What is Yoga?!?

All this talk about the taxing of yoga classes in the state of Missouri has me thinking, harder than ever, what does yoga mean to me? According to state officials it is an entertainment or exercise and should be taxed, the same idea was repealed in Massachusetts and Washington state. How does one prove it to them that is it more a spiritual discipline than anything?

Well, for one, and yes I'm just going to say it. I really think I hate yoga! It is my lifestyle by choice yes, but it is hard because you have to be in such a state of concentration while doing it, kundalini or hatha either one, otherwise you can hurt yourself and not gain the benefits of the practice. The concentration is the key, and once you can concentrate hard enough you can even disengage your brain, let it do that for you (staying one pointed) and talk or enjoy yourself with your mind. Trust me though it takes years to get to that point. Trust me also, it shakes you up on a physical level so hard that its touching you on a cellular level and at the cellular level is where your life starts to change.

And who wouldn't agree, its the hardest thing on the planet to be present during your whole life. Its hard and takes a lot out of you mentally, which may be the point so you're not living in your head or mind as it were, but living in your life. Paying attention while its going on around you, being with whomever you are with, teaching in the moment, making strong decisions easily because you're there and know what needs to be done. AND once you start down the path, you can't backup! Once you start waking up, even just 9/10ths of an eye open, you can't close them again!

You have no choice from here on out to be present. I know people who've tried to go back and they're miserable, because they know they're not doing what they should be doing, they KNOW is the point. Before you peek out from under that one eyelid you don't know, and therefor are full of avidya (ignorance), not in a conscious way but in a way that you don't even realize you don't know anything and are just living the illusory veil that has been spread over you as the tool to get you begin the path toward self-realization.

Sure, asana, (yogic postures) are just a tool. They are meant to keep the body healthy, the energy channels, muscles and joints open, so that you can sit, be happy and know that you are a divine being. So that you can feel said divinity illuminating you from within and spread it like a seed being planted across the microcosm you live in so that a whole forest of open-mindedness, peace, love and realization happens all around you! So once you reach that state of connection, you may no longer need that tool. I say that I used to practice 2-3 hours a day 6-7 days a week and now I practice kundalini almost daily, to stay feeling light and connected and my body doesn't need the strong asana practice as much, so maybe 2-3 days a week and I anticipate I may not need it that much in the future. I may not need any practices at all once my energy channels are fully open and my body is fully open and my mind is fully and completely open to the divine, or God, or whatever it is you'd like to call it. If you're mind is there, then your body will be there right? And eventually not even the body anymore, just the spirit.

But we still live in a solid world, for now, so these practices can help us to get lighter, to realize our inner potential, to realize our inner divinity if you like. But trust me again when I say, they are the hardest things I've done with myself, physically and mentally, and therefor cannot be considered an entertainment. Yes my muscles and glandular systems do stay in amazing shape do to the physical practices that I enter into most days, but that is a side effect and not the initial focus of these things.

And while I said earlier, I hate yoga, that was just for dramatic effect. I do have trouble with it some days, as most people do, because some days you just want to remain asleep, not be awakened. But most days, I love it, and the fact that it has made me smarter, brighter, happier, more peaceful inside, as well as out, more in touch with myself, sexier, more loving, a better teacher ... I could go on and on, but won't.

Its a hard discipline, but has changed my life and those whom have also chosen it as a path around me, for the better and keeps helping us in our evolutions, making us stronger and more full of resolve to be who we are and be in union with our divine, connected to our source, and I'm good with that.

Come to a class and check it out if you haven't already, if you hate it, fine, you won't start the wake up process and perhaps aren't ready to, but maybe, just maybe you'll get the bug too. The wake up bug, and its bite doesn't hurt so bad, just a little ...