The Subtle Art of Hiding in Plain Sight: Yoga Edition
- M. Howell
- May 19, 2021
- 6 min read
Westernized yoga has stripped many of the eastern philosophies to gain popularity in a stressed out, fitness-obsessed culture. But what if that is the drip-feed? Capitalizing on humanity’s need for power and pride of the self, we are sold the same lie in the garden. YOU can be as God! This philosophy prepares a feast of deception and…You’re invited to the banquet, ma Cherie!
The belle of the post-modern banquet is yoga. This handmaid of pride is loved and accepted because she is dripping with the diamonds of intellectualism, inviting with the silks of philosophy, and enchanting with the crown of psychology.
First Course: Carefully repacked fitness, with a side of pragmatism
“Not old-fashioned – just simple alignment based poses here…tap into your creative energy!...magical moments happen when you are present…it’s more than just a workout, knowledge is key, and community is everything! We respect and honor the heritage of yoga, above all-else, we aim to preserve its integrity.”
If your spine is starting to feel like a compressed metal slinky and you need a little sparkle of magic – just try yoga! BKS Iyengar is largely responsible for bringing what we know as yoga today to the West. As a child, he suffered sickness and frailty and credits the 10-12 hours of yoga he did daily to the healing of his body. The theological juggling act of postmodernism opened the door for Hatha Yoga to enter the West. In 1966, Iyengar wrote one of the most prolific books consumed by our society called “Light on Yoga”, which draws from the teachings of who is considered the father of yoga, Patanjali. It is believed that Patanjali is the incarnation of Adisesa and readers are asked to be “prostrate” in front of Patanjali to honor the deity of Adisesa. Adisesa is described as a thousand headed serpent who is floating in a dark ocean called the Milky Ocean. With his hoods, he is said to balance the entire universe. If that job isn’t enough, he is also responsible for creating a covering for Lord Vishnu to rest. In order to keep this stable resting place for Lord Vishnu, he must maintain a yogi favorite known as “sthira sukha.” Sthira is defined as firm, steady, and stable. Sukha means ease, comfort, and lightness. Sound familiar? The fusion of these two states is one of the goals of asana, the physical practice of yoga. Alignment, Adisesa. To-may-to, to-mah-to right?
Second Course: An aggravation of pretense, seasoned with love and light
“We create an open, loving, non-judgmental community where people feel safe and inspired to bring about healing and awareness through a consistent yoga practice. In a supportive community, we are empowered to connect to what really matters so in turn affect a positive change in the world.”
I call this the amuse-bouche of the evening. In French, it is to “amuse the mouth” and please guests with a small flavorful taste. Flattery is a dish best served with words “softer than oil and speech as smooth as butter.” (Psalm 55:21) William Scott Downey describes flattery as “refined deception-it is the froth of language-it is the alcohol of social intercourse-it is the prescription of the subtle-the nectar of fools.” In your new supportive community, you chew on the fat of flattery and self-empowerment where you get a sense of feeling safe and supported. Stand in your power, sunshine. You have all you need within you. You can achieve total separation from suffering. You are enough! Meanwhile, a self-study question in yoga teacher training is, “What would be possible if you gave up the need to be who you currently are?” Read: We are going to give you a NEW way of being!
But, in the elevation of self, love grows cold. When you are devoted to self, you cannot be devoted to others. The warmth of the community dies down and you increasingly isolate yourself. “Yoga was developed to escape this ‘unreal’ world of time and sense and to reach moksha, the Hindu heaven – or to return to the ‘void’ of the Buddhist. With its breathing exercises and limbering-up position, yoga is promoted in the West for enhancing health and better living – but in the far East, where it originated, it is understood to be a way of dying.” (Hunt, 2006)
THE MAIN: Smoked Red Herring
“A Path to Enlightenment for All Beings” This is a radical idea that, when put into practice, can dismantle our present culture, which is based on the notion that the Earth and all other animals exist for our benefit and to be exploited for our own selfish purposes. So the practice of asana becomes more than mere physical exercise to keep one’s body fit or to increase strength or flexibility; it becomes a way to improve one’s relationship to all others and thus lead to enlightenment – the dissolution of the sense of separateness, the realization of the oneness of being, the discovery of lasting happiness.
Actual definition of yoga:
Merriam-Webster
Definition of yoga
1: a Hindu theistic philosophy teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation.
The true purpose of asana is to prepare the body for meditation which yogic philosophy teaches the SUPPRESSION of all activity of the body, mind, and will in order that self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation. Here we can agree on one thing – we all want an end to suffering and be free. The cry of humanity’s heart is eternal peace, happiness, and everyone living in love. If in fact yoga is the path to enlightenment for all beings, the fourth meditative state (asmitânugama samadhi) presents a challenge. This state is described as “Just that you know you are, but you do not know who you are, where you are. Nothing else is known. Just ‘I am present’. This is the fourth state of samâdhi.” Imagine this world with me. The paradox is the amount of suffering actually created through this philosophy because you inevitably DO have to participate in life. If you desire not to exist, the natural outworkings of this state is complete separation from true existence. Separation from all beings. If this is the existence sought, solitary confinement in a cell would be a dream, not a nightmare. But, if you research what happens to individuals in solitary confinement, they begin to suffer anxiety, panic, insomnia, and depression.
Final Course: The Ultimate (False) Reality
“The soul and the truth are all part of the concept of Brahman, and it is the essence of everything which can be experienced, but not seen. The idea is that every single living being on earth comes from this cosmic soul - of Brahman, and so every person in the world is spiritually connected.
The world of yoga recognizes Brahman as an understanding which the yogi hopes to reach through spiritual practices such as pranayama, mantras, asanas, and meditation.”
This sounds really nice. It really does. But it is a little bit like when I was a kid and accidentally used salt to make a cake instead of sugar –pleasing to the eye but there’s a bitter end. This is further evidence that one cannot separate the physical practice of yoga from its spiritual yoke. The purpose of the physical postures is to set the stage for the union with the Supreme Self, also known as Brahman. Brahman is defined as transcending all empirically distinct dualities (female/male, old/young, etc.). The sound often made in unison at the beginning of a yoga class (Om) is a sacred sound meant to represent the essence of this reality. According to the Bhagavad Gita, one of the main scriptural books of Hindu, the vibration of this sacred symbol allows one to “quit their body” and reach the highest state of “stateless” eternity. In order to achieve this, one prepares the body and mind through yoga asana and meditation. Deepak Chopra calls this the domain of yoga where all duality finds unity.
A sense of self, rendered senseless... the ultimate grift. You are invited to pacify the burdens of human reality by transcending reality itself. An enticingly empty promise that leads to perpetual dependency. This creates an opening to an endless series of fixes to get ever-so-much closer to this divine goal. Just one more book, one more class a week, one more hallucinogenic trip in the desert... catch my grift?
References:
Dave Hunt, Yoga and The body of Christ, Berean Call, 2006, p. 8
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xo - RHH
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