Once Upon a Time

Why yoga philosophy is good for your story — even if you’re not a yogi.

“Yoga is the journey of the Self, to the Self, through the Self.”
– The Bhagavad Gita

But what the f#%k does that mean?!

If yoga philosophy, in your mind, goes something like this — “Once upon a time there was an old dude with a beard in a cave, and then came Lululemon. The end.” — you’re not alone.

The part of yoga for which we wear Luon and Luxtreme is just one eighth of the classical system defined by the cave guy who was well ahead of his time in regard to the Athleisure genre of fashion — hello effortless man bun and vintage mala beads, soft flowing robes and perfectly worn gladiator sandals (I’m not sure if he donned those, but wouldn’t they have been divine in the Himalayan sunrises and on the deep playa?!).

So what is this fabled practice and mystical, mythical philosophy alluded to so often in our culture today?

Beyond the apparel, off the mat, your practice is anything you do to connect to the heart of who you are.

The journey of self-discovery is full of challenges to overcome. How do we identify those obstacles and implement tools to bust through them? By infusing the philosophy into our practices, and living our practices off the mat or meditation pillow, gym floor, whatever your choice vehicle may be).

There are behavioral patterns that appear both on and off the mat (or bike, track, weight bench, dance floor…), and yoga philosophy helps connect the dots between your practice and your personal development.

The word YOGA means to yoke or join together, make whole. YUG — to unite. Or to welcome and begin to accept all aspects of yourself. Connecting your individual soul with the divine concise consciousness. Realizing that there is no separation between the self and the divine, the self and others, the self and the planet.

Yoga teaches us… To live a happier, healthier, less reactive, more loving life. To liberate ourself and others. And to always be kind, because when one being suffers we all suffer.

We start with the most tangible — our relationship with ourself and others. Then we dive deeper, toward our divine essence.

The Yoga Sutra — a collection of aphorisms, outlining the Eight Limbs of Yoga. Patanjali’s (the cave dude) “threads” (as sutra translates from Sanskrit) of wisdom offer guidelines for living a meaningful and purposeful life.

The first two limbs are the Yamas and Niyamas: The 10 pillars of wisdom from the Yoga Sutra that lead the way to true freedom. These are the moral and ethical principles of yoga. They are invitations to act in ways that promote inner and outer peace and bliss. They create harmony within you, and in relationship to your environment and others. Where there is harmony, consciousness can expand.

YAMAS — basic guidelines for living a life of personal fulfillment that will also benefit society (Don’ts)

NIYAMAS — which we’re focusing on today, are designed to create well-being for ourselves and others (Do’s)

The Yamas and Niyamas help us spot our ego, resistances and unconscious fears — which likely appear in the macrocosm of life as much as in the microcosm of practice.

The third and forth limbs, Asana (the physical practice of Yoga) and Pranayama (breath control is one of many translations of this awesome word), help absolve tendencies that obstruct transformation.

The other limbs get really trippy — neural connections are created, consciousness expands, self-realization is tasted — and those flowy robes look better than ever.

You know those precious moments when doubts and agitations drop away and we can glimpse what is possible or feel connected to more? Yoga can show us how to access more of those moments by taking better care of ourselves, and even teaching us how to love ourselves more.

The philosophy helps optimize our practices — encourages us to engage with ourselves as consciously, so we are able to notice the places in our lives where we’re out of sync with our true nature, then re-commit to self-inquiry, with patience, generosity and love. These mindfulness practices help strengthen our connection to ourselves as we reflect upon who we are and the attachments we have to our own stories.

Yoga philosophy provides a roadmap to personal growth and contributing to the world in a positive way. Infusing these principles into daily life helps keep us on the path — spiritually, and just living skillfully with a bit more ease, clarity and flow.

Your practice is anything you do to connect to the heart of who you are. Who do you want to be? (And what do you want to wear?)

Happily ever after…

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Coming soon… CONSCIOUS LIVING | Yogi Style (for all, not just yogis)

Launching in late August… A monthly workshop for anyone who wishes to implement some (more) yogi’esque coolness into their own practices and day to day life.

In this series, you’ll find that your physical practice, meditation, contemplation, journaling, playing, resting, sharing — are all yoga. And you’ll learn how to fuse your unique form of yoga into work, relationships, perspective — your whole life.