Lightness and the Practice of Yoga

In Vedic wisdom, the are some simple truths which help us to understand the life we live. The universe of matter is broken down into tattvas (thus-ness), which are the basic building blocks of the things around us. We can get a better handle on life if we understand the essence of things and not take them at face value. Better to see behind the curtain, where the individual meets the universal.

The stage-play that we see in front of us is called 'Lila' (the play) or 'Maya' (the Illusion). Whether we take it as a positive or a negative, the world is a constantly changing parade of images and events. Yoga and Tantra have no problem with the world of forms, the Maya; the problem is in our interaction with the Maya. The more we take the forms in front of us for real (and see nothing else) the more it becomes an illusion. It is one of the funny paradoxes in yoga!

So, with this knowledge that there is a greater 'reality' behind what we see and feel, perhaps we can act and react differently. It can be a great obstacle to our development when we talk ourselves and our world too seriously and forget that what we see and do is only a minute slice of the pie. We tend to think our world is the universe and that we are the center of it; we are the actors in our very own drama about ourselves! However, if you watch that play for long enough, it gets boring!

I am sure you have seen (or been) a person who is dragged down by life's events, we all have, of course. Life's burdens create a heavy weight on our shoulders (a 'cross to bear'). Problems do seem real, and are real to a degree. But so many of the things which drag us down are simply mental constructs, products of over-active minds. They don't serve us, truly; they don't serve our higher purposes, but keep us immersed in the stage-play.

Remember that the stage-play has an interest to keep itself running- it does not want to close! Your higher being does not need the production in your lower mind, but the stage-play needs itself. It tries to convince you that you cannot live without it, that you will be passionless and directionless without all the dramas that it provides. Rubbish! The yogic life can replace drama with depth, and move surface events into the inner being.

How can we manifest this on a moment to moment level? As always, we work on it in yoga practice so we can live it in the rest of life. Using our yogic expression of asanas, try to approach the poses in a different way. Knowing the body is real/unreal we can use it as a reflective tool. Instead of struggling and straining in poses (as we may do in life with the stage-play), try to find ease and comfort. Struggle builds tension and tension creates closure and blockage. We become stuck. So we must try and lighten!

This can be done by finding the pose and easing into it, not bashing and crashing into it! Lift the burden of the pose and transform it upwards. This is really the key: an upward movement! Try to bring the pose from a sinking mode into a balance between ground and sky, between root and lightness. Then you will find that the body begins to feel light and open. When this occurs, it begins to have effects on the mind and perceptions, too. All of a sudden, mental burdens will clear like the sun emerges from the fog. (See San Francisco).

Hatha Yoga works in such a way that we can do on the simple level and enjoy the benefits on the deeper level. Remember, too, that the breath is our physical manifestation of air and movement, so we must continue to open the breathing in every moment of life!! It is said in the Pradipika that success in yoga is coming when the body begins to feel light. Eventually you get the 'frog jump power'! So good luck and keep practicing!

OM Shanti Shanti Shantih