Rules in yoga?

I just heard one of my roommates say there are no rules in yoga and the other one say, oh yes, if you don't do it the way the ole bugger says, it will all go to hell.

So, just made me think. While within certain systems there are many rules, kundalini kriyas are a set thing, Anusara alignment principles are set, ashtanga sequencing is set ... so on and so forth, yoga is really about your connection right? Yoga=union, or union with the divine.

What is the divine? To me its different to each and every one of us on this planet. Even within a religion or spiritual practice, there is always your own opinion of what should happen, or whats going on, right? So you create your own belief system and its yours and even though someone else, outside yourself (is anything really outside of us?!?) agrees with what you're saying, they may vehemently oppose another of your ideas.

Its not like we all have doctrines written down to follow, most of us evolve which each new thing learned, and adjust our thinking and beliefs to accomodate said thing. Even as I am now a baptised Sikh, or amritdhari Sikh, I still haven't learned all the things they believe yet. But I know that all of the other Sikhs I know are open and allowing of your own personal ideas of almost everything, not closed off to your interpretation of it.

It makes me think of a story Abraham, as being channeled by Esther Hicks, told on a dvd I was watching. Some skeptical lady called in to talk to them saying how the bible was her guidance system, Abraham teaches your emotions were given to you to be your guidance system, and Abraham asked how the bible came to be and she said its the word of God and Abraham said, who wrote it down, interpreted it? She had never thought of that. Abraham, or the spirits known as Abraham, are Source and Esther is interpreting what they are putting in her head and speaking out loud, or writing down in a book. Abraham propones that the same thing happened back then, Source (or God if you're a fundamentalist and needs to hear that word)spoke to these beings and then they wrote it down. SO who is to say that it stopped happening way back then? And then each book received for each faith system on the planet, all being written the same way, and we all thinking ours is right.

Every one of them is right, or was right to the being who interpreted the voice or feelings they were getting and then wrote them down. Same can be said of any creative venture, novel, painting, everything!

The same is in yoga, you take classes in asana or pranayama, or Body Electric techniques, or Feldenkrais, or Zen meditation or kundalini yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, or whatever! And you process what worked for you in that class, maybe you try some of it at home. Maybe you go to another class and try something else and then see what connected you that time. Maybe even trying the exact same thing again with a totally different result. And you feel your way through what works and what doesn't work, FOR YOU. Not for anyone else.

Everything on this planet and can create a connection to Source for one being or another, create a yoga in other words. So lets all just chill out, and let my system work for me, yours for you and his for him or hers for her and let every be! Let it be, right?!? Live and let live!

Find your own peace, or your own yoga within your heart and let everyone else find theirs too, in their own way, in their own time, with their own feelings, not yours! I know its hard when they just lay on the couch watching tv, but they too are working their way toward Source, just in their own way. Love them anyway, the world needs more love, or rather has tons of it, but needs more beings to be conscious of the love that lives in their hearts. So lets love one another for what we are, sound good?

Sat Nam ji's, love, peace, happiness and unending joy to you all!

Sat Inder