By: Lisa Jordan
(Yoga Teacher and Therapist; Founder Karma Yoga Program at HSCA)
There is an adage, "we are spiritual beings having a human experience."
Our collective human experience is a beautiful privilege; and a heavy responsibility to ourselves, our loved ones, our community, and our environment.
In today's technologically advanced and organically deflated society, it might be more appropriate to say, we are human doings too distracted to feel the present moment.
"Spirituality" may be defined as a portal or a path that connects us to something larger than ourselves and in reciprocation offers us inspiration.
There is a calling in most of us to 'spirituality' at some stage in life...
We are born into a spiritual community or family.
A curiosity dawns upon us.
A circumstance arises, that draws us inward, questioning what is or what was.
Life, seen as a verb, is the art of being.
A journey out of habitual "human doing" and into the intimacy of being and the transcendental landscape of endless becoming.
Newcomers to yoga and meditation may find the very word 'spirituality' intimidating and even deterring.
"Mind-Body practice", is more palatable, in the context of yoga and meditation.
The web of mind-body non-dualism is at the forefront of holistic medicine and alternative healing practices.
Holistic living and mindfulness-based practices are making a bold stamp in the world of conventional medicine, especially with the surge of psycho-neuro-immunological disorders prevalent today.
Yoga is one of several mind-body practices.
Yoga allows one to have an experience of something profound that is body-based.
The yoga practice allows the practitioner to dial into a network of energy beyond the limits of our egocentric awareness.
Yoga postures are not meant as athletic performance.
The asanas (postures) are a means of exploring the rivers of energy in the body.
There are noted to be 72,000 'nadis', or nerve channels in ancient ayurvedic texts.
Breath, or Prana, reveals the magic of yoga practice, it is what we aim to cultivate on the mat.
It is the fuel of our transformation.
The breath unfolds our sense of inner spaciousness revealing what lies beyond and within our skin.
It is not knowing that is all-knowing.
It is a letting go.
On the mat, I would encourage the newcomer to adopt spirituality as this sense of space.
Spaciousness beyond the mind.
Space within and around the body.
The pause between inhale and exhale.
A place beyond perception, emotion, thought, and experience.
Deepak Chopra defines 4 specific questions as the landmark for the spiritual journey:
1) Who am I?
2)What do I truly want?
3)Why am I here? What is my purpose? What am I doing?
4)What am I grateful for?
It is these questions and their interconnections that lends our sense of "I" to include the universe as "I".
As we age, and the once entertaining amusement park of life presents itself as a somewhat nauseating roller-coaster of unpredictable shifts and challenges; The inner calling to slow down, pause, reevaluate, and indeed find stillness grows louder.
The call may not be gentle but an overwhelming HALT, STOP, HELP, for what I do not know.
This is one of several reasons why yoga practice has become a commercial industry.
Yoga works.
Absolutely.
It is magic
Yoga enhances our sense of well being, increases the mobility of mind and body, reduces stress, stimulates vital body organs, enhances the creativity of the soul. It is a system of self-healing; Inner alchemy.
Yet its reduction to a bunch of shapes, with the over-commercialized, monotonous "inhale and exhale" as the only guideline from your teacher, or youtube video, maybe a mantra thrown in for the show, is not only a mistranslation but an insult to Indian culture and the history of Vedanta.
Yoga and meditative disciplines are not a vacation from life, nor a quick fix for life.
Yoga is not an all-inclusive luxury trip for sale on Instagram.
Yoga is a commitment to be better for you and for those around you.
Yoga, from the Sanskrit root "yuj' , to join or to yoke, is an inner offering.
It is an offering to the self no matter where one is at in the dance of life.
Yoga is an unwavering effort to cultivate peace in the chamber of our hearts.
Yoga practice is a moving meditation; an art of movement and detailed science of stillness.
(Very detailed. )
It is a surrender and empowerment.
Inward stability and an outward curiosity that offers more space for life to teach us how to live.
"Yoga is an art of the body, not an art of display, but an art of seeing inwardly."
~Dr. Norman Sjoman
This is WHY we come to the mat
It becomes a celebration, a place of safety, a dance.
An act of self-knowledge.
What drew me, Lisa, to yoga?
Another story.
"Yoga should be known through yoga. Yoga arises from yoga. Whoever is honest with yoga will enjoy in yoga for a long time"
~ Vyasa's commentary on yoga sutras, verse 3.6
Find out more about Karma Yoga here. For a full list of HSCA programs and events, view our Calendar.
Please note that guest blogs reflect the opinions and ideas of the author and should not be considered to reflect the opinions of HSCA. HSCA supports and invites content from all residents and we aim to provide a platform for the diverse and unique perspectives of our community members on our blog and monthly newsletter.