What Maketh A True Practitioner

Just the practice of yoga asanas itself does not do the four letter word real justice. Yes, one might be able to perform the most difficult pose, bending into the perfect form of a king pigeon or jumping through so fluidly as if defying gravity but do you call that person a true yogi?

Being a true yoga practitioner goes beyond mere form. The physical aspect of it is just one part of the whole equation as it seeks to condition the body and tame the mind for greater things ahead. 

Right from the beginning of my TTC, Guru M had already encouraged us to incorporate awareness in our daily lives. At first it was quite tough but after 2 weeks of constantly reminding myself to be aware of any mundane task at hand (e.g. brushing teeth, drinking water, walking to the car) it became a lot easier. Also, I started to understand that this practice itself was to prepare us for the first of the eight limbs of yoga, which is yama, or code of conduct. 

Yama refers to how we conduct ourselves in relation to the world around us. There are altogether five Yamas - Ahimsa(Non-violence), Satya(Truthfulness), Asteya(Non-stealing), Bramacharya(Non-lust) and Aparigraha(Non-possessiveness). 

Anyway, to cut the story short, I came to the realisation that for the entire time I have read the philosophy of yoga and other spiritual matters, I had never really put what I had learned into conscious practice. Take Ahimsa for example. The act of non-violence does not only extend to obvious scenarios such as not resolving to road rage, not killing the back-stabbing colleague of yours or not throwing stones at a defenseless stray dog. Even verbal speech that cause emotional damage to the receiver constitutes as violence in the yogic context.

I am usually quick to display my emotions of displeasure whenever slightly ticked the wrong way. Most of the time, towards the unfortunate people who are closest to me. I have started to observe myself in such circumstances over the past week. It is crucial to catch yourself at the time just before reacting to an emotion as once externalised, it it irreversible and will not benefit both parties. By empathizing with the other, by respecting the other person's viewpoint, by speaking words of kindness, by hesitating just for a brief moment and analysing if the words about to come out of your mouth will improve the situation - all of these which are not practised enough in the world today.

Nobody is perfect but being aware and bringing it to practice whenever possible will definitely make a positive impact on yourself and the people around you.