Today I’m writing with the thought of my yoga Guru from whom I’ve not only learnt about ‘Yog’ but also about life in numerous discussions that we have with each other. I feel privileged to have known him and being his student.
Yoga needs no comment from me. This is thousands of years old, which many yogis and gurus have preserved till date without creating any written records. It is said that ‘Yog’ is a creation of Lord Shiva Himself. What is surprising though is its greater popularity in the US than the land of its birth. Today there may be higher percentage population practicing yoga in the US than in India. Its importance can be seen by declaration of ‘International Yoga Day’ by the UN.
I’m no authority on ‘Yog’ and have no intention of making any comment on its virtues. There may be many popular beliefs about the benefits of ‘Yogabhyas’. But I’d briefly summarize this by saying that ‘Yogabhyas’ helps in achieving physical and mental wellbeing progressively moving towards higher self-realization through meditation. I have no intention of writing anything other than this, being a nursery class student of this subject.
The title that I have given to this blog is My little Thoughts of Life. So my purpose is to see how ‘Yogabhyas’ gives us lessons on ‘how to live our life’. As a practitioner for last few years I’ve observed that ‘Yog’ is a perfect Life Guru. There are subtle lessons in these practices that give you invaluable lessons of life, which is beyond the physical and mental wellbeing that is traditionally associated with it. So here I share the lessons that I see in it – which in any case may not be the best or exhaustive.
1. Learning is limitless – It’s amazing to see how much one can learn in ‘Yog’. The moment you become proficient in a difficult pose, there is another, even more difficult, that challenges you. Suddenly you have a feeling how little you know, how small you are and how much possibility exists for you to learn more. Probably one life time is not adequate for the same. Isn’t it actually true for us? I see that it teaches us humility. Never become arrogant for your knowledge. There is so much more to learn.
2. Take challenges to overcome them – I have seen many people who start this journey and then suddenly drop out. In fact I was also one of them at some stage. Then there are people who would do only a set of asanas everyday, the ones in which they have become proficient. But some people continue to take higher challenges of progressively difficult postures. They try hard, stay the course and keep growing in this journey. Life is like this only. If you take every difficulty as a challenge then you overcome it, learn from it and grow as a human being. Never drop out of race, never stop growing, keep taking challenges and keep overcoming them.
3. Flexibility is essential for life – For a person like me, whose body structure is very stiff, even thinking about ‘Yogabhyas’ was difficult. I used to be embarrassed to participate in group classes. No wonder I was a patient of chronic back aches, popularly called spondylitis, lumbar and cervical. This is the reward I got for having a stiff body. Then someone advised ‘Yog’ to me. Slowly, I started bending, twisting, forward bends, backwards bends, stretches – many things that my orthopaedic doctor had forbidden me to do. Flexible mind started making my body flexible. And then over a period of time I observed that my chronic problem of spondylitis was gone. So is the life. Stiff and rigid attitude will always get you into problems. It is the flexibility in attitude that will keep you mentally healthy and make this life journey a pleasure and joy. Best part is that this can be cultivated even by the stiffest people. I am a live example.
4. No goal is impossible to achieve – As I started my ‘Yog’ journey I realized that many poses were impossible for me. But as I realized later, with determination and practice everything is possible. Every pose that I initially felt was impossible for me to do became everyday affair after few weeks of efforts. So is the life. Targets that appear distant and impossible can be achieved by sheer determination and effort. Never stop trying. Impossible becomes difficult, difficult becomes possible, possible becomes easy.
5. Once goal is decided, identify the impediments – This is so simple when told, but otherwise we never consciously think about it. My Guru told me that once you know the posture that you have to attain and the direction is set, just think about what is coming in the way of achieving it and work on removing it. Goal will be attained automatically if you remove the impediments. And yes, it worked and works each time. Yesterday only we were having a discussion in the office. I suggested that please work on the process and if you perfect it you’ll reach the target without any problem. Isn’t it the same? Government just has to remove the impediments, economy will boom.
6. Disadvantages can be overcome – Once I was travelling. In the morning I went to the gym of the hotel where I was staying. After my practices were over, the gym attendant came and asked if he can say something. I said sure, go ahead. What he said made me burst with laughter and I still smile thinking what he said. He said, Sir, you are very bulky but your body is very flexible. He was very polite to say this lest my sentiments got hurt. But reality is that he never expected a person with my girth to be able to do those poses. He obviously was not aware of my stiff body previously. If bulky person like me can do some supposedly difficult asanas, I’m sure we can say that most disadvantages in life can be overcome if we make the effort.
7. Let Go – Many workshops tell us these two words. But their significance hardly ever registers with us. In fact ‘Let Go’ is not only one of the most difficult things to practice, spiritually speaking, this is also the reason for many of our suffering. Nothing illustrates this better than ‘Yog’. There are many asanas which can be achieved only by letting go. You go into the posture partially and stop making efforts. Just allow your body to adjust. Slowly, over a period of time you will slip into the right posture. In life also this is absolutely essential. Sometime we just have to allow the events to unfold on their own and stop making efforts. Not only these efforts will be counterproductive but create unnecessary anxiety in mind. Let go and things will fall in place over a period of time.
