One of the basic principles of Hatha Yoga aims to redefine what it means to be tough. People tend to think of strength and toughness in terms of resistance. This assumes that you have to be strong to be considered tough. Yoga defines toughness as being able to accept everything and not react to it. Hatha Yoga creates a new dimension of toughness, not with rigidity or resistance but with flexibility and acceptance.
One important aspect of Yama and Niyama is Ishwara pranidhyana. This means always acknowledging an intelligence greater than yourself. It knows where your will ends and where the other dimension that nurtures you begins, which is the foundation of our existence. Yoga is about seamlessly balancing these two, individual will and intelligence, with the universality and beauty of our existence.
Take control of your drama
Many people feel that their body, mind and emotions create drama every day. Your psychological scape, perceptions, and experience are part of this drama. Your drama is the way you perceive the world around you. It would be different for another creature. Reality is often not what people perceive. Everything will look different if your chemistry is set up in a particular way. People may experience psychological problems that cause a shift in reality. Doctors are working with these people to find the right chemical treatment.
Yoga can be a dimension in which even the most basic physical poses can help you understand how to manage this drama. We are trying to understand this drama, get a grip on it, and then direct it in the way you wish, not only in your thoughts and emotions but also in your perception. You can control how you perceive things and how deep you see them. This is possible through the yogic process. This is not possible by simply twisting and turning your body. It requires a lot of involvement.
Total Involvement
Lack of involvement is the only reason that humanity isn’t enlightened. Fear of suffering is the main reason for lack of involvement. You only engage in what you enjoy, are familiar with, or find pleasant. You don’t want to be involved in things you don’t like or know or find unpleasant. This is a discriminatory approach that leads to a lack of involvement. Although early morning Yoga is not pleasant, it is possible to be fully involved without distinguishing between your likes and dislikes. Although neem balls may not be something you enjoy, it is essential to get involved and integrate the neem ball within yourself. Your experience will become more profound as your involvement grows. If you are willing to be involved, the doors of existence, which have many layers, will open.
Participation without discrimination is about doing what’s necessary. This means that you can do whatever you want, and not more or less of what you don’t like.
To make the world a better place, you must face many limitations and compulsions. If you don’t know how to be involved in everything without fear, all these things will impact you. Participation without discrimination means that you should do what is necessary and not just what you enjoy.
This is about incorporating vairagya into your life. Although Indian culture is evolving rapidly, most Indian culture was shaped by vairagya. Raga is “color”, vai is to go beyond that. Vairagya is “beyond colour” or, in other words: to be transparent. If you have a blue background, you will become blue. If your background is red, then you will become red. Transparency allows you to experience all possible colors in the universe. While you are fully involved in life’s process, you can also remain unaffected. In other words, life doesn’t leave you a scratch. This freedom is essential to your ability to live a more fulfilling life.