Inside Yoga 181 (31/10/2016)

At this time of the year, kids run around scaring their neighbours as part of Halloween. This celebration of all things scary is a sign that we do like to be spooked and scared, and this masochistic tendency of putting ourselves in the face of something scary is one of our ways of feeling alive.

Yoga and Buddhism practices do not tell us to run away from our fears but to face them, understand them and get rid of them, with the practice of yoga asanas (postures), pranayamas (breathing exercises) and meditation being focussed on exercises which remove the thought, the feeling and the sensations of fear.

For many people the feeling that we have a lot on our plate or that we have a mountain to climb (metaphorically for most of us), or we simply feel overwhelmed but do not know why, can feel like a rock which will not move. We feel we cannot get past the problem and move on. This is where the yoga practices come into their own, because we are advised to do some practice, as vigorous or as gentle as required, and then see how we feel.

Many people will notice that during yoga practice the burden felt prior to the session starts to fall away leaving us in a more balanced, lighter and more content space. Then we can deal with the mountain or burden, the problem, because of course, the situation would have not gone away but what would have gone is the weight pulling us down and preventing us from coping with matters.

This is an important point and key to understanding yoga: the yoga practice is there to support and help us through our days, weeks, months and so on, by regularly and repeatedly bringing us back to an inner balance, and returning us to a state of inner calm and clarity.

Using the image of a room in your house/flat where you practice yoga: you enter feeling overwhelmed, troubled, angry, or other negative emotions which are getting in the way of your ability to function and cope. Inside the room practice takes place…. And out you come, feeling and thinking “OK lets deal with XYZ” with energy and clarity which was lacking prior to practice.

This is not rocket science, it is simple, but when we feel overwhelmed, struck down and paralysed by fear (like some of us on Halloween when confronted by a group of six-year-old dressed as ghouls and vampires) we forget what is best for us – yoga.

Good luck this evening with trick and treating.

Feel free to share this blog with others, and any thoughts, questions or comments do contact me via the reply panel or email me gary@yogabristol.co.uk