To practice yoga is to be a rebel. But to be a rebel who fights for individual freedom does not necessarily make one a yogi. The yogi practices a refined and peaceful rebellion that ultimately liberates the soul.
Who am I beyond the expectations placed upon me?
When I was a youngster learning biology and evolution, I learned that we are vessels for our DNA. I doubt that these were the exact words my biology teacher used, but I clearly remember the message: our physical bodies, and much of our psychological make-up, are the result of countless random genetic changes. The changes that resulted in more offspring are the ones that persist in our genetic code. In this science lesson, even the beauty of a waterfall was reduced to an attraction to places in which the supply of food is plentiful, and hence, facilitate better feeding and breeding conditions. Under this scientific philosophy, the reason that I have four fingers and a thumb on each hand, the reason I get sleepy after a big meal, and even the reason that I enjoy making friends, is so that my DNA can be carried on to the next generation.
My understanding on this reason for existence brought about a small existential crisis in my teenage years. If I am simply the product of genetic evolution, and that the characteristics of my body and personality are designed to simply replicate my genetic material, how can I find freedom? How do I know that what I want is what I want, as opposed to what my DNA demands of me? Are the expectations of having a stable career, a house, and children, all simply products of my desire to replicate and persist? It is more than likely.
Defy that which tries to define you
The thing is, that the persistent (and often insidious) urges of my genes form just one layer of external influences that shape my psyche and behaviour. There are also countless social standards that are impressed upon us from the long before our birth. Unless we consciously rebel against it, the advertising industry (as one example) is incredibly powerful in shaping who we are. It is a force that dictates the food we eat, the relationships we think are important, what we wear, and how we spend our time. And these influences, in turn, are reinforced by society - our parents, peers, and the ones we think of as professionals. Such industries wish to reduce us into consumers for their financial gain.
What drives me?
One of the first questions any spiritual aspirant needs to ask themselves is what do I want, and why? Often, the truthful answer to the question of why we do anything is: because it is what this life has impressed upon me. In other words, we are shaped by our past, which was created by external influences, seeking their own ends. Our genetic material just wishes to proliferate and survive. If the advertising industry just wishes us to spend money on things - to further corporate profits, rather than our own wellness... If society just wishes us to conform to their expectations for people’s need to feel safe and and in-control… Among all of these pressures, what is it that I want? Is that want truly my own?
The path of freedom
These are the questions that begin the path to true freedom. The path to an authentic, conscious life. This path, is of course, called Yoga. These questions are at the core of svadhyaya, self-analysis. Asana is where we practise our authentic self beyond our learned conditionings in application to the physical body. Pranayama is this practice applied to the expression of life energy. The value of the yamas and niyamas is in this practice of analysis as applied to or interactions with the other beings that share this life with us.
Then we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, or by clever strategies that would lead us astray. - Ephesians 4:14
The ultimate rebellion
Perhaps most of us have experienced those rebellious years that often occur in early adulthood. It is childish to reject everything that one is not comfortable with, rebelling against the world. Such a rebel is immature to the degree in which they are ignorant of their authentic self. Without knowledge of the self, a rebellion is simply a fight, a struggle, bringing pain and suffering.
The mature rebel is that one who remains firmly rooted in the self, unconditional on any external influences that might arise. It is this authenticity, this lightness of being, that the practice of yoga will facilitate when done correctly. To jump is to fight gravity, but to float is to defy gravity. The ultimate rebel does not fight at all, but is constantly, and effortlessly, in peace.
Tada drastuh svarupe avasthanam. (Then, the seer will abide in the true self)
- Patanjali's Yoga Sutras 1.3