Yoga Month and the Obstacle of Ignorance

September 2, 2015, rachlsully, Uncategorized,

Fall is almost upon us, and it is one of my favorite seasons, not just because I am a pumpkin spice latte-sipping, yoga pants-wearing female. The air becomes cooler, football season has arrived, and we often find renewed motivation as we return to school or simply begin a new season.

I was delighted to find out that September is National Yoga Month. As we start a new season, we naturally refocus our attention and energy, perhaps setting new goals for ourselves or even considering major career changes. Rather than getting stuck in our tracks or getting burned out, yoga can empower us to make positive choices for body, mind, and spirit. In this way, fall becomes a mini renewal and an opportunity to either begin or re-energize a yoga practice.

However, fall is also a season of transition and preparation for winter. If you have been to your local farmers market recently, you know what I mean: the abundance of winter squashes and the final tomatoes of summer, zucchini and eggplants ripe for picking, a kale and chard revival as the temperature cools down once more. What was planted in spring has been cultivated and nurtured all summer. The final crops must be harvested before the first freeze when winter sets in, only to let the ground thaw out as spring returns. And the pattern begins again.

The changing of the seasons and our perception of this cycle of life, death, and rebirth are central to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Change is a constant throughout both our yoga practice, daily life, and entire existence. But for some reason we tend to cling to the past or look expectantly to the future to find happiness or relief. This inability to live in the present moment is one manifestation of spiritual ignorance, or avidya. Sutra 2.5 states,

Ignorance is regarding the impermanent as permanent, the impure as pure, the painful as pleasant, and the non-Self as the Self.

In other words, we become blinded by our false belief that we can hold on to things, people, places, even experiences to bring us happiness. To an untrained mind, these objects of our thoughts are easily manipulated and distorted. We do not perceive reality and this ignorance becomes an obstacle to yoga practice, on and off the mat.

So how do we remove this obstacle? Our yoga practice takes on the qualities of kriya yoga, which means yoga of action. Through both practice and nonattachment we find ourselves as we really are. I stumbled upon this inspirational quote the other day which puts it in slightly different terms,

Your mind is a garden.

Your thoughts are the seeds.

You can grow flowers

Or you can grow weeds.

By focusing on the mind and training ourselves to perceive more clearly, we tend our garden and thereby influence our ability to act rather than react during ever-changing circumstances. The mind becomes more focused, and in spite of the chaos around us, we begin to chip away at the ignorance.

In a typical yoga class, we do asanas (the poses) and pranayama (breathing techniques), but our practice also extends off the mat. There are no prerequisites for yoga practice, but over time, we slowly find that we can ride the ebb and flow of our body and breath and of our life circumstances as we navigate through the seasons with steadiness and ease. Our mental focus that we develop on the mat is both a renewal and preparation, but we keep our focus on the practice itself rather than anticipating the outcomes of our actions. In this way we are practicing kriya yoga, as ignorance loosens its grip on our minds and we stay detached from any obsession with progress.

As we begin September, take heart that the practice you commit to in this season will ground you through the winter months, just as the spring and summer have brought you to this present moment. In this cycle of change and seasons, find stillness and a renewed sense of purpose to be the best version of your self. Let go of the ignorance, let go of your desire to be fully in control. As Ashtanga founder Pattabhi Jois said, “Practice and all is coming.” After all, yoga is just a means to an end, a way of living a healthy, abundant life of service to others, throughout every season of life.

Ashtanga, KriyaYoga, YogaSutras

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