Why yoga? Reason 502 | Yoga & Beauty

Yoga is a revolutionary act.
This is why I teach Yoga.
This is why I practice Yoga.
This is why I study Yoga.

Let me begin with a word or two about “Nature”.

Nature is a word, which is a symbol, which is a social construction of a particular people in a particular moment. The word nature creates a dichotomy. It sorts. It separates. It divides. It divides human from nature; it divides us from ourselves, our inherent power and resilience, our center.

Not all cultures live inside or perceive such a binary between the human and the natural worlds. Many of us who do, travel far and wide seeking to escape the ugly and the mundane that dominates our lives. We look to “nature” to catch a glimpse of beauty, of resilience, as if it is something out there.

We have forgotten that the beauty of nature exists within us, that we are of nature and cannot be separated from it.

It is for the benefit of those wielding oppressive powers that we forget. They enclosed the land so we would forget; they burned hundreds of thousands of healers and elders at the stake, so we would forget. They enslaved and committed genocide, so we would forget.  

Why is beauty and our inextricable connection to the living earth such a threat? Because as John O’Donohue writes,

“We feel most alive in the presence of the Beautiful because it meets the needs of our soul…In the experience of beauty we awaken and surrender in the same act…we can slip into the Beautiful with the same ease as we slip into the seamless embrace of water; something in us already trusts that this embrace will hold us.”

We trust the beautiful, the natural, because we are a part of it. Our center, our true nature, is beautiful and resilient, and this center will hold us no matter what. No matter if we are dying, grieving, rejoicing. But so many of us have forgotten how to access it; our center has slipped from our awareness.

Imagine what would be possible if we could remember? If we felt alive and met? What if we knew that we ARE the ground we stand on? What happens when we remember that we are not alone?

This is what “they”, those who wield their power against nature and our innate human-nature, fear.

The practice of yoga helps us remember. It helps us become aware of both our beautiful resilient living center and our habits and patterns that get in the way of meeting our own true capacity.

This is why Yoga is a revolutionary act.
This is why I study Yoga.
This is why I practice Yoga.
This is why I teach Yoga.