All About Yoga
by Darlene Fletcher
Remember back to the last time you tried to take up a hobby or join something or adopt a healthy new habit? It was hard work...right? Your interest waned, you lost enthusiasm, you started making up excuses, or maybe your expectations were too high and you became impatient? Have you ever tried Yoga? Something that generally attracts us and keeps us there... what is it about Yoga that inspires and supports us, wherever we may be on the journey...
I have been practicing Yoga Asanas and Yoga for over 27 years. Wow, where has the time gone and could it really be that long? It's been my security and I don't know honestly where I would be without it and it's only getting better every day, as my desire for wisdom and health increases.
For those travelling along the Yoga journey from the very beginning, I have seen many changes. I have learned so much from the students/people I have met over the years. They have taught me more than I have taught them. Some have become really good friends and now I realize how much my life has changed... you know the saying 'friends of a feather.....'
So, how does Yoga Asanas and Yoga change our bodies, lifestyles and our circumstances? And how does Yoga change us? Poor fund of knowledge?
Our body is an instrument, a temple for us the spirit soul, who resides within. That is who we are! We don't have a soul... we ARE the soul! We live as a spark of the Supreme Spirit soul within these bodies, which are a temples, temporarily housing us... the soul, the 'Jiva atma'. Therefore, through our bodies we begin to learn what the real meaning of Yoga is by starting off first with Yoga Asanas, the physical exercise. Some people begin Yoga Asanas as a practical way to relax and achieve peace within, the mind, the breath etc....And others begin Yoga because they believe it will help them spiritually, achieving self-realization and enlightenment, which really is the goal and the real meaning of Yoga!
And although we were or are often completely ignorant about Yoga before that first class... it's ok, because it's just á 'poor fund of knowledge'. Usually after the first class most of us experience an immediate and strong attraction to what we recognize as something deeper than just exercise, asanas, poses... We start to realized we want more than just the physical, we want the philosophical aspect too. And for me personally, this is what kept me going. It's one thing to start a new activity but quite another to sustain it for 20, 30 or 50 years. Yoga offers a life-changing return because it's more than poses, it's spiritual wisdom, food for the soul, knowledge that gets banked up as an investment, thus never lost.
Yoga brings gifts from the very first day, it plants the seed of your journey. People begin to feel something happening at a deep level, feeding them, the spirit soul. Some people describe it as a new feeling of lightness, calm, peace and joy. All of a sudden yoga expands your vision to self realization...We are not our bodies, we are not our minds... we are spirit in essence. How cool is that. I believe that is one of the most far out things we can learn in this life time. We are not our bodies!
But in saying that... we do need our bodies to stay strong and healthy and therefore our poses, our pranayama, our meditation, through japa mala and kirtan all help us to travel through this lifetime with awareness and strength. I don't honestly know where I would be without my practice.
In ancient scripture it states 'The practice of perfect discipline is achieved in stages'. 'Simple living, High thinking'. Moving through life with awareness, from asanas, to pranayama (breathing), dharana (concentration) and dhyana (meditation)
Aham brahmasmi. I am spirit not matter.
Namaste sweet souls
Darlene