Life became this balancing act of knowing myself as a social being in one out dated context, and who I wanted to be in a social sphere from here on out. Of course always factoring in room for change and development in a cyclical approach, which is easier said than done at times. It became a battle in my mind of what acquired traits and karmic attributes to utilize in what moment. I am sure we have all had this experience in many differing contexts, and generally each moment calls upon different aspects of self. How we make that choice is pulled from a storehouse of synthetic knowledge if we do not act from a place of awareness.
For example going on several first dates with different people. So much is happening, your mind and body are exposed to thousands of different stimuli and your discriminating faulty prompts you to respond differently in each situation. If you were sitting across the table from your date at a five star restaurant, sipping champagne you generally would not slouch with your legs open and itch your armpit. If you were at a baseball game with a date and he was throwing back beers yelling at the catcher, you might feel more inclined to slouch with your legs open, and have a field day with an endless supply of hotdogs. Which is the better date? What scenario do you have more fun in? The answer changes of course.
Does this mean you morph into a different person at every moment? Does whom you are depend on the context? A back and forth interplay, where each influence is equally valid, and asks the psyche to evolve accordingly. What if we studied the cross-cultural development of yoga with this methodology? Eastern, Western, ancient, and modern influences are all equally applicable, and how did these influences shape one’s own practice of yoga?
But even in the first date scenario, there are parts you that act as adhesive, they hold you together, they hold you up as a human, they make you who you are. The practice of yoga in a modern context is exactly the same way, how can we enlighten ourselves of yoga’s innate core, by further understanding it’s simply complex evolutionary process. My thought is shedding light upon what formed the entity we call modern spiritual yogic practice will allow a practitioner to truly adhere to the philosophical pillars that support yoga. With this encompassingly exclusive knowledge the way yoga is taught in North America may even change as well. If modern society were aware of the multi-dimensional factors at play in the process of practicing yoga, could we practice with more authenticity, highlighting yoga’s transformational core? This question alone has prompted me to examine the history of modern yoga, in order to develop my own self-practice and teaching methods. Right now North America and Yoga were just set up on a blind date, and it has not quite been decided if a second date is in the cards. We just aren’t aware.
