... in search of authenticity

"We already have everything we need.  There is no need for self-improvement.  All these trips that we lay on ourselves - the heavy-duty fearing that we're bad and hoping that we're good, the identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy and the addictions of all kinds- never touch our basic wealth.  They are like clouds that temporarily block the sun.  But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here.  This is who we really are.  We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake.
Looking at ourselves this way is very different from our usual habit.  From this perspective we don't need to change: you can feel as wretched as you like, and you're still a good candidate for enlightenment.  You can feel like the world's most hopeless basket case, but that feeling is your wealth, not something to be thrown out or improved upon"  - pema chodron

More inspiration from Ms. Chodron... I have this little pocket book of quotes by Pema Chodron.  It's called, "The Pocket Pema Chodron" published by Shambhala.  I like it for a few reasons.  First, it fits in my purse.  Second, it's full of inspiring quotes.  Third, I like small things.  This quote is on page 3.

Sometimes I bring this book to class with me, to share some thoughts that inspire me.  I might base a class on a reading, or throw a reading in at the end to enhance an idea I've been trying to convey through the asana practice.

As a busy mother of three, as someone used to a fairly busy life - I kind of like the sound bite.  I like the little tidbits of inspiration you find on Facebook memes or a shambhala pocket classic.  It's to the point, and it conveys something that makes me think.

Yet, there is something about this approach that doesn't sit right

The tidbit, the sound bite, the tiny little piece of something much larger is becoming our primary way of communicating.  Social media and text messaging have truncated the process of forming and sharing ideas so much that we've even begun to distort the english language with acronyms and made up words.  

Yoga classes are not immune to this way of communicating.  There is an idealized, media constructed version of a yoga class you might see in movies or in news reels.  The brightly lit white room with flowy white curtains, everyone on their yoga mats, blissfully flowing through their practice as the teacher spouts rainbows and unicorns.  Yoga is happiness.  Yoga is about being blissful, it is about being serene.  

Deeper than this, but part of the idea that yoga is about the "ideal" experience of life, there are some things that are said, some common "sound bites" that are present in the yoga community takes something very small out of a much larger practice and presents it as the whole.  

Most commonly, there is a feeling like western yoga is only about the asana or practice of the postures ignoring the richness of the yoga tradition.  I feel like this is the least troubling western cultural appropriation of a larger spiritual practice.  The physical practice produces so much benefit on it's own, that a lifetime of asana without any of the other elements of  a yoga practice is good.  There is absolutely nothing wrong, in my opinion, with approaching yoga from this perspective alone.  

I'd rather this, than the false spirituality you often find in a yoga class.  Platitudes and sound bites are all too often taking a much larger spiritual tradition out of context and presenting it as a whole.  Things like, "shine your inner light" or "speak your truth" or "set your intention", or "be your best self".   These ideas are adapted from, or taken from the yoga tradition but have been filtered through our western ideology of capitalism, dualism & egotism.   In talking about this with my teacher, he said (paraphrasing), "who are you? - to know your truth, to shine your light, to set your intention, you must first know who YOU are"  

Maybe we should go to a yoga class to find out who we are.  To uncover ourselves.  To be with ourselves.  Not to shine more of who we think we are, or to speak more of what we think our truth is, or to set goals to be who we think we want to be.  We will shine, speak our truth, set our goals, achieve our goals and we will still be the same.  We may be happier, but problems do not go away.  Life is a series of ups and downs, moments of glory and moments of heartache.  Achieving your goals does not reveal happiness, it reveals that you can do something you weren't sure you could do.  True contentment comes when you can be with the ebb and flow of life and recognize that nothing is permanent, and nothing takes away from who you really are.     

Yoga isn't about making you your best self.  It's about being exactly who you are at any given moment, and being okay with that.  

I encourage you to be critical.  To approach your yoga practice openly, as an observer of what is.  To listen to the sound bites and ask yourself if it means anything to YOU.  Is this more stroking of your ego, of the person you want to be or does this really speak to the essence of who you are?  Does it allow you to dig into yourself to uncover the layers of thoughts you've carried with you as your description of "you".  

I'm not saying, don't set goals. I'm not saying you should just give up on being awesome, on trying to live your life fully.  You are already awesome and you should live your life fully.   If you want to run a marathon, run one.  But, recognize that running or not running a marathon does not make you a better or worse person.  It does not change your basic wealth.  But, don't confuse this with yoga.  Yoga runs much deeper than this.  

Yoga is about being authentic, about coming to the mat as you are, and getting to know yourself.  Fully.  And from there, the rest follows. You already have everything in you, you don't need to add anything.  You just need to discover and uncover.   Just observe.  And be you.