Conclusion

From here, what you see you become.

—Patanjali

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Indian philosophy, yoga is the system of gaining knowledge through direct experience. A chemist may understand the molecular basis of a strawberry. A geneticist may understand the DNA sequences that underlie different varieties of strawberries. A botanist may know the precise soil and water requirements for a strawberry plant to thrive. A yogi knows the strawberry by taking a bite.

Yoga declares that you can understand reality by consciously experiencing the different layers of your life—physical, mental, and spiritual. By tuning in to the sensations of your body, you can understand the workings of physiology. By listening to your inner dialogue, you can understand the nature of the mind. By going beyond your body and your mind, you can directly experience your essential spiritual core.

Yoga encourages you to expand your sense of self so you can solve the challenges that arise in your life. Each of us is a heroic character on the battlefield of life. The perennial story of life is depicted in the Indian classic, the Bhagavad Gita, in which the forces of good and the forces of evil find residence in two clans of the same family. The Pandava clan, led by Arjuna, represents right action in accordance with natural law. The Kauravas, headed by Duryodhana, represent action performed with limited awareness resulting in outcomes that cause suffering to those affected by the choices made. The Bhagavad Gita begins with these two opposing forces on the battlefield of life preparing for massive conflict.

Both Arjuna and Duryodhana ask Lord Krishna, representing the state of expanded consciousness, for support. Krishna offers one leader the use of his army while the other gets him as his personal charioteer. Duryodhana gets to choose first and takes the army, believing that the power of might will provide him the greatest benefit. The power of expanded awareness in the form of Krishna goes to Arjuna.

Krishna takes Arjuna above the battlefield, where Arjuna confesses his confusion about what to do. On the one hand, he believes it is his duty to fight his relatives who have created havoc in the world. On the other hand, he feels tremendous compassion for the uncles and cousins who have played important roles in his life. Arjuna is paralyzed by his inner battle. The tremendous value of yoga is the depiction of this classic conflict between heart and mind that each of us faces during our lives.

While time is suspended, Krishna teaches Arjuna the essence of yoga, telling him that good and evil, pleasure and pain, and loss and gain are two sides of the same coin of life. The solution that yoga offers is to go beyond the realm of duality and become established in the state of being that is beyond time, space, and causality. Once rooted in this connection to spirit, Arjuna is exhorted to enter into battle to rebalance the forces of nature.

Krishna tells Arjuna, “Go beyond the realm of good and evil where life is dominated by beginnings and endings. Enter into the domain of yoga, where all duality finds its unity. Established in unity, perform activity that supports dharma.”

This is the ultimate purpose of a yoga practice. Yoga takes you into the realm of Pure Potentiality, where anything is possible. It awakens the Law of Giving and Receiving as you become aware of the continuous exchange of your life energy with the life energy of the universe. Flexing and extending through your poses, you express the Law of Karma as you recognize that every action generates a proportionate reaction. The Law of Least Effort becomes lively as you surrender into each posture, releasing rather than forcing your way into a position. Combining the Law of Intention with the Law of Detachment, yoga demonstrates that introducing your desire and allowing nature to orchestrate its fulfillment maximizes achievement while minimizing strain. Finally, moving gracefully, sensitively, and consciously is the technology of living the Law of Dharma in which your actions have a positive effect on you and your environment.

Any reason for practicing yoga is a good reason. Enhancing flexibility and releasing stress are as noble a purpose for performing yoga as the awakening of spirituality. This is the great gift of yoga—it serves and nourishes us at every level of our being and spontaneously contributes to greater well-being in all domains of life.

The practice of yoga is worthy of your valuable time and attention. Yoga will help you discover gifts within yourself that have remained unopened since your childhood—gifts of peace, harmony, laughter, and love.