Your power is there; you just have to remember where you put it
–Guest blog by yoga instructor and playwright, Heather Cramond
While the physical benefits of yoga definitely attract people to the practice, there’s a reason why people choose it over another form of physical activity. It’s not that the poses themselves are magic. Sun salutations are slowed-down, beautifully-aligned burpees (with a backbend thrown in), yet no one goes to cross-fit specifically with the goal of relieving stress or being more present.
Classical yoga’s actually an 8-limbed system, and the physical poses aren’t even involved until limb number three. The first two limbs are behavioral: social and individual observances that are pretty similar to those present in most major religious systems. Don’t steal, don’t stab your neighbor, that sort of thing. The limbs aren’t sequential, but it helps to have these basic principles down for the most part before you start doing any deeper work. But you’ll find they come up again and again.
For example, sattya (truth) is emphasized pretty early on. You can be truthful in words, in
actions, and in your thoughts and emotions. You can say you’re living in truth when these three parts of yourself line up. For many of us, there’s a disconnect. I say I want to give up unhealthy snacks, but my actions show otherwise. I may even skip the vending machine on the way to work, but I still think about food all day, and get cranky with my co-workers. This isn’t a moral issue so much as an alignment issue.
The reason these three parts of ourselves often don’t line up is that we don’t know which is right. Is it better to feel gross physically than to yell at the poor guy who sits next to me? Most of the time, we look to other people to tell us which to choose. Our loved ones exert their influence, sometimes with good intentions, and sometimes without meaning to. And then there are rules, some for safety and some defined by nature. But those aren’t the ones that throw most us off, with the possible exception of toddlers, who get mad because humans get tired or they aren’t allowed to touch fire.
Each person has a Self that’s eternal and unchanging. We align to that center when we’re left to our own devices. We manifest that Self in different ways: costumes if you like. So just as a song you sing or a painting you make is not you but an expression, so too is your body. Your limiting beliefs are part of that expression as well. We can change our expressions with actions as simple as a haircut or as gut-wrenching as a divorce. Our physical body is constantly sloughing off dead cells, so we’re physically a new person after seven years of shedding. But we tend to keep our body and our minds the same because of habits.
We get stuck into patterns that aren’t useful anymore. Perhaps at one point in your life, it was helpful to remaining small and safe because you grew up in an environment where that was needed. Now an adult, perhaps you still feel small, feel there is no other way to be except small, because that habit has etched itself past the physical body and into your deeper layers. Your heart feels small. Even when you make a conscious decision and know on an intellectual level that what you need to do is to come into your own power, you’re not able to do it.
Neither of these strategies are bad; morally, both are neutral. But what version of yourself is most needed right now? Yoga gives you space to listen to yourself. To look at and feel your body. To breathe without threat or interference. To notice what thoughts arise. When your teacher asks you to try something different with your body or your breath, it’s an invitation to see what could happen if you allowed change into your life.
The practice is a preparation for bliss, a state that arrives spontaneously when you’ve cleared a space for it. From that freedom, you can be spontaneous. Just like when your physical voice suddenly appears to improve after months of practice, the practice of seeking inner wisdom, of quieting down and being present starts to become something you do without trying. You are able to tap into resources that you’ve built through practice and through patience.
Your power is there; you just have to remember where you hid it!
