My teacher Swami Satyadharma was very fond of reminding me that the very definition of a yogi is the ability to be positive with whatever circumstances arise… always thinking what can I learn in this situation? how can I evolve? How can I improve karma & make these circumstances better for myself & those around me?
The Opportunity
When we come to yoga practice, in any and all of it's manifestations, ultimately we are seeking to relax, body, mind & spirit. Throught this experience of relaxation, we are invited to explored the bigger picture, see the universe for what it really is, connect with the experience of totality, we are all one, baby.
Through this understanding, comes the opportunity of choice. Yoga practice gives us an insight into the bigger picture, the cosmology, and we can see perhaps, albeit momentarily, the consequences and opportunities available through our choices.
When we are stressed and anxious, we are more likely to make reactive decisions, based upon a individual desires and perhaps a degree of fear. When we make reactive decisions, we usually don't reflect upon the karmic effect of those decisions, we are seeking immediate gratification or results from those actions. Simple examples could be eating junky food, ignoring our longer term health for a short term sugar hit, impulse buying, or perhaps engaging in vindictive, argumentative behaviour, ignoring the long term wellbeing of a relationship for the short term satisfaction of being right.
The Karmic Pause
Yoga practice (and by this I most definitely include a practice of pranayama and meditation) can afford us the opportunity of the 'Karmic Pause.' Having done the work of svadhaya (self study) we become aware of our own part in things, and the karmic ripple effect of our decisions. Through the cumulation of practice we are afforded an opportunity in each moment, to lean towards a positive outcome, ultimately to make the world a better place, for all beings.
The Positive Choice might not always be the Easy Choice, and can often require some short term self sacrifice, however yoga practice supports us in cultivating an experience of inherent contentment, when everything feels okay in the present moment, we are less likely to reach for short term gratification and perhaps a little more able to align our choices with our dharmic path, choosing to practice the Yoga of Positivity.
As I mentioned above, success upon this path is probably going to require a little bit more than gentle stretching; classical yoga offers an integrated system of asana, pranayama, meditation and philosophical study that provides us with a clearly defined understanding of how we can evolve along this pathway. At the heart of yoga is a desire to make the world a better place, through the Yoga of Positivity, each of us can practice this, with each single moment, with every positive choice.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
