What is the Goal?
The infamous question this week….yes, you got it! “SO what is your New Year’s resolution?” My response this year is I don’t have one. My hope is that I continue to be more aware, conscious and mostly present in whatever I am doing, from being with my family and friends to eating a meal.
The Apostle Paul shares with us in the letter of Philippians encouragement to set our goals. He expresses, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers and Sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching towards what is ahead. And I press on toward the goal.” Some of us continue pressing the rewind button on the video cameras of our minds, like a horrible scene that doesn’t go away! Some of us fix our eyes of what is to come, “when I have this much in the bank, then I will be happy.” How many of us just press on toward the goal? Or even know what the goal is? First let’s define a goal…“The end toward which effort is directed.” Synonyms for the word goal are, “target; purpose, object, and intention.” Ah HA, now those are familiar words we hear in yoga. Set your intention for this practice. Or is it a practice? Shiva Rea stated in an interview on her DVD of Fluid Power, “I don’t practice yoga any more, practicing yoga is like practicing the violin as if you have to achieve perfection. So, I don’t practice yoga, I live yoga, I am yoga.” So in essence within yoga we yoke or join with the Spirit of Life on and off our mats. The goal is simply to BE present with the I AM. Present within a posture, as we position our bodies to receive the fullness of life. The goal that Paul is talking about is living a life of purpose, BEING in relationship with God. It is not about being perfect; if we were to be perfect then we wouldn’t need Divine intimacy or saving Grace. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit or Prana within our bodies wouldn’t need to be obtained if there was not a goal. So this year perhaps we just continue onward to forget the past, reach toward the future, and press on toward the goal. The goal of yoga is to create harmony with mind, body, and soul. Let’s connect with prayers and poses.
For how to get in and out of the poses go to www.yogajournal.com and there will be links with descriptions and photos of the poses below.
Breathe in and out: “I forget the past”
Our hearts hold on to past wounds, back bends are postures that can release stale and stagnant energy. Postures/Asanas that open the heart and draw the shoulder blades on backside of heart release the past; the heart bolsters forward and is open to the future. Maybe something comes to mind in this pose, acknowledge it and then release it.
Some Back bends to exlpore-Bridge, Wheel, Cobra, Upward facing Dog, Bow
Breathe in and out: “I reach towards what is ahead”
Standing Mountain Pose with arms reaching towards heaven
Child pose reaching arms long with hope
Warrior II reaching arms equally to the back and front symbolizing the balance between faith and action
Breathe in and out: “I press towards the goal”
In Downward Facing Dog press the heel of the hands and feet into the earth, experience the balance and connection with the Creator of the Universe who holds you up. As your head releases below your heart feel your brain being bathed with new vitality; a fresh start. Fix your eyes on the goal, an internal/external positioning of your whole body with purpose and BEING.
May we grow deeper in love with who The Spirit made us to be in this new year.
Peace and Health-Rachel Glowacki, RYT/HYT
January 7th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
To connect with prayers and poses…I love it! And with you I am pressing forward this year to continue to create harmony with the mind body & soul.
thank you Rachel!
<3
January 7th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Interesting. Master Patanjali titled one of his books Sadhana-conscious spiritual practice. Therefore we must conclude that UNTIL we become enlightened we are practicing. In fact enlightened beings may continue to practice to be of service to us. I think that we MUST practice. What are we doing if we’re not practicing? Master Patanjali further defines Yoga as occurring when we stop identifying with the fluctuations of th mind stuff. THAT is the goal of Yoga as given by the master himself. I’m still practicing that myself.
Perfection in Yoga is defined as Karma Yoga or actions with a PURELY selfless intention-Sri Swami Satchidananda, another Master. With these definitions in mind, I wish to practice to be perfect, and according to all the yogic scriptures it is attainable.
