I (Terry) have been practicing yoga for twenty-five years since 1995. Prior to 1995 I tried many different types of healing therapies; including, massage and bodywork, breath-work (rebirthing). I tried psychotherapy too for a couple of years.
Why did I think I needed to do these things? That’s hard to say. But I think it had something to do with an inability to accept myself the way I was. I was looking to be more than I was, better than I was. That’s fair enough, right? Thinking I deserved to be happy all the time, and if I wasn’t there was something wrong with me, is irrational. It took me some time to get to that realisation!
In 1995 I came across Yoga and dabbled for a couple of years. In 1998 I got more serious about it, and in July 2000 I completed a teacher training course. By October 2000 I was teaching ten classes per week. I believed in Yoga because of my personal experience of its benefits. I saw it as a complete system, as something simple that can be practiced almost anywhere and anytime. For a small investment in time (an hour or so per day) I could maintain my energy and positivity.
The premise: Yoga consists of three basic parts. 1. Yoga postures (Asana) 2. Pranayama (breathing) 3. Meditation. These three things cause or create integration of mind, body, and breath.
One of the older teachers on my advanced teacher training courses in 2012 explained it this way. He said, ‘The world is about sex and money (relationships, families, jobs and careers) Yoga is about spiritual practice (something other than sex and money). This made sense. If we think about how much of our time is taken up in the former and how little time is invested in the latter, it may give an answer to why we suffer so much.
But suffering is relative. The Buddha said, ‘Life is suffering.’ But is that true? It can be difficult, even challenging at times. But not all the time. So, what is this available other than Caesar’s world of finance and romance? What is a spiritual practice? To answer that I ask the question; are you peaceful and grounded? If not, why not? Can you make yourself peaceful when circumstances prevail to give you the opposite of peaceful and grounded? I believe we can make ourselves more peaceful, maybe not completely peaceful, if we invest a little time in the practice.
I mention the word commitment quite often, as in, you need to commit more time to practice. But I think I want to change that. I want you to see that practicing makes sense. If it helps you feel better than why not do more of it? It’s sensible, no?
Yoga is eight parts as already explained in a previous blog. The point I want to make is that the last four of those parts are to do with meditation. Postures and breathing enable us to be more receptive to meditation. The way we think and the things we think about can upset us greatly. Meditation is not trying to get away to some mystical state. It’s about seeing what you think about and how you think and noticing in this focused state the way these two things affect you and your outlook on life.
Make time every day to practice. This sets you up to become more mindful throughout the rest of day. It helps you become more aware of, and to check, irrational and negative thinking. This helps to make you more peaceful and happier.
Do it Or Don’t do it. ☺
