Question: How does yoga relate to everyday life? (Curious One)
LL’s Response:
This a rich question Curious One; and one I cannot answer until I first create clarity on this word “yoga.” I now engage yoga,after thirty plus years of considering the philosophy of and embodying the elements of what ancient sages culminated for us, as a way to stay connected to my truest self. Tangibly it is the engagement of daily mediation and movement, along with a curious exploration of mantra and other sound related traditions known as nāda. Yoga for me is less of a question to be answered or a riddle to be solved. Instead I approach Yoga as a mystery to be explored and experienced.
So Curious One if this definition encompasses part of how you define Yoga then there are many ways to relate it to everyday life. It can be an approach from the somatic sense to address the aches of the body or less mobility, in order to provide a general sense of physical fluidness through Yogāsana (the postures). These movements can be done every day and in a variety of ways from vigorous to total chill. If you find stress and chatter creeping into the edges of your mind then any variety of meditative engagement can be a daily helper in getting focused and grounded. This type of yogic practice is a baseline practice to my day. If you are someone who aims to align your life in ethical ways through internal and external means, the study of the Yoga Sūtra-s* provides practical guidance for daily living. One example of this is ahimsa. Consider this question:What does action look like when we are ‘being’ rather than exploiting? I hope you can see Curious One, how these are just some of the ways Yoga translates into everyday lives.
If you are interested in an in-depth investigation of this ancient text attributed to Patañjali, and the application of it to modern times. The study of this sacred text is scholarly and reflective. Take this opportunity for reviewing one of the most well-known yogic texts, as well as a study of self (svādyāya).