Thanks Rachel, great article as usual
Mark
January 8th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Aaaahhh…thanks Mark for welcoming the question, “is it a practice?” Depends on how you define your practice, I personally call yoga a practice; for it is a discipline and an experience of exploration of the body and the mind stuff. : ) What Shiva Rea said really resonated with me because it is not about doing so much as it is about being. Believe we are already perfect even in our imperfections. We are created in the image of God who embodies perfection which is within us. I always understood that Samadhi is the goal of yoga. A state of realization, absorption, and a peace that transcends all understanding. Yogic Scripture like the Bible which is The Source of my personal faith, or like any sacred text have many different interpretations and believe we will see what we need to see.
Thank you for sharing as always! I appreciate you taking the time and being open for discussions, it allows us to see things from different perspectives and learn from one another. I sometimes feel like the more I learn, the less I know! There is so much and thankful that what I have right now is enough. Hope you are having a great start to your new year. A friend of mine went to one of your Karma classes and was sooooooooo moved. SO rock on.
January 8th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Yes, this is definitely so. On interpretation though: I think there is entirely too much “interpretation” and not enough practice. The scriptures need to be applied in their entirety, not as we see fit, we do that alot. Or as Swami swatmarama in the end of the haṭhayogapradīpikā says:
हठयोगप्रदीपिका।१५।
यावन्नैव प्रविशति चरन्मारुतो मध्यमार्गे
यावद् बिन्दुर्न भवति दृढः प्राणवातप्रबन्धात्
यावद् ध्याने सहजसदृशं जायते नैव तत्त्वं
तावज्ज्ञानं वदति तदिदं दम्भमिथ्याप्रलापः ॥११४॥
haṭhayogapradīpikā |15|
yāvannaiva praviśati caranmāruto madhyamārge
yāvad bindurna bhavati dṛḍhaḥ prāṇavātaprabandhāt
yāvad dhyāne sahajasadṛśaṁ jāyate naiva tattvaṁ
tāvajjñānaṁ vadati tadidaṁ dambhamithyāpralāpaḥ ||114||
While the prana does not flow in the middle passage (suśumna) while the bindu is not steadied by restraining the praṇa, while mind does not reflect spontaneous meditation, then those who speak of spiritual knowledge are only indulging in boastful false tales. He says the principle of haṭha yoga is practice and realize, rather than talk and philosophize. I believe him.
Always enjoyable. Im happy your friend enjoyed. Hope you can make it to David and Sharon’s classes (founders of Jivamukti Yoga Method) next weekend.
Mark
January 9th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
I really like the passage that you shared and agree with him too. That passage is very similar to a biblical passage in 1 Timothy 4:7-8
“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
I love the “practice and realize, rather then talk and philosophize.” If we did not “train or practice,” we would not experience unity within the body. We would be mindless beings, right! At the same time in relation to Shiva Rea’s statement is more much more about being then striving to be. It is a balance between faith and action. Actions follow and speak of the truth that is inside of us.
I admire your path for following the yogic scriptures in their entirety and think it is important to honor each individuals path within yoga. The passage you shared totally makes sense to me with Jesus being Universal Truth. And to the Buddha it would resonate another way, and to the Hindu another, and so on. Yoga is understood as a philosophy over 5,000 years or more and predates religion. And is so beautiful that any faith can experience yoga in their entirety. I love how the Spirit drew our paths together Mark, it is evident that yoga is our life, for me it is like brushing my teeth
: ) and it is not an accident that we dive into these discussions to learn something about ourselves and deepen our understanding so that we are able to share within our community. I would so love to experience the workshop but we will be out of town to see family. Surely it will be filled with inspiration and strengthening your practice! Namaste-Rae
January 11th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
I’m learning more about this bible thing! The ability to use the sutra as a vehicle to strengthen and practice our Wisdom Tradition is essential. I’m waiting for your next one!
January 11th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Yes, they are essential and you are inspiring me to deepen my understanding of the Sutras, Sanskrit, and look forward to more from you too!
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