Dear Purusha,

I have a bug up my ass and it’s from this comment we got the other day:

“Who told you that “There is only here and now”…
“I am” sense ? The sense of presence ?

It is just sound.. bzzzzzz, nothing else.”

There is no here and there is no now.
There is no prakriti and there is no purusha.
There is only nothing and that is everything.”

 They might think they’re all enlightened and shit but to me that sounds like an alcoholic who won’t admit he has a problem. “There is no me (Prakriti). There is no you (Purusha). There is only nothing and that is everything. ” What a bunch of horseshit.

Maybe “reality” has a subjective definition and maybe “nothing” does as well but I rely on reason and if my eyes and my ears and my mouth and my mind tell me that something is there then it’s fucking THERE dammit.

I am here. I am thinking and writing and feeling these words. Who is to say they are nothing? Who is to say that the ground I walk on is nothing? Who is to say the air I breathe is nothing? The friends I laugh with are nothing? The lovers I cry with are nothing? The people who drive me crazy are nothing?  This world that God created is all nothing? Fuck nothing.  Go sleep in the streets of Calcutta and gnaw on children for breakfast if it is all nothing.

I don’t subscribe to nothingness. If it were all nothing then I could sit on my big fat ass all day long and nothing I might do would matter. I would know You already and stop getting caught up in all the nonsense of my material existence. But I do get caught up. And that’s because it’s FUCKING REAL dammit. My struggles are real. My triumphs are real. My friends are real. My sadness is real. My happiness is real. Poverty is real. Starving children on the streets are real.

You can take your happy little ideas that it’s all illusion and that nothing matters and go do nothing with your life. BUT I AIN’T GONNA. I’m going to live my life like every second matters. Like that’s all there is. Because then even if that’s not true, at least I won’t have any regrets. Cause if I think it’s all nothing. And then it turns out to be something. Well, I think that would be a shame. Even if nothing is everything. 

Prakriti,

Swift karma indeed. 

The practice is your best teacher.

Dear Purusha,

I’m completely mortified.  As I was going into my last suryanamaskara b this morning I passed wind. Part of me wanted to laugh out loud as this was some pretty swift karma from what I had to say the other day. But the rest of me wanted to die of horror!

I opted to do the logical thing and pretend it didn’t happen. I made no eye contact with ANYONE or ANYTHING. I was perfect drishti from there on out. And I certainly wasn’t checkin’ out the hottie two mats over.

And they were HOT! (I noticed after class)

Prakriti

There is no “there”.  There is only here and now.

Purusha

Dear Purusha,

I’ve been getting the new pose itch. It happens now and then, most often when I feel like I’m not making any progress. At least a new pose would allow me to feel like I’m moving forward, that all the hard work is paying off. But I’m plateaued right now.  It sucks. 

Prakriti,

Overcoming distraction is what this practice is all about. You will be faced with distraction in your life and your practice. The challenge is in learning not to react to these distractions.

Sutra 1.12 tells us (Abhyasa Vairagyabhyam Tannirodhah.) To quiet the mind, both practice and non-reaction (to that which is disturbing you) are required.

As a wise man once said: “do your practice and all is coming”. Try not to let your mind get caught up in all of the inevitable perturbances it will encounter. And when that doesn’t work, practice some more.

Alright, I’ll move my mind away from those thoughts but just long enough to comment on a few things that really bother me and are an even bigger source of distraction…
You shouldn’t have to deal with this crap at a yoga studio:

1. Stinky Mats. For the love of God, wash your mats AND your rugs. You tree huggers worried about the waste of water should indulge your neighbors. Starving artists, you should ask your neighbors to pitch in for a new one. THEY WILL!

2. Accidental or intentional emissions of air from either end. Yeah I know, sometimes you just can’t help it but most often you can. And if not, use a towel or leave the room.

3. The mat snap. Speaking of focus and concentration, the best way to have that broken for you is by some shameless neighbor who traipses in and snaps their mat open as loudly and obnoxiously as possible next to you. Not only is it jarring, but the cold air that accompanies it is gonna stiffen me up and give me an injury.
4. Darth Vader audition breathing. Okay we get it: you watched a yoga dvd, you’re feeling it, you’re BREATHING. The people in the next room arent supposed to hear you!

5. Inappropriate clothing. This could be a list in and of itself but we’ll start here: Shorts — they are fine as long as they hug your body and you don’t have too much cellulite (I did NOT just say that) but if they ARE baggy then for God’s sake make sure your business isn’t on display! Ladies this goes for you too!
6. The “towel people”. Yes you, the one who has to bring two hand towels, a yoga rug, a bath towel, and another small towel for wrapping. You could almost take up a separate space with your spa crap.

If it werent for these things Im sure Id be able to concentrate!

Prakriti,

Get your mind out of the gutter and back on your yoga practice! Remember Sutra 2.40 (sauchat sva-anga jugupsa paraih asamsargah) Through cleanliness and purity of body and mind (shaucha), one develops an attitude of distancing, or disinterest towards one’s own body, and becomes disinclined towards contacting the bodies of others.

While you might wish to just observe your thoughts and not be judgemental of them, you must also make a conscious effort at purity. Remember the niyamas my friend. Keep your focus on your breath and proper drishti and you will have no time for gazing around at the sexy bods in the room.

Your house is burning and you are running back inside for your favorite teddy bear. Let it go.

Dear Purusha

In my ever growing list of things that make me question the intention of my yoga practice, I notice that there are days when the 2 hours I spend in the studio are the most sensual hours of the day.

I think Madonna said it best when she rapped ” I do yoga and pilates and the room is full of hotties so I’m checking out the bodies and you know I’m satisfied.” 

And it’s fucking TRUE.

The most inappropriate thoughts run through your head.  You see a cute butt in upward dog or flexed thigh in virabhadrasana and you’re naughty for a minute but then snapback to proper drishti for fear of being noticed.  Somehow I don’t think this was in the game plan as laid out by Krishnamarchya and the gang.

How do I prevent this? Its not like I go in search of a sensual practice.  It just happens.   I feel like the child that doesn’t want to grow up.

Signed,

Not A Brahmachari

Prakriti

If you don’t have a paperback copy already, I would suggest that you go out and buy one today. It seems that you would do well to refer to it on a constant basis.

Let’s look at Sutras 1:12-15, which speak of of desire, detachment, and practice. It is perfectly normal for you to want to strive. It is bred into the psyche of the modern western age. But if you use the Sutras as a practical guide then you might see that the attachment that you have to “progress” in the physical sense is something that you have to work on letting go. The detachment that I speak of is not spontaneous. Like 3rd series in Ashtanga, it takes time to cultivate. However, it must be said that the pose you are on is not important to the practice of detachment. Samadhi is not reserved for 6th series students.

Try not to confuse the means with the ends. We don’t practice yoga for the sake of ‘the next asana alone. It is but a tool that we use to create a vessel of ourselves that is ready and capable to sit with God