Pose: Standing Head-Knee Yoga isn't another type of 'fitness' class. It's not comparable to Pilates. It's not a subdued version of aerobics. Some get surprised by meditation 'lasting so long', or by the silence in the room, or when we go into relaxation or corpse pose -- again. Yes, again. The healing happens just as much flat on the mat, after strenuous poses, as during the asanas themselves. Yoga is not 'fitness'.
The demand and expectation of the fitness industry to keep the body moving non-stop with greater and greater intensity has become hard-wired. It's no surprise because that's how society is. Just keep going, going, goal-ing. Complete your tasks and stay on track because we all have to show how productive we are and prove our outer worth -- regardless how one is feeling or sensing, what one is intuiting or perceiving, or what emotions are arising -- let alone in need of release. The inner has so little value. It's no wonder some have difficulty staying still or silent, with just their breath to observe.
The demand and expectation of the fitness industry to keep the body moving non-stop with greater and greater intensity has become hard-wired. It's no surprise because that's how society is. Just keep going, going, goal-ing. Complete your tasks and stay on track because we all have to show how productive we are and prove our outer worth -- regardless how one is feeling or sensing, what one is intuiting or perceiving, or what emotions are arising -- let alone in need of release. The inner has so little value. It's no wonder some have difficulty staying still or silent, with just their breath to observe.
So, we push on, relying only on our body's raw vital forces -- strength and will -- and becoming ever more bound to its demands. We 'think' we aren't getting a real workout if we're not dripping with sweat and burning a 1,000 calories per hour. But, for instance, poses like standing head-to-knee (above) do more than burn calories, they jump-start our whole metabolism so that concerns about eating eventually become a thing of the past. The body can take of itself, freeing the individual to put his or her focus and attention elsewhere.
There are so many physical benefits to yoga, but obsessing over them is not the point. We treat the body the way an accomplished musician treats an instrument. A musician doesn't just hit keys or strum strings, he or she is listening to the sounds arising, listening to perceptions and feelings so as to play music and song. The body is our instrument, our tool for experiencing and expressing the soul.
There are so many physical benefits to yoga, but obsessing over them is not the point. We treat the body the way an accomplished musician treats an instrument. A musician doesn't just hit keys or strum strings, he or she is listening to the sounds arising, listening to perceptions and feelings so as to play music and song. The body is our instrument, our tool for experiencing and expressing the soul.
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