‘The history of Yoga is rooted in spiritual practice’

Contents

1. Introduction
2. The desire for awakening in humans
3. The practice of yoga to facilitate awakening
4. Western cultural influences on yoga; the good, the bad and the ugly
6. Honouring and respecting the roots of yoga through my teaching

Bibliography

1. Introduction

The word ‘Yoga’ was not part of my vocabulary for many years. Perhaps yoga hadn’t reached my working-class community in Gloucestershire where I grew up, or in Devon where I spent some of my early twenties or perhaps I wasn’t looking for it?

I attended my first yoga class in 2012 at the age of 29 in Bristol. It was a chance encounter.  A friend was attending a class regularly and suggested I would enjoy it. I didn’t know much about yoga then, other than it might help with flexibility and make me feel ‘a bit calm’. What I actually felt was out of my depth, rigid and struggling to connect with some ‘spiritual’ parts of the teaching. 

I attended classes more regularly over the next few years. It was a fragmented stop/start relationship with yoga, however I was starting to feel some benefits physically and there was an indescribable feeling at the end of practice – it felt good!

It was about this time that I discovered recreational drugs. My increasing desire to rapidly take my mind to a place where I felt confident and found it easier to connect with others was taking hold – I had no idea just how strongly at the time. 

In 2018, I met one of my teachers, Seanie Smith, who I have practiced with ever since. Throughout the first practice, something connected, resonated and clicked into place. I was becoming increasingly aware that through conscious union of breath and movement, I could discover my body and settle my busy mind in a way that felt true. I was finding a way to re-connect to my sense of self. 

Yoga became an antidote to an increasingly chaotic life-style that my addiction was fueling.  Drugs made me feel disembodied, yoga supported me to feel embodied. A slither of the 2,500+ year-old wisdom from South Asia had found its way to Western society and somehow reached me – a gay guy in his thirties in Bristol struggling with low-self-esteem, loneliness and a (what seemed to be) losing struggle with addiction.  

This essay explores the role of yoga in my life and the impact Western culture has had on yoga; the good, the bad and the ugly. I offer reflections on why honouring the roots of yoga is important and describe how I will begin to do this through my teaching. 

2. The desire for awakening in humans

Humans have an innate desire to make sense of our place in the world. Our capacity to ‘see the bigger picture’ and connect to something greater than us is often restricted or expanded by individual circumstances and wider social factors. 

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943) is a theory in the psychology field that comprises a five-tier pyramid model of human needs. The premise is that basic needs (lower level in the model) must be fulfilled first, i.e. food and shelter, before higher needs can be met. Self-actualisation forms the top tier, representing the realisation of a person’s potential and transitory feelings of ‘peak experiences’.  My own peak experiences have included witnessing awe-inspiring daily moments unfold in nature (e.g. a beautiful sunrise) as well as intimate moments surrounded by love, connection and friendship (e.g. my 40th birthday in 2023).  In 1970, Maslow expanded the model into 8-tiers (see diagram 1 below). This model suggests that a person is motivated by values that transcend beyond the personal self – the human desire to connect with a higher reality, purpose, or the universe. This level emphasises spirituality needs. 

Diagram 1: Maslow’s expanded hierarchy of needs (1970 motivational model)

 1.https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/

 Every day, the human species learns more about the place we hold in an ever-expanding universe through scientific research. Science offers a multitude of ways to explain elements of life and indeed offers theories on the origins of the universe itself.  Yet expanding our horizons and experiencing life through a wider lens (whilst trying to make sense of what we find) requires more than what science alone can rationalise and explain. In 2010, the Pew Research Center found that 84% of the world population was affiliated with a religion. Belief systems offer a framework to the majority of us to help make sense of life. Many systems point to a God, higher power or being that is separate to human existence. In non-dual Śaiva Tantric philosophy, there is a unique view described by Christopher Wallis in Tanta Illuminated (2013), that ‘one thing alone exists; the Divine, in various permutations’. Put simply, we are all the Divine and that we are all universally and intrinsically connected. This philosophy best explains my own peak experiences which have felt as though they have arisen from within, or through a deep sense of intimate connection to nature or loved ones, rather than from an external ‘higher’ power.

