namaste.

Tonight I went to my usual Tuesday night yoga class, as I’ve been doing consistently for about 6 months or so. The class starts at 7pm and goes until 8:30, but I like to go to the gym early. It’s important for my mind to be in the right state before I begin the practice, because otherwise I won’t be focusing on anything productive and just milling distracting thoughts in my head the whole time. If I go running for a bit to warm up beforehand, this sort of clarity is much easier to obtain and, if nothing else, I will have at least gotten some decent mileage in.

I know that a lot of people are anti-Yoga because of the, shall we say, spiritual “connotations” that come along side it. I’ve heard it trashed and demonized almost endlessly because it’s “weird” and “too new age-y.” That last one is sort of ironic because Yoga has actually been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. But, in all fairness, these are relatively valid arguments. I do know that Yoga was initially established in India to compliment the Hindu/Buddhist religious practices. So, for someone who is neither of those things, a lot of it may seem strange and bizarre.

One thing that always startles me is the amount of discussion about “leaving the body” and “mind/body separation” and “reaching enlightenment” and “focusing on the third-eye” (which is supposedly located between your two eyebrows) and… well, you get the picture.

The strangest thing for me is when my instructor says things like “close your eyes and focus your inner energy on the areas most tense in your body." What does that mean? Should you close your eyes and push really hard, or breathe only out of the right side of your mouth in the general direction of your right shoulder that's aching? My personal favorite is, “surround your internal organs individually, (she’ll go off for awhile and list practically all of them) with your divine, loving breath.” Sometimes it’s a little bit difficult for me to focus on the flexibility portion of the “practice” and keep from laughing out loud. This is a silent environment, and so I really do have to bite my tongue.

Today there was, as usual, a great deal of discussion of having “out of body experiences.” I found this to be especially curious timing because just earlier, my brother had sent me a text message and told me about an unusual dream he had last night. He said that in the dream, he had an “out of body experiences” and could literally see himself as his spirit (or… essence… or… soul?) flew high above the body.

Now, I don’t know what I think about that sort of thing. Sounds a little bit off to me, and I can’t say that it’s too good of an idea to be thinking of yourself as a divine and powerful being, "one with the earth" or being equal to any sort of god. It’s one thing to be physically aware of the differences between your body and your mind, and to focus on your awareness or coming to understand things that your body can or can’t handle. I think mental health and physical health are especially important, so I try to detoxify myself through hydration and regular exercise. I try to nourish my body through extensive flexibility exercises and clearing my mind of all-consuming or negative thoughts, and I try to maintain wellness by taking vitamins and eating healthy.

I suppose, though, a better alternative to superficial detoxification would be through a more spiritually based one. Removing those substances from life that aren’t pure, that clog the system, causing negative buildup and the corrosion of positive traits. A better way to nourish the body is instead through nourishing the soul with community, prayer and daily devotionals. And, finally, a better way to maintain wellness is to approach everything and everyone we encounter with an attitude of love and optimism. Focusing on these things will truly lead a person to real, true, biblical enlightenment. And surely, with the addition of one or two "downward facing dogs" from time to time (just for good measure), greater things are soon to be.*