Atha Yoganushasanam
With great respect and love,
now the blessings of
Yoga instruction
are offered.
Yoga is experienced
in that mind
which has
ceased
to identify itself
with its
vacillating waves of perception.
When this happens,
then the Seer is revealed,
resting in its own essential nature,
and one realizes
the True Self.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
1: 1 -3
as interpreted by Mukunda Stiles
And that really sums up why I started Notes on Yoga. Many of us have spent our lives striving to obtain things and have perhaps missed the beauty and the blessing of the present moment, of the journey of growth and movement.
Yoga helps us stop that pattern and brings us into the present moment, into our bodies and our own individual dharma, so that we can live the lives we are here to live.
The Bhagavad Gita teaches:
“It is better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another. Nothing is ever lost in following one’s own dharma, but competition in another’s dharma breeds fear and insecurity (3: 35).”
By dharma, I’m referring to our specific path in life, which means we must embrace our fate fully and stop living behind the protective barriers we’ve built. It means removing the facades and masks and standing in all our authenticity.
Are we living our own personal dharma or do our lives simply reflect conformity to external expectations and societal or religious norms?
What are we hiding from? Perhaps our selves and our own personal paths. It’s frightening to be ourselves — to stand stripped and barren of all our carefully constructed facades — but that is what yoga requires from us. Fortunately, yoga also provides the tools and the support that we need to make this journey.
Notes on Yoga is simply an expression of my desire to share the journey and to connect with others as they they make the journey home to to their unique dharma.
Any questions or comments, please contact me.