Can Yoga unite mind, body and soul?
I have a great yoga teacher at the local yoga workshop place in the hood. Each session is more than but still is all about yoga. One of the things she does at the start of each session is to ask the class to clear our minds, and to be with the intention that brings us to practice yoga that day.
In the beginning, it was to help my aching back (oy! such pain). Now, I try to use yoga to learn how to unite my mind, body and spirit. But what does that mean exactly?
I experience myself as mind (thoughts, where thinking occurs) inhabiting this body. My predominant way of experiencing myself is as a physical being with thoughts directing and feelings flowing through it. There is no unity or cohesiveness, no holistic awareness of the whole. Further, I feel the spirit, but I cannot say that I am aware of the spirit or that I experience myself as spirit.
By practicing yoga, I hope to find that the ease and the effort and the flow that I bring to each pose is mirrored in my life. What I mean to say, is that practicing yoga brings me close to that holistic feeling of unity, of experiencing myself as a being of mind, body and spirit.
When I step on the mat, I attempt to forget everything and focus only on each pose. There is a lot of effort but very little ease. It’s a good first step, but, I try too hard. I put too much energy into each pose. I need to try to relax a little more, to find the ease in each pose.
Being successful at yoga means that I will have a truer understanding of myself. Currently in progress, I’ll keep you posted as to how it works out.
