अथ योगानुशासनम् ॥ १.१ ॥
atha yogānuśāsanam || 1.1 ||
Now, the exposition on Yoga.
Recently at a playground my friend was pushing their child on the swing and another parent was supervising their child close by. As the other child was getting closer to the swing the parent was teaching the child where not to be walking or standing otherwise they would get hurt. The description was quite simple for the child to follow, be here and not over there, highlighting the safer area to walk, away from the contact zone.
Growing up surfing and being in the churn of the ocean there was a similar way to describe the better places to position yourself away from the impact of steep waves, simply being that you want to be here and not there when the waves are breaking.
When we regularly practice yoga in a studio we usually have our ‘spots’ where we like to position our mat. I like to be here or here, not there.
These examples are simple ways to describe positioning ourselves in relation to other people, nature and preferences that make us feel comfortable.
What does it really mean to be here though?
In his seminal book Be Here Now counter culture icon and spiritual teacher Ram Dass works through his own biography, artistic flair and personal insights to describe what it means to him to be here. The book is amazing and worth a spot on anybody’s book shelf but when we are talking about being here can anyone else describe it for us or does it need to be felt individually and personally? I am here and you are over there. I am here and don’t want to be there. Over there is good but how does it compare to here?
Yoga is working out and coming to terms with separateness. Some people practice yoga to discern their separateness from any attachments and try to separate the real from the unreal, working towards liberation by peeling themselves away from the karmic seeds that lead to rebirth. Some do the opposite. They practice yoga to remove separateness in life and feel connected or join to something that is usually indescribable or greater than words can comprehend but the word God usually encapsulates what the goal is striving for.
I personally like both approaches which keeps me constantly stuck between two opposing philosophical and psychological frame works, but it’s what I find enjoyable and intellectual about yoga’s bigger ideas.
What’s not enjoyable is feeling disconnected from your own body. If there is another reason people practice yoga it’s purely physical. They want to move their body, breathe, sit still and feel at peace. If that is the approach to yoga you have then constantly bouncing between being here and there will never have you feeling settled. More often than not over there is not where you need to be, otherwise you would be there. Be here, right where you are. Learn to be comfortable with discomfort. Learn to regulate your body, breath and thoughts. Learn to not only practice contentment but radical acceptance. It doesn’t mean you become complacent and it also doesn’t mean you have to accept all the cards you feel life has dealt you. On further investigation you have usually dealt yourself these cards in the past and forgot you even had them. Yoga works like magic, try looking up your sleeve and there will be a card there you weren’t expecting.
Whenever we see suffering in the world, whether it’s on a grand global scale or something smaller and more directly experienced what is happening at that time is an experience of both separateness and connection. On one hand being the witness of something means you are not participating in it and on the other hand by feeling and being moved by suffering we create a connection to those who are suffering and usually try to practice compassion in a way to alleviate some of the suffering we are witnessing. In either way there is discomfort, sometimes it’s extreme and it penetrates and stays with us and in response some immediate reactions are to resist, deny, move, leave and go over there. Some people say that sitting in suffering and misery is not healthy, yoga would say that unless you are enlightened you’re in constant suffering anyway so sitting with it is what your life’s journey is about.
Then we work on alleviating suffering in others lives as well as our own. When we make mistakes we learn and hopefully not do them again. Resistance of suffering is the best way to make your yoga practice challenging. How many times during an āsana class do you have a thought to leave, stop or simply check out? Is the class too boring and you’re suffering because it’s not physically demanding enough? Is the class too difficult and you have no idea what you’re doing? Is there a thought that you’d rather be anywhere else than here, in this stuffy, sweaty room with a bunch of strangers breathing and moving in awkward ways?
Of course you also need to know what is helping and what is hindering your practice, progress and life. Just sitting in the discomfort of a horrible yoga class, a job you hate or a relationship that’s toxic isn’t making you a good yoga practitioner. Discerning where you want to be and how to get there without harming others will make your yoga practice successful.
In the very first Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali the introductory verse starts with the word atha which translates to mean now. Not only does this make the Yoga Sūtra transcend time and place as it makes it relevant and present to whoever is reading and studying the text at any give moment in time. It also asks the practitioner to be ready, not to be over there, not to be distracted and not to be wishing you were studying something else. You are studying yoga and now that you are here there is nowhere else (for the moment) that you need to be.
Studying, practicing and teaching yoga will always have it challenges, in this way it’s no different to anything else in life. Unlike many other things in life though, yoga and spiritual practices are usually trying to enforce being present, not being distracted. Be where you are in any given moment fully and completely. If it’s suffering and challenging then be here. If it’s amazing and beautiful then also be here. Don’t be over there or wishing you were anywhere else but here.
– Doug Whittaker