April 2005

Yoga: Spirituality for a Brave New World

Written by Desiree Mensink

Yoga is everywhere. It seems as if it has now reached critical mass since everyone does yoga: your mother, your doctor, your coworkers, even your dog. Even advertisers portray our culture as searching for spirituality and love (and the perfect meal solution for our busy lives).

But what is yoga?

I went to my first yoga class when I was seventeen. I had just become a vegetarian. I was from Victoria and been through my fair share of patchouli and child of the sixties fallout. Yoga seemed cool. And I was "good" at it: I had always been flexible. But if my teacher had chanted even one 'Om', or mentioned anything about prana or philosophy I am pretty sure that my cocky, flexible seventeen year old attitude would have snickered its way out the door. And never came back.

The interesting thing about karma is that it has its way with you whether or not you are ready for it. Yoga finds you, and not the other way around. My own relationship with yoga has had its ups and downs. I swell with pride when I "do yoga" 6 days a week; guilt creeps up on me when there are weeks that I only find my mat once or twice. But asana (the physical practice of yoga) is just part of the equation. I have seen many practitioners who have, with almost fanatical vigour attended classes daily for months on end. They do it because they have never looked better, or slept better or lost more weight. Indeed, yoga will do an astounding number of things for your health and your body. But if we merely focus on the physical, we are completely missing the point of yoga.

The debate about the growing popularity of yoga has raged for the past few years. There is a real struggle between elation over yoga finally reaching the masses because it has so much to offer, and the possible marginalization of the practice. The flip side of the argument is that between advertiser's appropriation of yoga, and jazzyogalates classes, maybe something has been lost along the way. And there are a lot of people making money off a practice that is supposed to be free.

What you will not hear me argue is that only spiritual seekers should do yoga. The more yoga out there, the better. I remember all too well what yoga first was in my life. And yet, years later, yoga is my spiritual practice. For me, yoga is the reason why I take that deep breath before I react to biting comments, why a knee jerk reaction causes me to wince, and why I know that my blissfully imperfect life is perfect exactly as is. Even on difficult days I can see the gifts around me even though I feel like that day I got the short end of the stick.

That is yoga.

The beauty of yoga, and yoga classes, is that no one will ask you to change your life for your yoga practice. Quite the opposite occurs: yoga changes you as it sees fit. That is why it is okay for you to go to Ashtanga classes in search of a yoga butt. Asana was designed to prepare the body to receive the knowledge of yoga. This is its design.

What makes yoga so appealing to so many of us is its utter contrast to both exercise and religion as we know it. Many of us were raised by parents who reacted against strict religious upbringings, often denouncing religion. As a result, God is often a four letter word. If we pronounce our belief in God, we are often met with curiosity because for us God is a word that represents a patriarchcal, outmoded and authoritative force in our lives. We see people killing each other "for God" and politicians who claim God is on their side when taking military action. So do the suicide bombers who take the lives of innocent people. We see believers excluded from their church because their lifestyle does not fit the church's definition of a good person. While this is not religion, this is the image of it splashed nightly across our TV screens. Yoga introduces us to the idea that God is within us all. God as a truth that will outlast our physical bodies and that links us to one another, regardless of our superficial differences.

That is not to say that those who have followed the philosophy of yoga throughout its history are perfect. In the process of yoga surviving to this millennium, and reaching us thousands of miles from its spiritual home, it has evolved. We have not been exposed to hypocrisy of unscrupulous yogis (yet), nor experienced the inequities of the culture that birthed yoga. The same exists for those who adopt western religion in non Christian countries. The religion has a clean slate from which to forget the atrocities committed in the name of faith. If we were so removed from Christianity maybe we could see that at its core, Christianity is just like yoga: it is about truth and love.

Regardless of yoga's place in your life at this point, we can all see its benefits: maybe we feel better, or more relaxed, or maybe we don't get sick as often as we used to since we started doing yoga. Maybe you will never regard yoga as more than an amazing exercise regime. That is fine; yoga doesn't ask for faith. If your karma is to have the most gorgeous shoulders from 1000's of down dogs, show them off! If yoga is in your life, be thankful.

So what makes the difference between someone who "does" yoga and a "yogi"? When the time comes, you'll know. And it is different for us all. Maybe you will become a yogi when your paralyzing fear of being upside down is overcome by your faith in your abilities. Maybe it will be volunteering and making a difference in your community. And, just maybe, it will come when you realize you will never have a yoga butt.





* Please note these reviews are written by individuals, and in no way reflects the view of Yoga in Canada.