Ama Yoga Exchange

This is one of my favorite depictions of the western yoga practice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-8IPDR4Khc

“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”  ~Kahlil Gibran

To me, teaching is passing one’s knowledge to another. However, this knowledge should not be imposed, rather offered as a gift of wisdom. I am coming from a family of three Professors who have very different teaching styles. My grandmother is very radical in her teachings and has a very aggressive methodology, whereas my grandfather has a much more democratic way of educating. My mother’s style of teaching is similar to my grandfather’s. In fact, she was the one to inspire me in my path of attaining certification and making yoga my primary source of income.

I was placed on a mat when I was 2. At the age of 23, my mother was very vivacious and at the peak of her yoga devotion. Because my yoga practice began at such a young age, it is very difficult to describe changes that occurred with its help. I have been practicing physical yoga for years. My mother read Bhagavad Gita to me when I was 5. It is only now that I can fully recognize what was really meant by, “that which possesses the body is eternal” and “[…] those that know the inmost Reality […].” My mother raised me on principals very similar to yoga, but as I entered school and became affiliated with different types of people, my views were a bit clouded.

I have to admit that it is not until very recently that I dived deep into yoga as a philosophy. Even though being raised on the principals that subconsciously were retained in my mind, the realization comes to me now. It is not until this Spring that I started reading yoga journal articles from a different perspective. Yoga is a philosophy that keeps me going every day. I can relate to so many people that are stressed and confused. I have a feeling that it is my calling to spread my knowledge of yoga wisdom through teaching. Many people practice in strive of physical beauty, mind balance, or to be “trendy” because yoga is popular, as blatant as it sounds… But for me, yoga is not a physical sport. Yoga indeed is a philosophy and came to us in such a physical form only recently. I practice for the well being of my soul and because I am still in the process of unraveling it, I do not completely have the answer to what comes next, therefore, there is no definitive answer to the question, why am I here? One day you are here because you need a balance, another day because you need a physical stamina. Yet another day it is because you are just simply lost and appear in a desperate need of finding gravity. I predict my future students having uncertainty as well, because yoga is so vast that many questions are left unanswered.

“Ancora Imparo”- (Translated from Latin “I am still learning” or “Still, I am learning,” Michelangelo allegedly said these words when he was 87.)

A friend of mine once said that we were birthed into this world in order to accept it and to coexist with our environment instead of trying to change something and wander. I keep repeating this to myself and to anyone who asks me about my vision of this world. On that note, I shall say that this view is similarly portrayed in Shunryu Suzuki’s text Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. He too, saw the world as one world from one universal outer perspective, that is, not through “I” or “You” but rather through the outer universal lens. We are born to do something, and that is also true. No matter where we are and what we are doing, even when we choose not to do anything, we are existing perpetually and therefore doing something. I recently started reading a book written by Stephen Batchelor, Verses from the Center and was slightly challenged by the idea of emptiness, which is yet another fundamental principle of the Buddhism. Suzuki on the other hand, translated this into a notion of purity. The purity of mind combined with the acceptance of the world leads us to a proper mind set for the practice. 

That same friend shared her thoughts about time. She said that there is no such thing as time and the mere existence is in one moment that is eternal. Suzuki also asserted that it is the essence of an effective meditation and let alone, life. If we accept things the way they are in the moment and keep the proper meditation posture, we are the “boss.” And by that he meant that we are genuinely in control of our minds and bodies, not in duality but in oneness, wholeness with the universe. Another idea that I was astounded by was that the mind has to always be open even if we practice for years. I certainly agree with this. Again, this is not only inherent in Buddhism, this is also akin to a variety of professions.  No matter what we do, this principle can be applied, whether you are a doctor that is looking for a cancer cure or an attorney defending a client in court. This idea of an open mind and receptiveness to new knowledge and perspective even if you have already been exposed to that knowledge on whatever level- is necessary.

Segueing from the beginner’s mind… Lots of friends on facebook get very surprised when they browse through my yoga practice photographs and leave comments such as “Are you a pro?” Though I appreciate much of the attention, I feel compelled to stress that no matter how skillfully and freely one masters postures and arm balances in yoga, there is no limit. Just like there is no limit to mind. We are students to life. I remember being 4 years old and wondering when I will grow up and sometimes I still feel that way, but the truth is that there is no finish line in life like in marathon. Just as life keeps going, the yoga practice and the wisdom exchange keeps happening.

Today I traveled to Jackson Heights, aka “Little India” in search of a beautiful Sari. As soon as my train stopped I felt a different energy vibe. The atmosphere was very disparate compared to other hustle-bustle parts of the chaotic New York City. Men and women were smiling at me and I smiled back. What surprised me most about that place is that there was no sense of time. As I ascended the stairs of the subway, I entered a dimension of complete stillness. Somehow I forgot about my bound responsibilities and about what was supposed to come next. I was hanging still in that moment where I was.

On the 74^th Street and Roosevelt Avenue a small Sari Boutique resided and that is where I found my one gorgeous Sari. When I came into the store two very polite ladies, originally coming from Bangladesh, assisted me and helped pick out the best color that reflected my eyes. While trying on the Sari, we had the opportunity to exchange our knowledge about the benefits of yoga. We touched on some very fundamental prana techniques and body flow. But what surprised me most is that we agreed on one very important aspect: one who practices daily, no matter for how long, be it five minutes or one hour, he/she has the ability to stay calm in control and most importantly in peace with him/herself.

As we continued chatting one of the women told me a story about her recovery through yoga. One day she woke up with one side of her face paralyzed. In despair she rushed to see a doctor and he explained that there was nothing that he could do, for time being he prescribed her medication and she felt no change. The woman was terrified until one day while browsing the YouTube, she came across a video of one of the gurus that focused on prana flow. He inspired her and she decided to attend his classes at the ashram. Two months later it was time for the follow up appointment with her physician. He could not believe his ears! She could feel her face again and smile! Ever since, there is not a day that she does not dedicate time for her yoga practice. “Little India” was a very brief but compassionately abundant interaction.

The secret to the stillness of the mind lies in the liberation of fear. Diving deeper into the thought of how much we can all achieve, had we just let go… Throughout the years of my yoga practice, I have finally arrived at the conclusion that I had trouble of letting go of my fear of moving to the next level. I have been practicing and practicing daily, and every time the guru would announce the next posture of headstand, I would inertly move my mat closer to the wall. When my new guru noticed my routine, he had fully instructed me through my proper alignment, ligament by ligament. Tucking the tailbone and squeezing the inner thighs were the key elements to the stability in this posture.

One day, weeks after my guru’s instruction, I was seated in the spot close to a wall, where I had the opportunity to support my headstand but chose not to, as we were in our wide-legged standing forward bend, our teacher presented an option of a headstand. At that moment I knew that the change had to come and new accomplishments achieved. I decided to move my tripod to the next level as I placed my knees on my triceps, the moment of faith prevailed my heart. As I lifted my legs towards the sky I found stillness and content from within. I have landed in the headstand on my own without support, by opening the heart and finding content from within. I also had realized that this meant much more, and merely, yoga studio was not a limitation of such faith.