NO CLASS JUNE 12 - 25
CLASSES RESUME TUESDAY, JUNE 26
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Yoga Bits
Morsels of yogic wisdom and information
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June 11 - 17, 2012
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Who is Budgie Bhajan?
Click here to read his bio
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For complete information on class days, times and locations, please visit
http://yogabits.wordpress.com/
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SUMMER IS HERE!
I'm off to the high desert
of New Mexico for
NO CLASS
JUNE 12
to
JUNE 25
(including Yoga at the Armory)
CLASSES RESUME
TUESDAY, JUNE 26
(Yoga at the Armory resumes July 22)
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What Yoga Is Not
You can meditate but you can't hide
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
-- Popular mantra from the game Hide-and-Go-Seek
I finished a two and a half hour meditation Tuesday night in hopes of taking full astrological advantage of the Venus/Sun transit. It was a powerful experience and I felt wonderful that I did it.
Immediately afterward I learned that a friend of mine has entered Hospice care.
I became very upset about it, even though he outlasted the doctors' predictions by nearly 10 years. I became very upset about it, even though I have some profound and comforting spiritual beliefs about the infinite reality of the soul. I became very upset about it, even though I respect the fact that he may be very tired and ready to shuffle off this mortal coil.
 So even though I heard this news on the heels of a spectacular meditation, I became upset. Because yoga does many things -- but it does not shield me from life or feelings. Yoga is not an escape. Quite the opposite.
My yoga practice actually gives me the support and the tools to face reality, not hide from it.
Instead of doing more yoga that night, I curled up on my sofa, watched TV and cried a lot. Because I felt pretty shitty and my practice teaches me to be exactly where I am.
In fact, my nature is such that I would not have deepened my yoga practice if it was intended to help me run away. Simply put, when I began yoga almost nine years ago, sidestepping reality was not an option. Life was so agonizing I could not hide from it in any way. I'm not in that kind of pain today (thank God) but I believe I continued my yoga classes because the stuff I was learning gave me a way to deal with all facets of my every day life.
Way back in the day, yoga mastery was attained through eschewing regular life and studying for years in partial or complete seclusion. I get it, but it's not really possible for most of us to do that in contemporary society.
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Even if we wanted to avoid the so-called "regular world" it wouldn't be a viable choice due to exponential population growth. In the 1800s, there were about 1 billion people on the planet. By 1930, there were 2 billion people on Earth. Today there are nearly 7 billion people in the world (yes, seven billion). It's getting a bit crowded around here.
Add to that staggering statistic the influence of technology and social networking and there really is very little space between one person and the next. So it's inevitable that we are affected by the events and people around us. What are we going to do? Hide out in an ashram? In regards to motive, I really don't see much difference between hiding behind a spiritual practice and hiding out in a bottle or other addiction.
 My goal is not to try to "meditate out" of my human condition. I have absolutely no interest in walking around in some fake blissed-out state pretending nothing bothers me because I have such a strong practice. I want to honor my sadness and my joy, my anger and my compassion, my weaknesses and my strengths. In fact, the teachers I trust are living examples of how to be authentic moment to moment, regardless of how it looks, both on and off the mat.
So even though you may never see a Yoga Journal cover photo of me curled up crying on the sofa, make no mistake about it: sometimes that's yoga, too.
For more information about classes, email me or visit the class schedule on the Yoga Bits blog.
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The techniques and suggestions presented in Yoga Bits are not intended as medical claims or to substitute for proper medical advice. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program. If you are elderly or have any chronic or recurring conditions such as high blood pressure, neck or back pain, arthritis, heart disease, and so on, seek your physician's advice before practicing.
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