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Inner Healing
Journey Into Yoga
by Bhava Ram
You are an amazing and sacred being. There is profound wisdom deep within you, like a hidden treasure, just waiting for your discovery. You have a capacity for creativity, self-expression, personal success, healing and transformation that is far beyond what society has led you to believe. The greatest pilgrimage you can take is the one within, coursing through the vast universe of your being, tapping into your inherent greatness and manifesting your fullest potential.
I call this the Journey into Yoga, the process of lifting the sacred science of yoga up off your practice mat and bringing it fully into your life. Any mental agreements you may have about your lack of ability to take such a journey and make great changes in your life are simply illusions. All your past hurts, personal dramas and setbacks are actually your greatest teachers and they have helped bring you to the point where you are at this moment: reading this article and considering what may well be the most important journey of your life.
This is the true experience of yoga—taking a journey to the universe within us, leaving behind our conditioning, letting go of our sorrows, releasing our attachments, transcending our egos and coming home to our hearts. It is far more than the poses we do on our mats, as important and wonderful as they may be. Yoga is a sacred science that is to be fully lived, a way of viewing ourselves and the world around us through new eyes, a way of merging into oneness with all that is.
Most of us spend our lives stuck in a cycle of consciousness that leaves us dissatisfied, unfulfilled and unhappy. It goes like this: We base our reality on the information that comes through our five senses of touch, sight, sound, taste and smell. Our ego makes judgments, classifying each experience as “I like that, get more!” or “I don’t like that, avoid at all costs!” These decisions form our memories, like a software program for the hard drive of our subconscious minds.
Of course, reality comes along and gives us more of what we dislike and less of what we desire, so we are caught in an emotional cycle that agitates and upsets us. Even if we receive all the things we think are wonderful, it usually turns out that they lose their luster over time and we only want more and more new desires to be fulfilled. Mass media is always there, of course, to program our minds to endlessly consume in this futile quest for satisfaction.
Yoga teaches us that behind this low level of consciousness, there is a deeper wisdom, called Buddhi, which contains our discerning intelligence. Behind that lies the soul, the very light of our true being. In order to make the passage to these sacred realms, we must first see the cycle we are caught in for what it is: the bubble of social conditioning wherein most of us dwell. Then, in order to escape the bubble and find our true selves, we must alter some of our behavior patterns and perceptions of reality.
Let’s start with perceptions. Most of us are caught in our egos. We think we are the central actor in our own little movie (and the producer, director, screenwriter and cinematographer, as well). When things don’t go according to our script, we react emotionally with fear, anger and anxiety. We want reality to conform to our illusions, which actually leaves us in a state of self-delusion.
To shift this, we must begin to accept reality for what it is and seek to act skillfully rather than react emotionally. This is a profound practice. The next time your beloved or best friend pushes one of your buttons or another driver cuts you off on the highway, do your best not to react. Instead, notice your emotions and let them run their course. In each and every situation that you perceive to be challenging, contemplate how you might act skillfully rather than react, which inevitably worsens the situation.
The other part of this journey is changing some behaviors and habituated ways. This can be tough, but it is worth it. We cannot expect new results from old behaviors. The law of karma won’t let that happen. We can, however, experience new joys and bliss through making some fundamental changes and sustaining those changes over time.
First, spend more time in stillness and silence. This is how we come to hear the voice of wisdom and truth within. Try to do this each day, preferably first thing in the morning.
Another practice is to tune out mass media. Don’t surrender your consciousness to commercial television, which only seeks to program you at the deepest level to be a consumer of things you don’t need and will never make you fulfilled.
Instead, immerse yourself in nature whenever possible. Mother Nature is divine, and her healing powers are great.
Become more connected with your breath, breathing deeply and fully, slowly and smoothly throughout your day. Lastly, cultivate gratitude for all that is. Embrace every circumstance of your life and every experience with appreciation.
These simple guidelines will start you on your voyage. As you slowly and consistently bring the Journey into Yoga into your life and sustain your commitment, your true self will begin to unfold and blossom. You will turn your life upside down and find a sense of grace and inner peace that you never dreamed possible. You will live in your truth and come to have a completely new relationship with yourself and the world around you.
This is the promise of yoga. It is true personal transformation, a process of actually becoming the person you were always meant to be, the person you always have been at the very core of your being. This journey is just a beginning and is not designed to take you to the mountaintop, but if you embrace it with devotion, courage and faith in yourself, it will guide you to new summits and stunning vistas.
Each small step you take is a great stride forward. If you slip and tumble a bit along the way, it is only because you are human. We all sometimes skin our knees and bruise our shins as we go about this business of changing our lives. It’s an inevitable part of the journey. The key is to keep putting one foot in front of the other, never looking back.
Bhava Ram is the cofounder of Deep Yoga and the Deep Yoga School of Healing Arts in San Diego, CA, which hosts Mastery of Life and Yoga Teacher Trainings. He is the author of two books, Deep Yoga: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times, and The 8 Limbs of Yoga: Pathway to Liberation. He is also a performer of spiritual music and will debut his new CD, Flowing with Shiva in Encinitas and San Diego with Manish Vyas on June 26 and 27. For more information, visit www.DeepYoga.com or contact info@DeepYoga.com.