Yogi: This is a Call to Action
Throughout history, the Yogi has always been a revolutionary. Departing from mainstream culture to seek mastery of self as a pathway to liberation. Sovereignty from colonization in both it’s external systematic design as well as it’s internalized domestication. This kind of freedom comes from wielding a truly regulated nervous system, a flexible and focused mind, and an empowered embodiment of divinity in flesh. This freedom knows no bounds as we can meet all obstacles with a fearless heart and noble action. The Yogi has trained for years, decades, and, for some of us, lifetimes. Yoga is a practice of self-determination.
In many ways, our practice has given us the tools we need to move through late-stage capitalism seemingly unquestioned. At first, Yogis were seen as on the fringe of society, but now we are on trend. Telling someone you are going to Yoga is more likely to get you a look of envy than it is suspicion. The modern Yogi has not only infiltrated the mainstream consciousness, but it also seems as though the mainstream consciousness has infiltrated us. We stop short at the physical practice, the OM, and the self care. Do not misunderstand me, these things are critical to our practice. I am simply asking if we can move to a deeper understanding of the practice and truly embody the revolutionary spirit that Yoga requires — to throw off the chains that keep us bound.
During the British Colonization of India, Yoga was banned. Not just because the British found the practice of the Fakirs to be grotesque but also because the Yogis were sabotaging trade routes in an attempt to prevent colonial rule. When physical culture, fitness, and body development became a trend adopted by many cultures in the 1920s, the some community leaders saw the opportunity to building strong Indian bodies to improve the chances of success in the event of a violent struggle against the colonizers. Some teachers, such as Tiruka (a.k.a. K. Raghavendra Rao), traveled the country disguised as yoga gurus, teaching strengthening and combat techniques to potential revolutionaries. Tiruka's aim was to prepare the people for an uprising against the British, and, by disguising himself as a religious ascetic, he avoided the watchful eye of the authorities. Other teachers, like the nationalist physical culture reformist Manick Rao, blended European gymnastics and weight-resistance exercises with revived Indian techniques for combat and strength. (Singleton, 2018). The Grandfathers of Yoga who brought Yoga to the west through lineage are these Yogi rebels. This practice is for the noble warrior.
Today, the battle is still the same. New faces, new team names, new landscapes. The path towards freedom is timeless. Right now, this fight may feels very alive for us because as we consider government control of our movement, the mandate to wear face masks, the call for testing and vaccinations. For some folks, this is a new experience. They have not felt the systemic, cultural and governmental domination over their bodies. Yet, for others, this is all too familiar. Feeling unsafe in our communities and social settings where we are othered, looked upon suspiciously, and socially distanced from has been a slow burn eating away at our sovereignty and dignity from the moment of birth. Even before the time of corona, the privilege of moving, speaking, and acting freely were only accessible to some.
In Buddhism, the experience of suffering is unavoidable but necessary for creating compassion, love and joy in one’s heart. “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” (Leonard Cohen, musician, Buddhist). When one can transmute suffering into compassion, one finds transcendence and liberation. When one dedicates this experience to the liberation of all beings, one anchors kindness and beauty in the world. Because, we are inextricably linked to all things, we can (and must continue to) find new opportunities for this alchemical process of transforming suffering into compassion. No matter what capitalism, personal beliefs, values and ideology, Yogis must remember that our liberation is bound. Our happiness is interdependent. When one is sick, we all are sick. When one is at risk, we are all at risk. When one is cast aside and disregarded, we all suffer because we are forever in union with our world, even when it’s inconvenient and messy.
Perhaps here, we can take this discomfort, heart break, grief, and anger and use it as fodder for the fire. When a Yogi finds challenge in their asana practice, we pause, breathe, reflect and act with intention. Now is the time to use all of our training. This an opportunity to lean in. This means to go inside ourselves, check our privileges, and care enough to look beyond our own experience at how others have been suffering in a similar and more pronounced way for much, much longer than we have during this stay-at-home order. We must look at the ways we have been ignorant and even complicit in perpetuating this suffering. Read that again. We must look at the ways we have been ignorant and even complicit in perpetuating this suffering. Take an honest look here. Explore the abyss, anchored with intention, guided by breath, and find those seeds of suffering. Hold them, turn them over in your hand, and get curious. Ask yourself, “does this seed create separation? From what? From whom? Who benefits from this separation? How can I transmute the energy of this seed and replant compassion and wisdom?” Spend time here. This isn’t a quick fix. There are life-times of oppression, domination, colonization, internal biases, external systems to work through. We can’t do it all in one sit, but we can begin to make this our practice. When we feel pain, we know what to do. Sit, anchor, breathe, tap into our own suffering and the suffering of others, look at our contributions to this suffering, transmute and transcend on a personal and global level. (See below for a link to the Tonglen meditation - which is an amazing practice of transmutation).
Right now, many Yogis are anxious to get back to work, to take off our masks, and return to normal. We hate wearing the masks. We hate being told to stand 6 feet back. We hate not being able to freely go and see whatever we wanted. While I too enjoy and love this freedom, we must remind ourselves of those who do not experience these freedoms regularly.
Yogis, our work is to awaken, liberate and embody. We practice union - yoke - we honor the divine connection between all things. We say “Namaste” but do we really mean it? Or are we just here for the handstands? If so, let’s sit in the fire of transformation together. All though the initial process of awakening is deeply internal, we are not alone in it. There are millions others who in this moment are doing their own awakening. This is a call to action. This is a call to put away our attachment to comfort and dig in! Let us not squander this moment ripe with opportunity to feel in to suffering so that way make awaken to compassion.
Further, let us take that compassion into action, a dedication to the liberation of all. I urge us all to remember that our actions (no matter how small) effect everyone. If we are truly mean, “We are better together.” Let’s be together better. Let us move with the most vulnerable, most oppressed, most isolated in mind.
Links to Tonglen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLvrOuaagL1XP502BIKLeOwXaxDamp1n0N&v=75wZzLqT3sI
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/lasarafirefoxallen/2017/01/magic-of-tonglen/
https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-tonglen/