Category Archives: Yoga

Be Like Water

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During a yin class on recent Sunday night, my instructor used the phrase “be like water” when describing how to surrender to a yin pose.  This was perfect for me, as I have recently read Old Path, White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh.  The book inspired me to think about the nature of self (and selflessness) and the universal connection.  It also made me consider the notion of resistance.

I have to admit, sometimes I have a hard time getting a good grip on the concepts of Buddhism.  I think I have it, and then it slips away from me.  At several points in the book, the metaphor of the ocean is used as an explanatory mechanism, and that has really helped me to feel more comfortable with some of the ideas.  And, as I heard my instructor say “be like water,” I found my focus for the yin session meditation, and for this post.

In the ocean, there are many waves.  Each wave is “born from” the whole, yet remains a part of the whole. Each wave seems distinct from the others, with its own characteristics, but at the same time has no self that is not part of the totality of the ocean.  As each wave “dies” crashing on the shore, it returns to the pool of the whole and continues on in and endless cycle.  When I utilize this idea to help me think about the connection between all being(s), it becomes clearer to me.  It assists me in feeling my connection to others, which encourages a sense of universal love for all.  This is one way that I understand and utilize the phrase “be like water.”

In another sense, I think of being like water in terms of resistance.  Water does not resist, it flows into the spaces between; it moves into the openings without judgment.  Water also does not refuse what is offered into it.  As Buddha discussed, whether something “lovely” like a lotus flower or something “icky” like garbage is thrown into the water, it accepts without resistance.  I hope to cultivate such an attitude in my life, accepting – rather than resisting – what comes to me with calmness and openness.

I’m working on being more like water.  Care to join me?

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

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This morning, I awoke to an uncooperative body.  Not only did I have some major allergy symptoms, and highly annoyed joints, but the phases of the moon had created some severe discomfort in my middle region.  Ick.  I felt truly put upon, because I had intended to go to a vinyasa class this morning.  Shortly afterwards (with a dead van battery added to the mix of conspiring forces) one of my friends/instructors observed that it was a case of what my mind wanted vs. what my body needed. Hmmm… want vs. need.  In the hours since, I’ve been periodically pondering this idea, and its relationship to yoga and to my life more generally.


The two things, want and need, are extremely difficult to separate in human existence.  We certainly need the basics of life: food, water, shelter, relatively good health.  I think most people would also argue that we have social (belonging, affection) needs and mental (stimulation) needs.  After that, it starts getting sticky.  We use the word need frequently for items that are certainly more luxury than need (I need a new cell phone!  I need more shoes).  With the extent to which we mingle the ideas of need and want, I suppose it’s little surprise that we cannot easily distinguish them.  I know that often I cannot in my own life decide whether a particular goal or focus (related to personal issues, professional performance, relationships) is something I need or just something I want.

So, what does all of this have to do with yoga? Well, that depends on who you ask, because there are many schools of thought regarding yoga – from the idea that it is a sport to the notion that it is primarily a meditative phenomenon and asanas (poses) aren’t really needed at all.  But, for me, yoga is about oneness – the integration of the body and mind, and the oneness of all beings.  If we are proceeding from the idea of oneness, then it makes little sense to prioritize what a single part of the system wants over what another part of the system needs.  In fact, to injure the body due to what the ego desires pretty fundamentally flies in the face of yogic principles.

Thus, today, I am working on yoga from other angles (so to speak) that are less contradictory to my body’s needs, but still allow me to practice.  Instead of vigorous asana, I’m thinking about the niyamas of yoga.  Specifically, on this day, I plan to spend some time on cleansing my mind of anger and jealousy (sauca) particularly with regard to not having my desires realized, being more content with what I have (santosa), using the energy that is available to me in a disciplined way (tapas) to meet the needs that I have rather than spending it on my wants, examining my own “needs” and “wants” as part of a process of self-study – in part through this blog entry (svadhyaya), and remembering that there is a universal force that is larger than me (isvarapranidhana) and thus I cannot always get what I want.

This, then, will be my yoga for today.  And, the background music of that practice will sound a little bit like…

You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well you might find
You get what you need

Namaste,

L

Judge Not

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“Judge Not” by Bob Marley

Don’t you look at me so smug
And say I’m going bad.
Who are you to judge me
And the life that I live?
I know that I’m not perfect
And that I don’t claim to be.
So before you point your fingers,
Be sure your hands are clean.

Judge not
Before you judge yourself.
Judge not
If you’re not ready for judgment.
Oh oh oh.

The road of life is rocky
And you may stumble too.
So while you talk about me,
someone else is judging you.

We, as humans, do a lot of judging.  And sometimes, that’s important, because we need to make decisions about the ethics of behaviors, whether someone is doing something dangerous, legality, our own choices, etc.  But, often, we go beyond judging what someone else is doing (or has done) at a particular time, and we start making judgments about that person’s internal state (motives, rationales, etc.), future, or past.  We aren’t just judging, we are being judgmental.  And that’s a problem.  We don’t really see it as a problem when we are doing it, but it seems worse when someone else is judging us in that way.

So, what does all of this have to do with yoga?  A few things.  First, as with every other part of our lives, sometimes we judge others in yoga.  We may judge their motivations for yoga (she’s just here to work out – she doesn’t understand the REAL importance of yoga), we may judge their performance (obviously he is just flexible – it’s all easy for him – that’s not even real yoga), we may even judge their yoga appearance (that outfit is completely inappropriate for class – I think she’s just here to wear the clothes).  Yoga practice is not an area that we always manage to be successful at avoiding judgment.  Second (and perhaps even more importantly), yoga does not end when we leave the mat.  In the yamas of yoga, we learn the principles of ahimsa and satya.  Ahimsa, non-harming or compassion for living things, is difficult to observe simultaneously with judging others.  How are we being compassionate when we look down upon others for not living up to our personal standards?  By doing so, we do not show compassion, nor respect for those around us.  Satya, or truthfulness, is also related to this issue.  When we engage in  judgments like this, we often do so on the basis of assumptions about things we cannot know – assumptions about the internal, the past, or the future.  To do this is to depart from the truth.

Avoiding being judgmental in this way isn’t easy.  I have a very difficult time with it myself.  But, we can try; we can practice.  We can work toward reducing this tendency in ourselves, both for others and for ourselves.  In the words of the Buddha:

Do not be the judge of people; do not make assumptions about others.  A person is destroyed by holding judgments about others.

Or in the words of the Marley – “judge not.”

Namaste,

L