I’ve battled addiction and OCD for most of my 58 years; however, life started getting easier about 13 years ago when my first Yoga teacher gave me her copy of “The Essence of Yoga – Reflections on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” by Bernard Bouanchaud.
It changed my life. Practicing mental or Raja Yoga has made letting go easier; the practice is rewarding and fulfilling in a sustained way that doesn’t produce a physical or emotional hangover. Although Raja Yoga is not a cure, it provides tools and builds confidence to draw upon when the demons come – and sometimes that’s enough. Besides, it’s fun and it feels good!
The Yoga Sutras is essentially a cross between the serenity prayer and a guide to help practice it; it literally includes specific step-by-step instructions to attain serenity! Seriously, for the life of me, I don’t understand why everyone on the planet isn’t practicing this!
Raja Yoga is about inclusion (though, ironically it’s an individual practice). We all want to feel accepted, as though we’re part of something, a sense of belonging and purpose. This practice is about the interconnectivity of everything – from the common elemental building blocks that comprise all matter, to that which each of us has in common: our consciousness; accordingly, the practice promotes peace, acceptance, love, oneness, and unity.
Raja Yoga is about changing behavior (think: breaking bad habits). Ironically, this meditative practice stresses the importance of our actions because every act has perpetual consequences. That’s the essence of Karma: the natural law of cause and effect. Karma is one of two primary underlying sciences which the practice of Raja Yoga is based on.
Raja Yoga includes an eight-limbed DIY proof of its other underlying science, Sankhya: the contention that the universe consists of only two things: consciousness and matter. While the first two preparatory limbs of the practice address behavior, the remaining three preparatory limbs address controlling and settling ourselves physically, energetically, and mentally in preparation for the last three limbs: seated meditation (i.e., you can’t meditate an unsettled body/mind). The three post-behavioral, pre-seated meditation limbs of the practice are the subject of MSRY’s introductory course (think: relaxation techniques).
Raja Yoga is about finding faith. While it’s not a religious practice, Raja Yoga recognizes that faith can provide strength and determination necessary to change one’s behavior and perspective, and to cope with the human suffering aspects of life; accordingly, the practice encourages everyone to find faith in something if you aren’t already so blessed.
In short, the mantra here is “change your perspective & change your life – and btw, here’s how to do it”. Changing your perspective IS the practice of Raja Yoga (i.e., success requires consistency; this is not something that’s done once a day, or once a week). The practice is simple but not easy; however, the Yoga Sutras promise that you WILL attain serenity IF you practice consistently and diligently, and based on my experience over the past 13 years, I have no reason to doubt it.
The Yoga Sutras provide the tools; practicing provides the confidence. You CAN change your life by practicing.
