This question has been at the forefront of my practice of late. I was first introduced to yoga through a Sivinanda practice my sophomore year at WKU (18 years ago...wow). Sivinanda focuses on five principles: Asana (12 primary poses), Pranayama (focused/intentional breathing), Savasana (relaxation), diet (vegetarian for true practice), and Vedanta/Dhyana (positive thinking/loss of ego/meditation). While my practice has developed beyond the original 12 poses, I still try to hold true to these five principles in my practice. I have not been practicing for 18 years, though. In college, I was very diligent with my practice. When I quit school to help out with my sister after her stroke I lost much of the desire to continue to practice while I was in survival mode. Thankfully, that desire returned to me when my children were young, and I have been practicing consistently for the past several years. Practicing yoga is much different in 2014 than it was in 1996. In '96 if I wanted to learn more about how to truly deepen my practice I would go to my teacher or check something out from the library. It was all about bringing my physical, emotional, and spiritual selves together as one. Today, if I want to learn about yoga, I can just type it in Google and all kinds of stuff pops up. Some good...some not so good. Some is yoga...some is just the idea of yoga mixed in with today's popular culture. Today's versions of yoga tend to be commingled with practices and ideas that are very nontraditional and make one question if it's even yoga at all. So, as I practice this question keeps coming to mind: Am I really practicing yoga, or have I joined the pop culture bandwagon. The answer isn't simple or definitive. In my heart, I believe that I have worked to maintain a balanced practice that focuses primarily on knowing/learning/growing who I am in this moment. However, some of the choices I've made while practicing are very ego-centered, and I am not proud of that. One thing in particular is that I have participated in online yoga challenges. For this, I have posted regular, sometimes daily, pics of myself doing poses that are not dictated by my practice but rather by someone else's idea of what I should be practicing. These challenges changed the way I practiced, changed my sense of self, and allowed my ego to have control. This is not yoga. These challenges also gave me a skewed practice in that I thought I needed to develop certain poses to maintain a certain image (image of self, how others see me, etc.). All of this has infected my practice and I now find myself with a great need to get back to truly practicing yoga without all of the junk. Thankfully, yoga isn't prejudiced. I'll be able to find myself once again. I'll begin truly practicing the yoga that I know daily. I'm already on my way. The thing about truly doing yoga is that it requires discipline on a daily basis, and while I've continued the daily Asana practice I have not stayed true to Dhyana. Over the past few months I've basically just been stretching and calling it yoga...or only doing partial yoga. For that misconception, I am sorry. I'd like to apologize to anyone who has followed me and joined along on this ride. I pray that you will find your way to a true practice that is fulfilling and enlightening. Don't let the world dictate your practice, your prayers, and your life. Always remain aware and practice with humble intent.
jacobvanloon
jbbartram-illu
yousharknotpass
prguitarman
dailybridgerton
gummygunk
