From the Archives: July 12, 2009 A Gift From India

From the Archives: July 12, 2009

“A Gift from India” 

We have all come to the yoga practice for a myriad of reasons, each of us with different intentions. At some point when you have practiced long enough with consistency you realize that the practice of yoga is about going inward and learning about the Self.  Who am I?  That is the question and yoga has the answer.   Within the experiences of the body we come to our first road blocks or obstructions and learn that these can be overcome.  Yoga shows us our habits over and over again until we learn new methods to retrain our bodies and develop a deeper awareness of how the body moves.  While recently spending a month in India I realized that India herself offers the same lessons.  She shows you to yourself without sugar-coating or perfume.  Any patterns or habits become clear and unavoidable giving you the opportunity to react differently and to learn something new.  

Our ego, which is only a distraction though a strong one, is a way of identifying ourselves with things outside of the Self.  The true Self is beyond labels or competition and it is present only in the moment of the experience.  Doing an asana practice, we learn that we have the strength and awareness to work through physical pain and resistance.  Through consistent asana practice over a long period of time we work from places of tension, stiffness, weakness and fatigue into places of freedom, release, strength and stability.  As we overcome the obstacles of asana we learn that the negative voice of ego resistance can be silenced or at least turned down significantly and we can keep moving.  The way we look at our bodies and our practice begins to change without our even trying.  No matter the pose we are working on or our abilities regarding that pose, the real lessons are about how we react to the challenge.    

In the same way spending time in India has been for me a magnifying glass that puts my tendencies into glaring perspective.  Mysore, India is home to Ashtanga yoga and Guruji, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.  It is the base of operations that is the heart and soul of the Ashtanga practice and a location of pilgrimage for those that practice the Ashtanga yoga method.  Mysore is a place apart from the real world and as a yoga student preparing and planning for practice in Mysore you detach and isolate yourself from your life back at home.  Leaving behind your job, family, obligations, routines and schedules you land in this community where the only thing you have to do and be responsible for is your yoga.  In a culture so different from what we know here in the west the only thing that has any familiarity is yourself or at least who you know yourself to be.  

Like being on your yoga mat, while in Mysore, India you are given the freedom to be completely self-focused and directed inward.  When the only thing you have to do each day is get up and practice the rest of your time becomes an opportunity to do only that which you choose to do.  You learn about how much time you need alone to feel comfortable socializing with people you hardly know.  You learn of your tolerance, acceptance and compassion for anything different from what you are familiar with just by interactions with your surroundings while walking to breakfast or going to the nearby chai (Indian tea) stand.    You begin to see the patterns of what you are drawn to and discover where your pleasure and your inspiration lie. It is an enlightening process to see what you choose when you have complete freedom.  If you find you are making choices out of some sense of obligation this becomes crystal clear.  There is no boss, parent or spouse watching over you, no child to create a model for, and no one to judge you but yourself.  When you look deeply inside you will see what you truly value, what behavior feels right, what behavior feels wrong but that you choose to do anyway and the reasons for your actions.

With no one having expectations of who you are beyond your presence and earnestness on the mat, there is freedom to do, be and live differently.  You learn what you expect of yourself and you learn compassion.  Just as the truth of your bind in Marichyasana D is not something you can fake, the truth of who you are in the world is not easy to fake when presented with the conditions of Mysore.  There is no hiding.  Negative or unhealthy patterns become obvious as well as those you simply no longer need.  Now you are faced with the choice to change or not.   Our thoughts extend into new worlds of possibility and we accept the challenges that come our way as opportunities for growth.

When the ego identifies falsely with things outside of the Self it might be useful to notice what it attaches to when you are alone in a foreign land focusing on your yoga. Simply seeing where the ego tries to find its strength when it is cast adrift will be a powerful learning process. Without the patterns and habits for the ego to fall back on you are able to identify with what is more immediate to your experience and to what is more proximal to your center.  When you can release the world of the familiar where your attachments breed expectation and judgement, whether by stepping onto your mat or by traveling across the planet to Mysore, India, you can find the truth of who you are.  You identify with what is more true to the purest Self.  That is a gift of this practice and a gift of going to Mysore, to Guruji, and to the source of Ashtanga yoga.