He raised the following points:
Can Yoga, help in part, to bring a peace and relaxed attitude to daily life? But not that we immediately rush straight back into the 'rat-race of life' after the sessions, and so forget everything we've just covered!
We may have to do some things quickly, but surely we just whisk through life 'on the surface' if we feel we have to all things as quickly as possible? At times I get stressed trying to do everything NOW.
Would you agree—whether we do Yoga or whatever, or no Yoga, rushing through life doesn't help with harmony, balance, or similar things? I would be glad of any thoughts you may have as a brief reply.
Here's the (slightly edited) response I gave:
These are fascinating times. Most of us are struggling to keep our head above the water, being frantically busy for most part of the waking day, and sleep-deprivation is a given. The 'rat-race of life' seems a fitting term to use indeed.
Yet, the amount of television that the average person in the UK is watching is 4+ hours per day. Most of us lead sedentary lives. We've grown accustomed to have everything we want to be readily available, Now. To a large extent we've become slaves of our own desires and are addicted to entertainment.
One of the possible 'uses' of Yoga is to act as a 'counter posture' to life. A Yoga practice—not necessary a strong physical one; there can be many different forms—can help us to put life in more perspective and help develop our awareness.
Arguably, in our technocratic, materialistic world where we live cut off from nature and ourselves, our awareness is quite low. Indeed, growing, or restoring, our awareness seems to be an important part of the lives of many Yoga practitioners—me included!
So, yes, after a Yoga practice we may find that we instantly rush to our next appointment. But the first awareness that this is happening, already is progress of some sort.
The next step may be to plan the evening after a Yoga class—create space, plan to spend some peace and quiet, for instance without a television turned on or having to read the newspaper. The beauty of silence is best appreciated without noise around us...
And then a next stage could be to have a grounded start in the morning after a Yoga class—e.g. taking a few minutes to do some Yoga to move the body after a night's rest and taking time to enjoy a wholesome breakfast as opposed to consuming a RedBull energy drink, or strong coffee, 'to pick us up'.
Perhaps one day a student who usually arrives at a Yoga class feeling exhausted from the day—or from life even—is noticing that she arrives at the class feeling strong and calm. Then the Yoga practice can help us to go deeper.
Gradually, "Yogic ideas" can be welcome additions to or substitutes for certain habitual patterns and help us live a healthier more meaningful life. This won't be an overnight shift, but rather a gradual evolution. Our habits have formed over many years and are deeply rooted in our mind and body. On the latter, I like the phrase 'history is biology'.
More likely than not our journey will be littered with setbacks and confrontations with the aspects of ourselves that we rather not wish to face... But in my view that's a relatively small price to pay for personal growth.
Many of us, however, are impatient and want 'quick fixes' without having to put in much effort. Unfortunately there are plenty of people around who are willing to offer the proverbial snake oil. The reality is that only through consistent practice, we'll be able to progress.
Several interesting points came up as the conversation developed, so I could go on for longer! I hope to publish another article about 'Yoga in Modern Life' in this newsletter's next edition.
Luc
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