Elephant Journal has a great article in which Julian Walker discusses the meaning of asana, or the physical practice of yoga. I can't recommend it enough.
I posted it on Mike Lyons' FB wall. Like any good yoga teacher, he challenged me, probably without even meaning to. Specifically, he wondered about my reaction to the comments that maintained that the physical practice of yoga is deeply rooted in ancient Indian tradition, a point with which Walker disagrees. I reacted on his wall, and I'd like to expand upon what I wrote here.
I tend to think of what happens at places like the Greatest Yoga Studio Ever as the starting point on a treasure map. It's not the starting point for the quest, of course. Something got the map into your hands, and nothing has a clean beginning or ending anyway. But when you go to enough modern US physical yoga class, you start to realize that there is something to this "yoga" thing. On the most mundane level, your body should feel a whole lot better, but a lot of people can't escape the feeling that yoga offers more than "just" relief from physical pain.
And what happens from there is entirely up to you and your desire to follow the map in pursuit of the treasure. The map can be hard to follow, but it's all right there. The physical practice can make you want to meditate, pursue a spiritual teacher, give up meat, live a more compassionate life, and so on and so forth. I actually do believe that once one comes to view yoga as central to his or her identity, one has taken the first step on a path that can lead to nirvana.
There are some pretty sizable caveats, however.
1. No two people get the exact map or the exact same final destination.
2. Point number 1 means a lot of people are going to make a lot of choices you don't understand.
3. Capitalism has also become pretty damn good at exploiting point number 1 to sell you things that they say should be on your map but probably don't need to be and even shouldn't be.
4. As a consequence of #3, you're going to find yourself struggling with some very unyogic emotions, thoughts, etc. about much of what passes for yoga.
5. Yoga's certainly not the only way to get to your goal. Buddha would say you're at your final destination right now, and your task is just to get out of your own way. If that sounds good to you, maybe you should read Buddhism: Plain and Simple rather than going to an asana class. Maybe you should go for a run. Maybe you should work on your motorcycle.
6. Why do you need a goal, anyway?
I guess I think the ultimate value of asana is that it's something you do every day for its own sake. I've come to believe that if you do anything at all long enough and consistently enough, you will do that thing through something like the full range of things we can experience. You'll rejoice and struggle and, if you're paying attention, learn how to rejoice in the struggle.
The other great thing that asana can give you is its failure. I will never do every possible pose, and someone will always do better and more poses than me. Most importantly, consistent asana practice has not and will not solve all my problems. The great gift here is that realization and the question that accompanies it: "Well, fuck. Now what?"
That's the most important question there is.
If ashtanga or universal principles of alignment or some other physical practice seem to be moving you forward on your map, ignore everything I just said and keep practicing. For all I know, I may end up right next to you. I reserve the right to change my opinion and reject any and all of this in the future. After all, I have no idea where I am on my map, other than a vague notion that I am moving in the right direction.
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