by
Jessica Gale
In
the past three years, my life has changed more than the previous ten. Through
this time of transition, I re-evaluated many aspects of my life: what I do,
what I believe, and what I want. For a long time, yoga escaped my inner
evaluations because I thought it was something forever firm in my life.
This
spring I transitioned into becoming an urban farmer. Often my days were a
flurry of activity and my nights of exhaustion. Physical tiredness became my
excuse for putting my yoga practice on hold. As spring led to summer though, I
could not seem to revive my daily practice. I continued teaching. I took a
class here and there. I would take a few moments for some sun salutations and
stretches. But of course, I did not receive the benefits yoga offered.
And
so I gave up, knowing yoga and what it meant to me, needed re-interpretation
and re-evaluation in my life. During that time, my temper grew shorter, my back
tighter, and my sense of peace fleeting at best.
I
live in a large city and I am not a city girl. I grew up in the country and on
the ocean. A great deal of my sense of peace is derived from open, natural
spaces. But for now, I must live in the city. The pace, the constant noise, the
crowds all wear me down considerably during the day. During particularly bleak
days I would wonder how in the world does it. How Sri Dharma does it? New York
City has to be one of the busiest, most chaotic, and crowded places I have
been. For me, his strength and gentleness are a testament to his devotion to yoga in a place as crazy
as New York.
So,
I spent my summer fleeing the city on weekends and fighting desperately to hold
onto peace and let go of anger.
And
I have failed, miserably some days.
This
morning, thinking on all this, I knew I had to fail. I fell into yoga so quick
and fervently when I started that I took no time to contemplate it. I needed to leave my yoga practice for
perspective and to understand what it means to me now and why it still is
essential. I could not be a content human being and certainly not a good
teacher until I figured it out.
·
If
you live in a beautiful place and derive everyday peace and quiet from it, you
are so lucky. But I realize now, as important as a sense of place and home are,
things happen. Sometimes you have to move. Sometimes places change. However,
your inner landscape can remain fixed and
pristine.
·
I
need yoga because I need silence, desperately. Silence in the face of the busy
city and silence in the face of my racing mind. Yoga, in the end, is not about the
asana, it is about being able to sit in stillness and settle the mind into
silence. It is only in that silence that peace can be found. Silence in a place
is fleeting. Silence found inside oneself everyday resonates and carries peace
throughout the day.
·
I
need silence through yoga because it is the path to surrender, or Isvara
Pranidhana. In the Life of a Yogi Teacher Training manual Sri Dharma wrote,
“Devotion to God is the total surrender of the ego. Once one has knowledge of
the Self, one knows that everything is God. One is then able to surrender the
ego in order to achieve enlightment. Surrender
in order to obtain Divine help from within. Imagine having the hand tied
behind the back: one needs help! If one
surrenders to the Lord, one will be set free.”
·
I
need silence in order to surrender. I need surrender in order to find peace and
contentment. I realized, for myself, yoga is my path towards these things.
·
This
is the pattern of my life: to question and sometimes break my beliefs again and
again. But each time, the right ones for me come back all the stronger.
_____________________________________
Jessica Gale has practiced yoga for nine years and studied Ashtanga, Kripalu and Dharma Yoga during this time. She spent the last three years studying intensely at Dharma Yoga Syracuse, New York and completed her LOAY 200-Hour Teacher Training at the Dharma Yoga New York Center in May 2012. She is currently completing her internship hours and hopes to achieve full certification soon.
What a beautiful article, Jessica! Thank you for sharing your story. <3 Erin, a fellow Dharma Yoga Syracuse Yogi & LOAY intern :-)
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