Yoga is the science of transformation
For the last few weeks, I have been studying the Bhagavad Gita and so far, I can summarise that yoga is the science of transformation. Some may argue that it is the science of inner transformation, but I would like to argue that is outer as well.
It has been clear that yoga is not just the practice of asana and pranayama. It is all around is. It is the air we breathe, the stars we see.
Krishna said: I am the Source of everything; from Me all creation emerges. With this realisation the wise, awestricken, adore ME. - 10.8
So how do we arrive to this realisation?
It is said that yoga is a lifestyle, requiring active participation. And in order to participate, you first need to become aware. Awareness can be achieved through knowledge, breath, meditation and practice.
The Gita address the distinction between ignorance and knowledge. Ignorance is deemed to be the root of all problems. You can see this in our everyday life. So many wander lost and float through life. They don’t question and they don’t seek to understand their inner self and the universe. Conflict and hatred can result from ignorance and the failure. Ignorance stops with knowledge and working on one’s inner self.
However, while knowledge become the anecdote to ignorance, too much knowledge is also not a good thing. It doesn’t leave space and room to sit with the vast unknown. This is where creation and the magic really happens. We aren’t supposed to know everything. This in turn leaves space to seek Krishna and realise that there is something beyond us and that in turn, our souls are also limitless – we are part of Krishna or God or the universe too.
Yoga is what is possible when the ordinary self is out of the way.
In order to achieve higher states of being, we need to be free from the ordinary self. We can begin to achieve this by quieting the mind through stillness and the practice of meditation. A quiet mind is the ability to connect with the higher mind.
This practice of sitting and just being also brings about Yoga of awareness – what I become aware of changes its quality within me. We begin to become more intuitive and are able to recognise how thoughts and surroundings affect our inner selves. We become closer to the divine, start to recognise our soul’s purpose.
Krishna also explains that nothing can be sacred unless we are connected at a higher and deeper level. The entire space in whole cosmos is filled with subtle and conscious energies. These energies are more conscious and subtle than we are.
“This world is not for one who doesn’t practice yoga.”
One of the most profound quotes I’ve found was - This world is not for one who doesn’t practice yoga – 4.31
This ties in with the fact that yoga is a sacrifice. Yoga is a practice that we must work at in many ways every day. It means saying goodbye to things that don’t honour our higher selves, others or our planet. It means dedicating time to work on our practices.
For those who practice yoga are able to experience the true wonders of the universe, this planet and divine love. We are able to learn, transform inner selves and that practice will in turn help others to transform. Imagine if everyone on earth practiced yoga. What a different place it would be!
We would respect one another, the air we breathe, our animals and nature. There would be no divisions in countries and classes. We would all be serving our purpose and living in a Utopia.
Perhaps that is why not everyone is aware. Maybe we need the darkness to guide us inwards to connect to our higher selves and Krishna and guide our souls home. Without the darkness, would this journey be significant?
Darkness and Light In my Journey
I can say that yoga has greatly transformed me, but I didn’t turn towards the practice until I hit rock bottoms. Before the practice of yoga, I was very unaware. I had no idea who I was and what I was doing. I didn’t know deep connections. I was floating, I followed everyone else and I was deeply unhappy always, but I didn’t know why.
The practice of asana began to peak my interest in yoga. It was here that I learned to become aware of my breath and how my body was feeling. Awareness grew and I started exploring meditation and kirtan.
I began to notice how I felt during these practices and identified that I felt similarly during nature hikes, swims in oceans, watching sunsets and admiring beautiful views. Sacred sites like Uluru really had a pull for me.
Friends who partied too much began to tell me they didn’t like who I was anymore. I started thinking compassionately about what I ate, the source of the food and how I nourished my body. During my battle with the peak of Lyme disease, I learned to identify what my body needed for nourishment and for healing through intuition and awareness. Through asana, I was able to identify what areas in my body needed more care. I wanted to be better so that I could continue to explore and connect to a higher place. I learned that without health, this was next to impossible.
Something else I became aware of was when I travelled to places like Peru, Vietnam and Bali, I began to have profound experiences. I would arrive with no expectations, yet I would always meet people and encounter experiences that had a profound effect on my life.
For some reason, this would not happen much back home in Australia, although it used to. Only now do I realise that when I travel, I am able to completely detach from myself and my expectations. I savour every little experience and I am connected to my higher self because my ordinary everyday self is out of the way. Therefore, I am attracting beautiful experiences into my life that are at a higher vibing energy.
This is a preview of what life could be like if I am able to practice non-attachment and practice yoga deeply in my everyday life without my ordinary self getting in the way. This is a practice and this is an ongoing journey.
But when I am freed from my ordinary self, even just for a minute, this is when the magic, wonder and creativity happen. This euphoric feeling is so beautiful.
For me, yoga really is a sacrifice. Since practicing and becoming more intuitive and aware, my world has changed for better and for worse. Sometimes, I find myself envying ignorance because when I catch myself in attachment to awareness, it is painful. I have to let go and practice non-attachment. I do not wish to be ignorant. I find myself more aware than most people and that is what I need to learn how to live with now. How can I function and survive on this planet and its systems and practice yoga? How can I manage my awareness and sensitivities and practice yoga in a world that is chaotic, tiresome, polluted, and hard?
Sacrificing time to sit and meditate is a challenge, just as is practicing asana. But, to reach Krishna and my higher state of being, it is an action that must be practised.
Becoming aware of the quality within and how it impacts the quality on the outside is important. This is true, for when I am feeling awful within, my outer world reflects my inner state. When I am feeling connected, at peace and aligned, my outside world radically changes.
This does not mean to bypass the inner turmoil as in spirituality bypass or practice toxic positivity. This means becoming aware of the inner turmoil and fully processing it through the practice of awareness. It is the only way to clear and unblock to increase the pathways for quality thoughts and awareness.
The world is not for those who do not practice yoga – what is Krishna trying to say here? In essence, it means exactly what it says. We are divine beings living in a divine universe which can be experienced and known through yoga.
There are so many ways that we can practice yoga beyond meditation and asana. And when we practice yoga, the world becomes a divine place, full of wonder, love, creativity and possibility. Our souls become nourished and our purpose for living on this planet in a body is awakened.
Micheal Singer in his book “The Surrendered Experiment” sums up this experience of yoga quite nicely. He got out of the way of his ordinary self, he practiced meditation, he let go of attachments and he became so connected that space for wonder and creativity rushed in and completely transformed his life and others around him in a way that he could have never imagined. It was already planned by the universe.
Once we get out of the way and our inner and outer worlds transform through yoga, we experience Krishna in so many ways - in the water, the light of the moon, the sound in space, the passion of others, the wonders of nature, the unconditional love of our pets.
We recognise that yoga is unconditional love. It’s our intimate connection with the whole universe. Yoga is the active and dynamic participation in our life.
