Not too long ago, Will came inside from playing in the back yard and asked me if I knew where he could find a magnifying glass. We ended up finding one buried in his closet and he tromped back outside. Assuming he was just looking at some interesting bugs, I went back to whatever I was doing. Moments later Sadie came running in, shouting,
“Will is starting a fire in the yard!”
My reaction was just as you might expect but it turns out I needn’t have worried. Will was *trying* to start a fire… With his small hand-held magnifying glass, wet leaves, and the 4 pm spring time sun.
But… if all other conditions were right and if Will had been holding the magnifying
glass still, it would have been possible to harness the power of the sun. A magnifying glass is able to focus the rays of the sun into a concentrated beam, then multiply it through the lens to make a fire.
This is… wait for it… yoga. (I’m so predictable, I know!)
We are capable of amazing and powerful things, including the power to heat, transform, even to destroy, just like the sun.
However, we can only harness our power with concentrated effort.
This kind of concentrated effort only comes with dedication to practice. And this part of yoga is hard. Because habits. The Sanskrit is saṃskāra, or the impression of our past actions.
We need to practice – many times in a vigorous and dedicated way – in order recognize and then replace the old habits that are impeding our paths or causing us suffering. In Sanskrit this is abhyāsa.
That all makes sense. In order to learn something new, you have to practice. Even my 6-year old in the backyard trying to start a fire knows this to be true. You need a dedicated practice, focus to get the fire started.
But you also need to let go. This word in Sanskrit is vairāgyā.
As hard as it is to practice, I think it might be harder to let go.
It might help to understand the importance of releasing, and for that we have to come back to saṃskāra again. Any actions, even the positive forming habits are saṃskāra. Just like the old patterns, these new ones we are forming eventually will not serve us anymore either.
The whole cycle is one of many beautiful paradoxes of yoga. We are called to practice, to be fierce, to become master.
But then, just when we feel like we are getting “somewhere”, we are called to let go of that mastery.
One of my students recently wrote, “I find it remarkable that Tara, who practices and teaches highly athletic versions of yoga, is also an advocate and teacher of restorative yoga. Her classes have helped me realize that both activity and deep rest are necessary.”
You got it, Margaret. Dedicated practice and then letting go. That’s the most yogic combination there is.
Get the conditions just right, start the fire, but then know when and how to put it out.
Need more “athletic” yoga in your life? Dedicate to your active practice in my summer weekly classes. Better yet, get your partner in on it with you. Need more resting and letting go? Retreat is almost sold out so get registered!