The inconveniences of being a yogi

Yoga brings awareness. Being aware is not always convenient. Actually most of the time it’s inconvenient. As Dr Svoboda says: ‘Ayurveda is about aligning the outer with the inner. Aligning one’s desires- which tend to be involved with the outer or the exterior, the senses moving outwards and wanting- with deep awareness of what one needs is a learning process’. Just like with asana practice it takes time, devotion, patience, discipline and diligence. It’s a process, and it permeates into everything in one’s life, from one’s food choices, to one’s relationships, to what one chooses to wear, and furnish one’s home with…EVERYTHING! Let me make a food example, as most of us can probably relate to food cravings. There are food items, or specific tastes that we like or crave; The deeper a practitioner goes into his practice, the more awareness one begins to develop within about what weather these likings/cravings are actually good for the body or not. With time the wanting transitions into a question of is this what my body needs? …Not exactly a convenient thought in many situations. Eventually your tastes shift and adapt to the awareness of the body and it’s needs, and when they do, that’s also inconvenient. But guess what? As inconvenient as being aware may be, it is priceless to feel alive and challenged. There is this sanskrit word-ekagra– meaning to fix one’s attention to one point or object. When you begin any spiritual practice, you are signing up for transformation, but in order for the transformation to happen one must keep it’s mind finxed on the ongoing process of adaptation. Adaption to change, to being willing to step out of the ‘i know’ box and step into the ‘i trust’ box instead. That’s an inconvenient box to be in. Well I guess it depends how you look at it ;P

The process of waking up to the inconvenience of awareness is a big life long journey. There’s an element of play, of curiousity,of exploration and of adventure in being willing to focus and stay in the process, and feeling ok with the inconvenience of it, because at the end of the day, that’s the only way we can make this planet a better place.