What's in my Control?
My very first yoga class, 19 years ago, was at a Bikram Yoga studio in Massachusetts. Thankfully, I was in one of the more accommodating Bikram classes, where I could take control of my practice and drink water when needed. This was not always the case in a Bikram class in the early 2000s.
Yoga Sutra 1.2 states, "The restraint of the mind-stuff is yoga.” Therefore, if you feel bound, you are bound. If you feel liberated, you are liberated.
“Things outside neither bind nor liberate you: only your attitude toward them does that.” -Sri Swami Satchidananda
If you can control your thoughts as you want, you are not bound by the outside world. If you can control your mind, you have controlled everything. Then there is nothing in this world to bind you.
What’s in my control? MY MIND
What’s out of my control? EVERYTHING ELSE
So, why yoga?
Yoga is a gateway to the clarity of the mind, a meditative state of being, and a desire to come home to wholeness. Through this specific transformation that many practitioners experience, true liberation can follow. As a yoga teacher, I often check in with myself to gain insight if I am trying to seek approval in some way or control the outcome of anything besides my mind. If I am, I begin to draw back on those outside validations and tune into why I am sharing the practice in the first place.
By slowing down, finding presence, and gathering consciousness, we can refine our ability to be in the now. There are many tools through the teachings of yoga that emphasize the skills that allow us to see more clearly, such as Breathwork, Asana, and Meditation.
Through these tools, we begin to take agency not only in our practice but also in our lives. If we can become comfortable enough in our bodies to make the practice about more than just our bodies, we can come home to ourselves. We can begin to find liberation rather than control.
“Ultimately, happiness comes down to choosing between the discomfort of becoming aware of your mental afflictions and the discomfort of being ruled by them.” -Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
-Amber Gregory
