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
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