What makes one a
terrorist and what makes one a good person?
It is the mind.
The mind can be a saint and the mind can be a
sinner, and it is
that mind which has to be dealt with. As a system
of mind
management, yoga helps to change and transform the
hyper agitated
mind and make it more peaceful and content. In
the beginning we
come to yoga to deal with our mind, to deal with
tension,
frustration and anxiety, to learn how to relax and let go.
Eventually, as
our involvement with yoga increases, we come to
know the other
dimensions and aspects of yoga, but originally the
effort is to
understand the mind. – Paramhamsa
Niranjan Ananda
In some recent posts I may
have seemed to disparage the physical practices of yoga, the yoga asanas. In fact, I try to practice asanas daily and
encourage anyone to do so. Asanas
benefit us on physical, psychological and spiritual levels in terms of health
and development. When practiced
properly, i.e. mindfully, asanas are a form of meditation and help us to
integrate these three aspects of our beings (physical, psychological and
spiritual.) As Alex Korb, Ph.D. writes, “Yoga
can supposedly improve depressive symptoms and immune function, as well as
decrease chronic
pain, reduce stress, and lower blood pressure. These
claims have all been made by yogis over the years, and it sounds like a lot of
new age foolishness. Surprisingly, however, everything in that list is
supported by scientific research.” (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prefrontal-nudity/201109/yoga-changing-the-brains-stressful-habits)
What I have criticized is
the tendency of our culture to adopt only the most superficial aspects of yoga,
to focus exclusively on the physical asanas and to lose the deeper
spiritual-philosophical basis. You don’t
have convert to a new religion to practice yoga but it helps to develop a
flexibility of mind as well as body.
Soul and spirit are legitimate aspects of our beings just as are body
and mind. Yoga enables us to become more
aware of these dimensions of our beings.
Asana practice is a good
place for most of us to begin. We are
more or less identified with our bodies, or as Dr. Freud put it, “The ego is
first and foremost a body ego.” Our histories
of attachment, stress, conflict, abuse and trauma are all held in the muscular
tension of our bodies. Yoga helps us to
become aware of the energetic aspect of our beings, to release psycho-physical
“knots,” and to balance the polar energies of prana (bio-energy) and chitta
(mind-energy.) I won’t go so far as to
say that it is a complete substitute for psychotherapy. The therapeutic relationship is sometimes
necessary for us to heal. However it is
a powerful adjunct to “talk-therapy.”
When I first began to learn
yoga under the tutelage of Swami Niranjan, he asked me what I wanted to learn
about yoga. I told him I was interested
in meditation. Coming from a background
which I now identify as a “domestic violence family,” I was struggling with
moodswings and anxiety and hoped to transcend them through meditation. He simply told me, “You need to learn asana
and pranayama before you will be able to experience meditation.” However, even my first yoga class included
asana (postures,) pranayama (breath work,) and introductory meditation
practices (i.e. yoga nidra.)
I learned that yoga is an
integral practice. It is not just
physical exercise, nor is it just relaxation.
On a deeper level it is a discipline to develop consciousness. It is a means of awakening to who we are
beyond the physical body and the conditioned mind. As Swami Shiva Radha put it, “Yoga means
dehypnotizing and waking up.” It is most
deeply a discipline of awareness. It is
sometimes easy to miss this and to let yoga become “yuppie calisthenics.” As Dr. Korb (ibid.) says, “After going back
to my Dad's yoga class a few times, I eventually came to the realization that
not only can you practice yoga in real life, but, conversely, you could go to a
yoga class and not really be doing yoga. Some of those hot, tan, thin
women around him might just be placing their legs behind their heads, and still
not be focusing on keeping their breath calm and steady, or their minds clear
(Note: I have removed a lame blonde joke). They might be focused on
something else entirely. Without the sustained intention of focusing on
the present, and calming the mind, going to a yoga class is literally just
going through the motions.”
Beyond yoga class, Swamiji
taught me that yoga is a discipline that carries over into our daily
lives. Most notably is the practice of
karma yoga or mindful activity. Karma
yoga means being aware of ourselves in the midst of our activities, letting go
of past impressions, future imaginings and simply being “here-and-now” in our
work responsibilities. Karma yoga is
mindfulness-in-action. Along with this
is Bhakti yoga or the cultivation and maintenance of love, devotion and
surrender in our lives and Jnana yoga, philosophical self-inquiry. When we put all of these together we begin to
truly and fully practice yoga.
