Yoga and the Philosophy

Iyengar writes that yoga is a lifestyle. He lists how yoga brings a man closer to god and how the yogi is the paragon of being human. Now, I don’t believe in god, nor do I fully endorse his beliefs about how to be a yogi. However, I do see how the practice can become a lifestyle and how it can help you become a better version of yourself.

In a discussion about yoga between my partner and me, we were going back and forth about the validity of the medical benefits of the practice and the discourse of its lifestyle. Yoga is a spiritual practice, so how can a non-spiritual person reap what the practice has to offer?

For example, Iyengar mentions, “the yogi believes that to kill or to destroy a thing of being is to insult its Creator.” Which is why a lot of yogis practice vegetarianism or veganism. I, for one will not become a vegetarian anytime some because I believe all beings have different proposes and even though I am an animal lover, I believe that certain animals survive only because they are a food source. Just because we have reason and intellect doesn’t mean that we aren’t animals too.  (I respect all life forms and I do believe there are healthier ways to kill animals for their meat.) It is not a perfect belief, but then again, I am not a perfect being.

 Iyengar also writes, “He [the yogi] knows that his life is linked inextricably with that of others and he rejoices if he can help them to be happy. He puts the happiness of other, before his own and becomes a source of joy to all who meet him.” Now, I like this mantra, I really do, however my partner brought up some interesting points against this. Focusing the happiness of other instead focusing on your own happiness could be problematic. People’s self interest are not always the same as your and this could led to problems with your our wellbeing. I think most of us can think of one example in which doing something for someone else was not in our own self-interest. That being said, I interpret Iyengar’s words as looking outside of our own greedy and materialistic desires for the path to self happiness. He does mention that “the desire to possess and enjoy what another has, drives a person to do evil deeds.” Instead of focusing on what we lack or don’t have, I think recognizing our strengths, accepting our weaknesses, and working towards the best version of ourselves will lead to happiness for us and others.

The point is, that we as yogi should learn the meaning behind the practice, but it is equally, if not more important to recognize what is best for YOU. I propose that questioning your intentions and the philosophy of the practice will help you deepen and get the most out of yoga and help you challenge yourself further. Just because you like or love something, doesn’t mean you should blindly accept all of its mantras without question. To be the best form of yourself, you should question and reflect upon your motives. What can be better place for this deep inquiry than yoga?

Doing what is “best” vs. Striving towards your physical best

Today I had an amazing revelation about yoga and my practice. Lately I have been reading Iyengar’s Light on Yoga book and pondering the philosophy behind the practice. As you may have noticed in the last post, I have also been struggling with my healthy lifestyle intention. A lot of my internal dilemmas have been centering around the ideas of A- weight lost and B- catching up to my former physical yoga glory. It is challenging not to be able to move in and out of poses like I use to, however I think I have been missing the whole point.

So in class today, I asked my instructor Nicole for some heart opening poses (aka backbends) because I was feeling fatigued. Even since I restarted taking yoga, I noticed I was resisting going into backbends. In the past I was backbend queen, so it is interesting that I have not been pushing for more backbends. Anyhow, we get into backbending and all of the sudden I was pushing myself to go further and further into the poses; even to the point where I requested to stay and do one more variation. Normally I wouldn’t see this behavior as problematic. Hey if you are rocking a pose and want to take it further, by all means do. However, I was not very stable in those poses and I think I was pushing myself to reach the backbends I was able to do in the past (you know, when I was practicing EVERY day for months…). Seeing that I already have an injury and that I could have further injured myself, I have to wonder, what is the best for me physically and mentally?

I am in a yogi conundrum. On one hand, I want to physically work to my max; on the other, I want to heal my ankle and my wellbeing. I am starting to believe that those goals are not mutually exclusive but to attain both, my mental wellbeing needs to stress a little bit more. I feel like I go on and on about yoga and weight, but I seem to encounter a lot of blogs, sites, etc that promote yoga for weight lost. I don’t want to bitch and moan about this idea because I am sure there are a lot of great benefits to having yoga as part of your weight lost program (http://thefatyogi.com/ is a great example of that), BUT I feel there is more to yoga than that. Again, if I just wanted to lose weight I would choose running, swimming, or fuck- even pilates. Yoga would have no meaning for me. I think a lot of the folks who use yoga in that way are missing the point. Weight lost isn’t the problem; it is WHY you want to lose weight to begin with. I have been struggling with body issues for the majority of my life, so it is not as “simple” as losing weight; I need to become accepting of who I am as a person, as a body. That is why I go to yoga.

My practice today reminded me that I am still holding myself back from that type of acceptance and that I need to put more LOVE into my practice. I am not looking for the quick fix; I want this shit to last.

Reaching for former glory

Quote of the Day

"Yoga is the method by which the restless mind is calmed and the energy directed into constructive channels"- B.K.S. Iyengar

Hatin' on the Hate!

This Journey towards self lovin' sucks. I have been finding it pretty hard to be positive about being on this path because of my inability to let go or the judgement and guilt. Then today I found this on Jezebel:
http://jezebel.com/#!5773718/quit-being-so-hard-on-yourself
Which reminded me of the mantra of honoring oneself. How does one honor oneself? What does it mean? How can I do and continue to do this? Tough, isn't it? It's almost like a reflex to focus on my flaws instead of on what I am doing right. The article gives this piece of advice, "List your best and worst traits, and remind yourself that nobody is perfect and think of steps you might take to help you feel better about yourself." That's kinda like honoring oneself, right? 
So why is this so important and so essential to my vision of yoga? 
Because I believe to honor oneself is an important part to loving oneself. If I just wanted to lose weight, I would not have chosen to embark into a deeper understanding of yoga. I would have just entered into one of those fad diets and exercised like crazy. I don't want to do that anymore, I've done that before and guess what? It doesn't work for me. That is because I don't yet fully love and appreciate myself. I don't honor myself. A healthy lifestyle is not about only the physical, but its about the internal as well. I think this is a much more challenging, but more rewarding path to take and I can do it.