Yesterday was the Fall Equinox. All over the earth, people experienced day and night in equal amounts.

For folks in the northern hemisphere (as I am), this means that the days will gradually get shorter until Winter Solstice, around December 21.

What does it mean to have equal amount of light and dark? This reminds me of practicing pranayama with equal amounts of inhale and exhale.

Just as the day and night are balancing, so the inbreath and outbreath are balanced.

Yet, just as we need the heaty excitement of summer and the cool dormancy of winter, so we sometimes need the alertness of a long inhale or the soothing of a long exhale. So, may this Equinox remind us that just as there are seasons to the tilting of the earth, so there are seasons to our breath.

Satya: Yes, I See You!

I was playing with a five year old boy, who put his jacket over his head and said, “Find me again!” I responded in loud, exaggerated tones, making a game out of looking at all the places that he might be except for under his jacket. Finally, each time, he giggled with delight, wriggled out from under the jacket, and said, “Here I am!” I said his name each time, saying, “Yes, I see you!”

Being seen. Being found out for who we really are.

Isn’t that what we each desire?

As we interact with others, social, cultural, or economic pressures sometimes cause us to not show who we really are. This can be seen clearly during the teen years, which are an exaggerated time of experimenting with different appearances and behaviors. And yet, throughout our lives, we continue to figure out ways of coping by adapting with different ways of relating to the world around us. The problem arises when we mix-up our true, inner identity with our outer, coping identity.

And isn’t that our spiritual journey?

As I’ve been meditating on the practice of satya recently, I’ve been thinking about what truth means. What does it mean to be honest with others? To be honest with ourselves?

No matter what happens in our social lives, whether we feel seen for who we are in this complex cultural world we live in, in our spiritual lives, we can find a way to see our true selves.

True self. One form of satya.

Practicing yoga poses, breathing, and meditation give quiet time away from social pressures so that our true self has time to speak up loud enough for us to hear. Once we hear that voice, if we are practicing yoga compassionately, then we have a chance to listen to that inner truth, even if it is inconvenient. That is why slow, patient breathing is incredibly important. If we can do the patient work of hearing the inner truth, saying “Yes, I see you!” and living it out in the world, then we are certainly practicing satya.

Breathing through Life's Contortions

One of my greatest joys is when a yoga student tells me that their yoga practice is making them deal with life’s stressors in different ways.

For example, a woman told me that a coworker called her with an urgent problem, and she responded by simply taking a few slow breaths. She didn’t even think about it---her new daily yoga practice made it automatic. As a result, she didn’t get into a tense situation with her coworker.

Slowing down the breath is one of the most radical things I have learned in yoga. It is true that breathing more slowly in poses makes them easier and more sustainable. But how we breathe is about way more than our poses, but about how we approach our whole lives. When I worked in a hospital emergency room, I could see which staff had learned to breathe evenly.

In addition to practicing the poses with steady, sustained breath, we can also practice pranayama, in which we learn to change the duration, timing, and location of the breath. This is a subtle and deep practice with great long term benefits.

My wish for all of us is that we can do our yoga poses with easeful breath, that we can practice pranayama with attentiveness, and then walk into the day ready to inhale and exhale along with all of life around us.

Content with your discipline?

One day I was reviewing each of the yamas and niyamas to see how I was doing at abiding by them.

The five niyamas are (depending on your translation): cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-awareness, and faith.

As I reviewed the niyamas one by one, I got to “contentment” (santosa). Contemplating the glass half full. Having gratitude for all I have. Focusing on what is going well in life. Realizing that I am doing the best I can.

Proceeding through the list, I got to the next one: discipline (tapas). Working a little harder. Structuring my efforts to be streamlined and effective.

Hmmmm. What a contrast. I had just finished focusing on contentment---accepting things as they are. Discipline seemed to be the opposite: making things better than they are. Are contentment and discipline contradictory?

No, I don’t think so. But they do form a creative tension.

In these two niyamas, we are reminded to have a gentle open gratitude while also keeping an eye on a steady effort to do what we have chosen on the path toward our goals. One is about allowing the moment to be as it is, while another is building toward a future with patient steps. Many areas of life require this creative tension.

In our yoga asanas, we have many chances to practice this. We can give thanks for simply having the time to practice, for having a teacher, for having willpower to come practice. We can be content that we are simply engaging in yoga (as opposed to being so blue that we are staying in bed all day). At the same time, we can be disciplined: to go through the poses even though our minds wander, even though the phone rings, and even though we may not like each pose.

So, today, whether on your yoga mat, or on the welcome mat of life, may you find a creative blend of contentment and discipline.

Yoga Philosophy Accessible

One day I ran into a friend who said, "I'm so sorry that I couldn't come to yoga class, but please tell me the theme that you used for the class. It just helps me to have those little nuggets of inspiration." So, I realized that my students are longing for the philosophical tips that I give at the beginning of class.

Do the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali seem like a thick impenetrable mass to you? In fact, they are wonderfully woven threads that have full pertinence to our daily lives.

As I am driving, or lying in bed at night, or browsing the Sutras, I often think of exactly how they've helped me through my day. I want to share this with my yoga students! Sometimes students are ready to hear this. Sometimes people are voraciously hungry for it. Sometimes they just want to come do some poses and go home, without being overloaded with philosophy.

Thus this blog.

This blog accompanies other threads in my life...spiritual direction, chaplaincy, sermon-writing, and trying to live well on this planet with all my fellow creatures. Please come often and I hope you will find nuggets of nourishment.

And if you happen to live in or near Charlottesville, Virginia, you can find my classes at ACAC or the TJMC UU church. More soon to come!