EARTH TO ETHER YOGA
Yoga
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोध (1.2)
Yoga is the practice of quieting the ripples emanating from the heart-mind field.
Whisps of wonder
Bundled in joy
Rooted in bones
Coming from dust
I am, Who I am, Who am I
"Who are you?"
Whispering to the soul
"Where are you?"
In all of your form
More here, than before
Self-Realization
A Technology for Compassion
Many wonderful thinkers and experiences have called Yoga the practice of self-realization: a tool or technology applied towards the physical, mental, and spiritual planes of existence.
Heart touches presence
Approach the here
Practice unwinding
Feed the essence
Get close and near
Release from binding
Within our ever-changing modern world, people across languages and cultures attempt to define, elucidate, and box-in the sacred word yoga. In recent history, it became a specifically branded term for types of stretching, exercise, and lifestyle particularly within the United States. In charting a course from India to the United States, the initial intent to transmit yoga was spiritual in nature. Since then, the world has undergone transformations and shifts which have attached various beliefs and stories to the word yoga. This powerful word likely derives multiple meanings outside of itself in its current state.
When someone says, "I am doing yoga", what does that mean? Yoga isn't something "to be done". And, yet, through the English lexicon, it is in fact something you "do". It is dual and non-dual, especially as the sands of time shape the word across multiple cultural contexts and transmissions. Someone in a particular cultural sphere might "do a yoga class", while at its root the word yoga is not something to be done let alone is a type of class.
Yoga encompasses various ideas, beliefs, lineages, and practices to the beholder of the word. It's much harder to pinpoint what yoga truly is within modern context and, yet, it is elegantly simple. The essence of yoga truly emerges out of the sages and swamis who have shared its meaning in their own embodiment. This may baffle some people's minds especially of the story of the world has been the main supplier of information for yoga.
Perhaps, yoga is more akin to the Dao, the Way. It is now. It is here. There is nothing to attain or be accomplished. Yoga is always here. And, in that way, similar to the Dao, it cannot be told or defined. Therefore, it is undefinable. To even say it is undefinable is to define. Beyond constraint, self-abidance in presence is truly the essence of yoga.