Why practice yoga?

In the 1920’s the first wave of yogic teachings to arrive on our shores was in the form of Paramhansa Yogananda, whose mission in life was to live and teach yoga in the West. His teachings are captured in the classic; Autobiography of a Yogi that gifted the West with profound lessons of Love, Discipline and Faith in things unseen. 

            Fast forward to the 21^st Century; yoga has exploded onto the scene in a myriad of shapes, forms and colours. The influence of yoga in my life began at an early age.  As a teenager, I would go through different yoga asanas (postures) in my room, pondering what it would be like to explore the roots of yoga by going back to where it all came from; the Motherland.   It was not until several years later, 1997, and for similar reasons that I found myself on a Lufthansa Flight to New Deli.    A little older and wiser, these thoughts were swirling around in my head; “What can one very old culture that was colonized by the British tell me, a middle age Westerner? “, I mused,   “Guru?”  “No Thanks!  After all wasn’t our country founded upon values of strong individualism as echoed in the Declaration of Independence?”  “But, no Man (or Woman) is an island,’  so somehow we must be inextricably connected,” What I discovered during my travels in   India moved me forward, in my thinking, to embrace a belief that everything is virtually all connected through the conduit of Divine Love.  Too many incidences that could only have been view as “coincidences” kept happening to me, so much so that my travel companion and I used to joke about it.  When we stepped out of our apartment everyday, we would exclaim, “you never know what’s going to happen today”, referring to the serendipity of events that surprised and delighted us. 

            Looking back over the 40 plus year relationship I have had with yoga, I could ask myself “why would the practice matter?  What has yoga brought to me?  My experience of the regular, sustained practice of yoga is that it’s an inside job, that’s reflected outside of you! So it is a great Discipline that has sustained my physically with these benefits:  increased flexibility and strength, probably a stronger immune system too!

 

            However, lately it’s the Faith that I am achieving calmness and equanimity of my mind that grabs my attention.    This trinity, Love, Discipline and Faith are my guiding light that reinforces me to keep getting back onto the mat.  My yoga practice reflects back to me the meaning of yoga; Union.

            Yoga means to Yoke or Union, so no matter what yoga you wish to try or may already be practicing, you know you have hit pay dirt if you feel that union going on while you are on and off your mat.