The Spiritual Path of Yoga - #2

Yoga means “to unite or join”, and refers to our human journey to uncover our highest nature in our quest to unite with supreme consciousness.  It is through yoga that one is able to experience our maximum potential, i.e. the true nature of the soul.

  

“When the restlessness of the mind, intellect and self is stilled through the practice of Yoga, the yogi by the grace of the Spirit within himself finds fulfillment. Then he knows the joy eternal that is beyond the pale of the senses, which his reason cannot grasp. He abides in this reality and moves not therefrom. He has found the treasure above all others. There is nothing higher than this. He who has achieved it, shall not be moved by the greatest sorrow.”  Sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.

Yoga is the path of self acquired knowledge, a way of life, where the process of self-discovery means we have within us the same creative energy that created the universe.  And once this realization sets in, we have reached our highest potential for self-discovery. It is a path where living is an art, a philosophy, where life’s challenges are lived with grace and equanimity.  It is a science that requires knowledge gained by observation and experimentation, to reach a state of balance and harmony between the mind, body and spirit.

To embrace this path fully, means developing the understanding that we invite each and every person and situation into our life, and that we are indeed the architect of our life experiences.  As we sow, so shall we reap.  Our thoughts determine our emotions, and our emotions in turn become vibrations that draw into our experience that which is like unto itself. It is in this process of creation, that we have the ability to examine where we are on our individual journey to coming into our own magnificence and power.

Operating on a lower vibrational plane means dealing with base level feeling such as fear, doubt, insecurity, anger, greed, etc, disconnected from the interconnected fabric of life.  For example, if I do not love, honour and accept myself completely, and suffer from feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem, I will draw into my life people who suffer from the same, and in my interaction with them, experiences will occur to fuel these very feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem.

To raise our vibrational plane means to first begin by loving and accepting ourselves completely.  If I am responsible for everything that has come into my life, it is up to me to gain clarity on why certain things are occurring at any given point in my world.  As is my vibration, so is my world.  Everyone else is a mere actor in a movie script that I have created for my own expansion; an energy exchange in our connectedness and oneness, as we prod each other along our path.

To examine our internal world, and how we are thinking and feeling becomes instrumental. Awareness then becomes the single most essential quality. To become a deliberate creator of ones life experiences, means training the mind to focus, to think and to feel in a manner that raises our vibration, and one that connects us with the universal energy.

Our external world mirrors our internal world, and until one is able to expand into the perfection of our own true selves, the human journey remains a challenging one.  Yoga provides us the tools to balance the mind, the body, and the emotions, enabling the inward journey to begin. Yoga is a science, a practical, methodical, and systematic discipline that allows our awakening to our deepest nature. It is the art of self-discovery in pursuit of the eternal truth.

 

- Radhika Vachani

Exploring the Philosophy of Yoga in One’s Daily Life - #1

Over the past several years as I have been practicing yoga, my exploration of the philosophy behind the practice and how it influences my daily life, has become integral.

At the core of each asana, there is a point of centeredness and balance that allows one to hold the asana effortlessly, be it a simple trikonasa or one of the more advanced asanas.  Either way, in order to be able to perform the asana well, balanced, harmonious and confident, one must be alert to the various forces that come up to distract us away from this focal point.

Throughout our journey with yoga we work with these forever changing forces, be it the inflexibility of the body and the mind, an agitated mental state, aches and pains, fear associated with the forces of gravity, and feelings of doubt, to name a few. Each asana demands focus and concentration to go deeper, to find that point of perfect balance and harmony, where the mind, the body and the breath are fully engaged, and one is completely at one with the present moment, alert, aware and strongly grounded.

For example, if one experiences fear in a particular posture, and one engages with the fear, then the mind begins to waver, to disintegrate and one is likely to lose one’s balance, to fall, or be unable to do the asana. 

The key then is to recognize these forces, while remaining alert enough to not engage with them, training one’s mind to concentrate and focus on the breath, irrespective of what is happening in the mind and the body.  Remaining centered enables us to open up to the experience of our practice, and to understand how to perform the asana properly, awakening our body’s own intelligence.  This may mean that we become aware that a certain part of the body needs to be engaged or further strengthened.  Or by focusing the mind and remaining one with the breath, one might be able to perform the asana simply through concentration.

And herein lies the beautiful parallel to life.  Melodramas of the environment, health, finances, relationships, work, etc will not only always exist, but we are guaranteed these dramas in our human journey.  The recognition of these as mere forces that arise and disrupt us, pulling us away from our own sense of balance and centeredness becomes integral to our life practice.

The simple awareness that nothing in the external environment can remain the same and that change is the inevitable essence of life, is essential to our peaceful existence. Seasons change, tides change, our bodies change, our experiences and emotions change, there is birth and there is death, nothing remains the same.  Our lives encompass an amazing diversity of experiences, of happiness and pain, of hope and despair, of confidence and insecurity, of changing sights, sounds, smells, touch, tastes, thoughts and feelings. 

So how is it possible that we believe that things will never change, that we cling onto this idea incessantly? And in this, we become creators of our fears, our disappointments, our unhappiness, and our false realities, as we remain incapable of embracing life for what it is.

When one is alert, aware and strongly rooted in ourselves, free from a mind cluttered with our perceptions, our experiences, our expectations, and our emotions; when we are willing to be borne again and again, to live each day open to infinite possibility, only then are we able to see things the way they really are, and with a freshness never experienced before.  Only then can we embrace life for what it is with its immense diversity, living life joyously and harmoniously, intuitive, strong and clear about what we want, and completely at peace with the flow of life.

Radhika Vachani
For Yogacara Healing Arts