Life As A Yoga Mat

#3 in a series of posts that addresses the topics listed in this article.

“I love teaching yoga, but teaching is torture if I haven’t been able to do my own practice in awhile.”

Both Ramdas and I do indeed love teaching yoga; that portion of today’s topic is joyfully expressed, however, the remaining portion of this topic is what I would like to attend to, neither of us ever finding torture in teaching.

To better explain, I would like to write about what I believe a practice is.  I will assume the author of this article I am addressing is referring to an asana practice, or postures performed on a mat.  Yoga is about breaking our reactive patterns to any given situation, on or off the mat.  Postures performed on a mat are simply a place we can learn what causes us to react and where our edges lie, but they are not the only place; asanas are simply one vehicle for practicing yoga, and a good entry point.

Postures are, by design, places to deliberately enter into uncomfortable situations.  Yes, I wrote uncomfortable.  If you stop to think about – I mean really think – then you’ll eventually arrive at the understanding that holding your arms up over your head for minutes on end actually serves a purpose beyond strengthening a few muscles.  It teaches us that although we might be uncomfortable, we have the remarkable ability to expand our capacity for accepting things just as they are, as they show up, every moment of every day, allowing us to live with greater ease and happiness.

Life is full of what we believe to be uncomfortable situations, moments when we believe that anything else than what is happening is preferred.  If you find yourself in a torturous situation, as the author of this article did, then that is your opportunity to call forth what yoga has taught you, to breathe into that space you’ve created by practicing asana, relaxing with whatever is happening, and in doing so you will find that you are no longer just practicing yoga on a mat, but everywhere you are.  Life will become your yoga mat.

Jai Bhagwan