3. The practice of yoga to facilitate awakening

The path of yoga offers a framework to awaken to the true expression of ourselves, to the Divine. The word ‘yoga’, can be described as a yoking process, the coming together of body, mind and spirit. The purpose of hath yoga described by Swami Muktibodhananda in ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika’ (2013) is ‘to create an absolute balance of the interacting activities and processes of the physical body, mind and energy – when this balance is created, the impulses generated give a call of awakening to the central force sushumna nadi, which is responsible for the evolution of human consciousness’. 

Chip Hartranft’s interpretation of ‘The Yoga Sutra of Patañjali’ (2003) describes yoga as the way to ‘still the patterning of consciousness so that pure awareness (purusa) can abide by its very nature.’ The image of a lake becoming perfectly still so that it reflects the sky above resonates with me. My experience has been that when I have cultivated this state of being through practice (however brief), there is a spacious and expansive quality to awareness – a feeling of being at home with my true self.

The path of yoga has offered me a framework by which to live life by. The early stages of my learning journey in non-dual Śaiva Tantra has given me a new lens to see life through. This view, referred to as darśana in Sanskrit, means the ‘vision of reality and way of seeing’ and is ‘also a map of the path you will walk’ as summarised by Christopher Wallis in ‘Tantra Illuminated’ (2013). 

The elements of yoga (Patañjali describes as the ‘eight limbs’) provide structure to become embodied, moving from rumination of thoughts in the mind to a curiosity to the interior life of the body. Practice on the yoga mat in observing patterns of behaviour (for example noticing tension, patterns in breathing and movement, emotions and reactions) directly translate to relationships, work and social life off the mat. Yoga cultivates a stronger understanding and relationship of love with oneself, which can ripple to the relationships we have with others. Pranayama practice, bringing control to the qualities of the breath, can have a direct impact on our ability to regulate our nervous system and deal with everyday stresses of life.  

Through regular practice, I have become more embodied. I have begun to integrate self-inquiry using the Maya Kosha layers into my daily meditation practice. I have become aware, more quickly of my triggers for using substances are, how I am feeling and therefore when I am at risk of relapse. Whilst yoga in itself may not keep me sober, it has undoubtedly played the most significant part in keeping me well. Yoga is a medicine as part of my recovery journey.  

4. Western cultural influences on yoga 

The good

The origins of physiology can be traced back more than 2,000 years to the Greek and Indian medical traditions. The Renaissance period (14th to 17th centuries) brought an increase in physiological research in the Western world that triggered the modern study of anatomy and physiology.  Since then, advances in research in medicine, biology, endocrinology and neuroscience have increased our understanding of the human body and mind. Some benefits these advances bring to yoga include:

• An improved understanding of the nervous system through neuroscience and one’s ability to exert control to up-regulate / down-regulate (for example through breathwork);
• An evolving understanding of the importance of working with fascia to increase flexibility and strength;
• Application of the biomechanics within yoga to consider how muscle, bones, joints etc. best work together to create movement and direction; 
• An increased understanding on how yoga practice can address hormonal imbalances (i.e. by reducing chronic stress). 

In ‘Yoga and Psyche’, Mariana Caplan (2018) infers that psychology is one of the West’s most significant contributions to contemporary spirituality. Caplan’s states that ‘integrating a depth-psychological approach with the profundity and longevity of the yoga tradition provides us with the tools to heal our wounds and make meaning of our experience, while simultaneously encouraging us to discover mystical insights about ourselves and the nature of consciousness’. Caplan suggests yoga and psychology is a match made in heaven. My current lived experience of therapy and completing yoga teacher training would suggest Caplan is right. 

You need not look far to find a yoga class in the Western world. Granted that the majority of yoga offered is asana-based, however, that in itself isn’t necessary a problem. David Keil in ‘Functional Anatomy of Yoga’ (2014) observes that ‘most yoga students today enter the path of yoga via asana. This is neither good nor bad. Asana is a great way to engage with the whole of yoga’. Yoga classes in gyms, community centres, in studios and online means that yoga’s reach can extend to a wider group. There are encouraging signs that yoga is being made accessible for some people who experience access barriers, for example tailored asana classes for older people to build and maintain flexibility and strength in later years (and in doing so reduce their risks of falls). Yoga should be accessible to everyone.

