long we practice, what our practice is about is implicit in its origin story. If you want to know about a person’s practice, ask him why he began it... If you began Yoga because you wanted to perfect yourself, your practice is always going to be about perfection, either achieving it or deliberately abjuring it, but it will always have perfection as a touchstone....Article here
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How does it relate to you? same intention? same motivation? same reason? or has it changed?
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Wow, Claudia, another interesting post! I have lots of things to say about this (should probably start my own post about this, actually), but I'll just say 2 things here:
ReplyDelete(1) I also started yoga with the intention of finding an attractive partner/significant other. In grad school, I went to my first yoga class at the campus gym because somebody told me that lots of hot chicks can be found in yoga class! But the funny thing is, by my second class, I was so absorbed in the practice that I was focusing at least as much on the practice as on the attractive bodies around me.
(2) I have to say that I don't agree with Linda. In everything else in life, people's present intentions for doing something are often vastly different from their intentions when they first started. Why should this be different with yoga? But okay, maybe I need to read Linda's article in its entirety before I judge. It just smacks of a certain small-mindedness posing as spirituality (oh no, I'm judging again! arghh....)
Sorry for the rant. You can probably tell that I just had my double espresso (can you imagine me having 5 double espressos in a day?)...
Hi Nobel, you have me cracking up about the double espresso, and yes I see that you already have enough ideas for a whole post, which I am looking forward to. I agree with you, I think the article maybe true for some but it is definitely not my case, I do have to say that it left me wondering that is why I wanted to see what others think. I am so glad you shared your insight here !
ReplyDeleteI am on my Americano right now... with half and half
I started yoga because I wanted something "softer".. a break from my previously rigorous exercising routine, and to heal my lower back. I thought yoga was just simple stretching. Was planning to do it until my lower back improved and then go back to what I did before. Then I found Ashtanga and fell in love.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually taking a break from yoga right now, but when I head back home, I will probably head straight to my yoga studio as soon as I can. I will be there for the community, for a peace of mind, and still for the sake of exercise. Will be interesting when I get back.
YYogini, i also love the community aspect of yoga, can understand that you are looking forward to it when you return to practice. Interesting that you were looking for something "softer" and ended up with "ashtanga".
ReplyDeletei started i will say " by accident"! because i was in a dangerous african town and i could not run!!! so i was with some copies of ashtanga and i did try, alone, it took me 3 years to go to india, after maysore, it did change my life! and still changing it
ReplyDeletenow i know why i practise!
I also don't agree with the article... seems too pat for me, too simplistic and doesn't allow for personal growth.
ReplyDeleteI've always been drawn to yoga, tried it on and off for 20 years. It wasn't until Ashtanga showed up though that I found what I was looking for. So maybe my answer is yes, what I initially sought I eventually found a key to in Ashtanga but it was only the barest of beginnings and so I am still seeking and that makes me continue to get on the mat.
Lilasvb, I did not know that, very interesting, and I see how it has changed for you, the intention that is, now you know, then you did not.
ReplyDeleteLoo, I agree I think anything can be construed to look like it or not like it, but fundamentally I also disagree. And I like how you put it that is the still seeking part that gets you on the mat
I started mostly to save my knees, which were in danger when I got seriously into biking in my mid-30's, and with a vague hope of a healthy alternative to marijuana. As it turned out, yoga worked quite well for both, and perhaps it could be said I'm still somewhat problem-focused. Nonetheless, I disagree strongly with the metaphysical premise of Laura's (not Linda's) article. Having been a scholar of literature as well as a devoted student of life, one thing I've learned is that life doesn't follow any of the narrative rules of conventional fiction (including comic books) (with the possible exception of unpopular avant-garde fiction which most people don't like because it seems pointless...which is exactly its point).
ReplyDeleteYfC, thanks for the name correction, I made a mistake and will change it to reflect. You make me laugh when you say that life does not follow any narrative rule, not even that of a comic book, such a clear way to illustrate your point, yes...
ReplyDeleteOn advice of friends, I decided to give yoga a try. Suprised to find it difficult to stick w. an hr of Jivamukti practise. At that time I was in the best shape ever. Gym rat, runner, and it showed. Lean, muscular etc. After about a yr of slowly incorporating yoga (figured I could gain more flexibility)@ my gym, came an Ashtanga once a week class on the gym schedule. I was hooked fr class 1. The teacher was a long time student of Eddie's.
ReplyDeleteMy motive was still more strength, and flexibility.That teacher left the gym after a little more than a yr. There I was...missing my once a week Ashtanga Led Class...other workouts @ the gym - even though they kept me in great shape, were not so fulfilling. It took about 6 yrs to get the courage to go to Eddie's. The gym Ashtanga teacher had repeatedly advised me to go there. Was too intimidated by the thought of Mysore...had only done Led classes @ the gym.
After a couple of yrs now @ Eddie's and sporadic gym visits...having gained about 8/9 pounds during this time. I cannot imagine being the "gym rat" again. This is far more valuable. Focus, motive has changed...were it just to be in the best shape ever...I'd be @ the gym.
I seem to be among the few who doesn't necessarily get skinny from daily Ashtanga (not even in Mysore - gained weight there too) - still I love my practise...and all's good!
Hi Anonymous, thanks for sharing that story, it is always fascinating to read accounts of how people got into ashtanga in particular... you are lucky to be with Eddie after all these years! I practiced at the temple for a year and loved it! I agree the practice brings SO much more than a regular workout, and I can see how your focus changed too... how you went deeper looking for meaning...
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I think my reasons for doing yoga started off as better reasons than my reasons now. I started yoga wanting to relax and to help my body be able to run--I was a big time runner--without as many injuries.
ReplyDeleteNow, after 10 years of this, I think I keep doing Ashtanga out of fear--fear that I will be less healthy if I don't do it; fear that I'll live a shorter life, and as a much older mom--living a long time seems so critical; fear that I will be less calm, etc. Practicing yoga for so long, you start to hear the yoga dogma and believe it. Or rather I have started to believe it, and that has made me continue yoga out of fear rather than my much simpler, less loaded reasons for starting in the beginning. This makes me feel kind of bad.
Tara
Tara, that is so honest of you, and I was just thinking along those lines this week, especially after I went to a hospital and saw old people in wheel chairs, suffering. I guess I took the approach of looking at the practice as "insurance", and "a little pain every day perhaps will not allow for a huge chunk of pain towards the end"... which is based on fear. Your comment is making me think!
ReplyDelete