8. More you resist, more difficult it becomes – The above mentioned point has another lesson too. Said in a different way it means that more you try to force the events sooner than they should happen, more resistance you will face. Body has an inbuilt mechanism where if we try hard to get into a posture, there will be much harder internal resistance. This will not only delay things but also may cause injury to you. As Kabir has said – Dheere dheere re mana, Dheere sab kuch hoye, Mali seenche sau ghara, Ritu aaye phal hoye’. This is how the life is. Events will happen at their scheduled time. Forcing them before time will not change the schedule, but only make your life more difficult. If I was to say in hindi – Jeewan ko sahajta se jiyo, apne aap sab kuch apni sahi jagah par aata jayega.
9. You are your own competition – Often when we see the masters going into very complex poses and we start feeling inferior. How can they do all this? In a group exercise we see some people doing far better than us. This  builds stress. But in ‘Yog’ it is an established rule that you don’t have to be in competition with anyone else. ‘Yog’ is your individual journey. You have to compare yourself only with what you were yesterday, not with your other group members. He may be good in one asana & you in something else. Everybody has his own strengths, weaknesses, journey and evolution. In any case have we ever seen a sprinter winning a race looking sideways or behind? Focus on self, look ahead, improve your own performance and be confident. You will attain the objective. This is how the life is. Don’t compare. Look within. Cherish what you have and see how you can improve further.
10. Staying in a pose – One basic difference in modern exercises and ‘Yog’ is that while the exercises are based on movement of body parts, ‘Yog’ is based on going into a posture and staying in that posture for some time. Longer you stay in that difficult pose, more the benefits, more proficient you become, higher your learning and higher you advance. Don’t we see yogis in a posture for an extended period of time? This is true of life also. Just going and experiencing a difficult situation for a short while doesn’t give you lasting results. Good doctors burn midnight oil for years before they become ‘Good’. Good sports persons toil for years before they become ‘Good’. Strong people become ‘Strong’ after being in a difficult situation for years. Never mind your extended stay in challenging situations. It will eventually reward you by higher returns or if nothing else higher consciousness and learning. Accept the difficult situation and learn from it.
11. Shavasana in Asana – I’m fortunate to have an excellent Guru. He always reminds me to ‘be in a shavasana in every asana’. Breathe normally and relax, he says. When in a difficult pose, just relax your mind and breathe normally. Isn’t the life something similar? If you are calm & cool you can face and successfully handle most difficult situations of life. But if you get rattled you fail. Just think of an exam or let’s say difficult questions in an interview. Be in a Shavasana in every asana of life. It helps.
12. Difficult poses become routine – As the journey of ‘Yogabhyas’ goes on, poses that were impossible then difficult earlier become routine. We start smiling at ourselves that earlier we used to make such ado about these simple things. Does it ring a bell in mind with real life? Life gives many tough and challenging situations. With time we overcome most. Some get resolved on their own. But what is important is that over a period of time some problems not only don’t remain a problem but become a source of pleasure. Exactly like ‘Yogasana’. To give you very simple examples, imagine when we learnt cycling, swimming or driving. All these were so difficult then. Once learnt, they become a source of joy. Some problems we overcome, some get resolved and some become pleasure. ‘Yog’ teaches us how to stay in difficult situations and being happy during tough days.
13. Mental balance in a difficult situation – Now this is amazing. There are some asanas that are related to balance. Sheershasana, Bakasana, Vrikshasana, Ardh Chandrasana etc. They help you achieve mental balance. The day your mind is not wandering too much you will be able to do them, but whenever you find that your mind is not in place, you’ll fall down. All these asanas basically teach you maintain calm and control your mind in a difficult situation. But it is a two way street. Asana teaches us mental balance and mental balance allows us to do that asana. Both feed on each other. But again what emerges is that mental calm and ability to focus is essential to handle any difficult situation. This reminds me of an old film Vijeta. Amrish Puri is a flight instructor in Indian Air Force. His student is in a difficult situation in the air. How he maintains his own calm and speaks with the student on radio to have him land safely is seen to be believed. This is the lesson. Stay calm in turbulent waters, control your mind, you will come out of turbulence unscathed.
14. Feeling of bliss after ‘Yogabhyas’ – After years of practice, even today sometime I don’t like to get on to the mat in the morning. Once I start, it just goes on. More difficult the postures in a day, more relaxed I feel after my practice. It is so refreshing. There’s something similar about life. After a strong work out, a relaxed time becomes even more relaxed. After a difficult exam, vacations are a huge pleasure. After any test of life, it’s a time of pleasure. Because you understand pleasure only after knowing what is the opposite of that.
15. Maintain the discipline and regularity – A yoga practitioner knows that once a week routine is no use. To draw full benefit of ‘Yogabhyas’ it is essential that 5-6 days a week routine is maintained. This calls for quite a determination and discipline in today’s busy world. But then don’t we think that we need discipline in our lives otherwise? So ‘Yog’ teaches us to observe discipline in life.
My Little Thought of Life in this context is that we must adopt ‘Yog’ not only for ensuring physical and mental wellbeing but to draw every lesson it offers us to live a better life. ‘Yog’ is holistic in approach and provides us many overt and latent benefits. Keep learning, keep growing and live happily with ‘sahajta’.