RE: Spiritual Poser or Priestess of Wisdom?
Hi Poser,
Here's another "poser" for you (poser "a question or problem that is puzzling or confusing," Dictionary.com)
What we have in the West is the commodified and packaged version of yoga for consumers, right?
The first two "limbs" of yoga (as in, ash + tanga "eight limbs") are yama and niyama, "morality" and "practices." (See https://www.ananda.org/yogapedia/ashtanga/)
Asana is just one of the eight limbs, as in, just a fraction of the whole study and practice. Some people do pranayama, so that's two out of eight... and generally that's it.
Westerners hear the word "morality" and we want to run the other direction, because... because... actually, why is that?
If "morality" is traditionally the first of the eight limbs, why isn't it brought up at all when modern Westerners talk about yoga?
Your thoughts?
i am with you 100% on this! i am about to embark on leading a yoga teacher training through my yoga school Modern Mystic Yoga Academy and i will be emphasizing the 1st two limbs of yoga immensely. They are the secret power behind the reaching the later stages of meditation, for how can one really remain in stillness with a head full of regret or shame?
In the west, i agree that people are obsessed on the physical and outer appearances, but i imagine in time they will crave more...hopefully. Especially, when they have done every pose and realized that it didn't make a difference and that they aren't any more enlightened, necessarily. But maybe through doing the poses, the winds (prana) will shift in their bodies and they will feel inspired to study all the limbs in order to catch their minds up to the physical transformation they are experiencing.
It's going to be a hard sell to promote morality, for by preaching principles in general one doesn't usually win the popularity contest.
That is why i say, that true yoga isn't mainstream.
Hello,
Hey I'm so glad to get this response! Because it seems you get me on some level, nice!
I'm going to do my first yoga teacher training this summer in Kelowna, BC. Then I'm planning to write and vlog more on this "the big picture" of "yoga". My own influences are Yogananda and some Buddhism, and some Christianity, and more recently The Work (Byron Katie), Non-
Violent Communication (NVC) and the Law of One. btw the Law of One fills in the metaphysical piece, about what it means in the spiritual path to be positive vs negative vs undecided, and how the purpose of incarnation inthis 3-D density is to clearly choose one polarity or the other. I've found it extremely profound but also very helpful in understanding more about myself and our journey.
Yes, exactly, regret and shame are two biggies, along with good ol' fear and anger...
I think people have been taught e.g. by Hollywood that 'morality' sucks, is boring and all that... a hangover from some of the nastiness of Christianity, for example here in Canada we have this whole dystopian and genocidal tradition of the "residential schools," details of which are finally coming out...
But what the Buddha taught about "morality" is so to the point and not heavy, it's just, "the purpose of morality (good behaviour) is simply to avoid shame." I'm not a Buddhist scholar, I got this from Scott Mandelker, who is also scholar of the Law of One material, awesomeness.
It seems to me a lot of people are really confused and undecided, and maybe if they "had permission" to "be good," they would, and would be happier. Then of course there's a lot of people who are not confused so much as sitting on the fence, trying to eat the cake and have it too...
Just checked out your Modern Mystic Yoga Academy, looks awesome. I salute you and let's talk again.
Cheerio
Thanks for this thoughtful response. i apologize i was off steemit for a bit and missed this until now. i love how you quoted Scott Mandelker-" the purpose of morality is simply to avoid shame." It's such a powerfully simply way to state it. Salutations right back, and I will be curious to see how your training goes this summer. NVC rocks and i include a module of Yogic Communication in my trainings as well. Salutations right back!