Where Yoga Meets the Road: The Yoga of Compassion and Kindness

While up at Sundance the other night, after participating in a lovely group practice in the mountains, celebrating Solstice and the beauty of our surroundings and our community, I recall a conversation I had with a friend from the studio where I practice. He asked my wife if she was a yogi too. I thought that was a fun question, so I asked him to define Yogi. “Well,” he said without missing a beat, “it’s someone who practices regularly, and goes beyond the physical aspects of the practice.” This got me thinking, and asking myself an important question that I think we should revisit in ourselves regularly: Why do we practice Yoga? And perhaps even more importantly, is our Yoga practice making us better humans?

Yoga means so many things to so many different people. Over 36 million people in the US have taken up the practice. Yoga and meditation are spreading like wildfire and it’s awesome — a much needed returning to consciousness & contemplation for our society. However, like many things that are profound, beautiful, and powerful, Yoga is at risk of suffering from the spiritual poverty of the modern world — of being trivialized, watered down, or reduced to clichés. Dividing rather than uniting. We’re all searching for something, whether it be meaning, fulfillment, or joy. Our search is like a common thread woven through the multicolored tapestry of our shared existence. We’re searching for a way home.

The gateway may be the promise of a workout (which is a large part of what I was seeking when I first walked through the doors of 3B over two years ago), but then, almost invariably, something begins to happen as an important and individual journey is unlocked within each of us. To borrow from Deepitka Mehta (an inspiring Ashtangi based in India):

In looking for a slim body, we find a calm, clear mind.

In hoping for strength and stamina we find increased determination and concentration.

Awaiting to be free from back/spinal pain, we find freedom from compulsive anxiety.

Seeking relief from asthma we find unlimited reserves of physical and mental energy.

In trying to release tight shoulders and a stiff neck we find a new level of enthusiasm and joy.

Thankfully, countless lessons from our practice transcend our mat in and into our daily lives, because the real practice resides in all the little interactions throughout our day. It seems to me that this is where Yoga meets the road, and perhaps the most important reason to practice: to work on kindness, compassion, and love, towards yourself and all beings. As Rodney Collin said, ”our work is to realize conscious harmony. First in oneself individually. Then in one’s group. Then gradually between groups and so projected infinitely out into the world.”

Yoga gives us a clearer picture of what means and feels like to be human. Everyone we meet is a mirror, a reflection, a lesson, a kindred soul on this same journey. It’s not about an hour on a little mat; it’s about taking a moment to breathe and to feel and to connect with something larger than ourselves and our issues. Through the practice, we begin to clear up this illusion of separation, leaving the ego behind and making room for more of a sense of oneness. And the beautify of the practice is that it all starts with just a little bit of stillness. Taking a moment to be more conscious, more aware, and to reflect on the implications of one misplaced word, or that argument we don’t really need to have. Perhaps, then, we’ll speak in a slightly different tone, with even more empathy, to really connect with people on a whole new level. Because in reality, we’re just walking each other home.

In the end, the responsibility remains with us. It’s your own strength and stability you find on this journey. No one can give it to you, or find it for you. There is no teacher or guru or manual that can solve the challenges of our own lives, they can only guide and shore us up as we continue to put one foot in front of the other on our path. Yoga isn’t an escape that carries us to another world — it’s a way of waking up to the profound and awesome reality of the world we’re already in. The real Yoga is how you live your life — this is where Yoga meets the road. Sutra 1.1 says ‘Atha Yoga Anushasanam’, which means ‘And now, Yoga.’ This is where it all begins, with every moment presenting a new opportunity to wholeheartedly commit the most important Yoga, the yoga of connection. To connect with others, connect with the world, and recognize that we are all connected, one universe, one family, in love. There is one Yoga, and it is your life. There is one practice, and it’s happening right now. We’re all on the mat together. And as Judith Lasater so poignantly pointed out in her book Living Your Yoga, “Practice is not what you get, it is about what you give.”

(Originally appeared in July 10th, 2016 3B Yoga Newsletter)