SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OF YOGA

Articles In This Section:

· STRESS IN THE WORLD

· NOT ORDINARY MORTALS

· YOUR DAY IS TO SHORT

· BENIFITS YOGA HAS TO OFFER

· YOGA SAGES

· SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OF YOGA

There are bound to be differences in approach, yet there is nothing rigid nor schematic about the study of Yoga itself, and certainly Yogism, that modified form adapted specially to our Occidental tempo, can be further varied to meet the needs of every individual. True, when it comes to certain advanced exercises and postures, an octogenarian will not be likely to try tying himself up in knots like a limber eighteen-year old. But just for the record let me mention a lady of seventy-four, and another who is eighty, both of whom make it a practice to do the headstand for a few minutes each day. Both are fairly recent students—which ought to prove a point. On the other hand the very young, who with their wonderfully elastic limbs and limber joints are often able to approach the most difficult Yoga postures in the spirit of play, will gain little from such practices if permitted to perform them like acrobatic stunts. For, the prime purpose of Yoga is a reeducation of one's mental processes along with the physical. Therefore, encouraging children to participate will only serve a purpose if it will teach them the habit of relaxing, help them grow up relaxed. Considering a child's apparently inexhaustible supply of self-perpetuating energy, this is not easy; but neither is it impossible provided the teaching is by example and emulation. Relax with them, and they will absorb the essence of what you are trying to get across. Above all, always keep in mind that success is a relative matter—a matter of degree.

The Eastern Yogis claim that the best time of life to begin Abbyasa, or spiritual practice, is between the ages of twenty and forty. But this is only true of the student who means to dedicate his life to it. Since such undivided dedication is not our concern—since all we are after is a practical way to improve our day-by-day living—we can proceed at our own pace. Once this is completely clear, Yogism, or the adapted study of Yoga, can be integrated into anyone's scheme of things, beginning today, now.