The bad

Yoga is a life-long path but it has been re-packaged as a class on a MoveGB membership alongside spin classes and ‘Legs, bums and tums’. There is often a tick-box mentality to practicing yoga, i.e. ‘I’ve just done a yoga class’…tick! As with many pursuits in Western culture, people often look for instant fixes and quick wins; quite the opposite of the meaning of intense discipline ‘tapas’ (one of Patañjali’s Niyamas). Yoga classes based primarily on asana offer a temporary relief to the stresses of modern life, yet this approach, whilst beneficial to some extent, is at best a sticking plaster and reactive because it fails to address the work and self-study required to explore the inner-landscape in any depth and to sustain contentment. 

Western medicine has historically separated body from mind. As Gabor Maté writes in ‘The Myth of Normal’ (2022), ‘Traditional healing practices the world over, whilst lacking the wondrous technology and scientific know-how developed in the West, have long understood this (body mind) unity implicitly. Despite Western medicine’s artificial cleaving of the two, most people still know – if only on a gut level – that what they think and how they feel have everything to do with each other’. This separation of body and mind plays out in yoga classes which are often based on a sequence of postures. I would suggest that putting one’s body into a shape, without unity of breath, movement and energetic embodiment is not yoga asana.

The ugly

There is a dark side of the impact of Western culture on yoga. Yoga has been extensively and systematically commodified by the West. Yoga has been packaged-up and commercialised in capitalist structures and become a means for corporate giants to increase profit with little respect for the roots of this ancient practice. Soulless images of yoga ‘practice’ form the brand and marketing identity for clothing stores, for gym memberships, for ’wellness’ retreats, for travel companies…the list is endless. 

Yoga imagery in the media is body-perfect, white-washed and elitist. The imagery reinforces the idea that you have to look and act a certain way to ‘fit’ in at a yoga class. This is a huge problem and adds to barriers that already exist for some people and marginalised communities. I made the mistake of liking a ‘body-perfect’ yoga teacher’s post on Instagram and the algorithm has been flooding my feed ever since with yoga factory mold teachers. Social media is fanning the flames of the elitism in yoga. 

Yoga is another example of Western power at play in cultural appropriation – shameless stealing and misusing of tradition, culture, ceremony, wisdom and diluting it to the degree that it bears little resemblance to its origins. Where examples exist of mention the traditions of yoga practice in the media these are often made without depth, reference or reverence to the roots of yoga.

There is a further element to commodification of yoga that troubles me. The price of a yoga class fundamentally excludes many people in the working class and definitely those living in poverty. This is a complex problem because average yoga teacher pay is low (compared the median UK salary) and studio owners face unprecedented rising rents as a result of high inflation and interest rates. Concession rates for classes for people on lower incomes are part of the solution but I’m not sure they go far enough by themselves. In ‘The Yoga Manifesto’, Nadia Gilani (2022) reflects on her work in leisure centres and teaching vulnerable groups through outreach that ‘there’s clearly an interest in yoga across a broader demographic than simply white people who have money to pay for expensive classes’. I’d really like to explore ways to better sustainably extend the reach of yoga to working class communities. 

6. Honouring and respecting the roots of yoga through my teaching

I believe the best way to honour the roots and origins of yoga is through a variety of approaches and principles.

Firstly, I will use my self-practice as the anchor and inspiration for my teaching. Whilst this may sound obvious, I think it’s an important part of holding space in an authentic way. This is a lesson I have learned through the teacher training.

I will commit to ongoing self-study (svādhāya) to further my knowledge of the teachings and ancient wisdom of yoga. A further benefit of this is that being back in a learning environment this past year has been so positive for my wellbeing. I will teach what I understand well enough to guide others.

During my regular class that I have been offering since September to friends and colleagues, I have integrated elements of Patañjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga in practice. I believe it’s important to encourage students to become aware that there is more to yoga than Asana. I have been struck by how much connection I feel to the teachings of the Yamas and Niyamas. These inward and outward looking principles to cultivate and live life by are deeply relevant to modern society and are important to integrate into teaching. For example, by holding the idea of Santosha through movement, finding contentment or acceptance with what is present (perhaps an asana feels ‘clunky’ during practice – that’s OK – what does this teach for life off the mat?). 

Teachers who reference Asana and other yoga terms in Sanskrit whilst also explaining terms in English offer a way to show respect to the roots of yoga. An example may be in guiding students to embody Asana with a sense of both steadiness and ease (Sthira and Sukha). I have started to do this in my teaching.

Expanding the depth of my practice has come through trying something new. Examples in the past year have included chanting Mantra and Pranayama practice. I’d like to guide others to be curious to new elements that may be at the edge of their comfort zone, in order to grow and develop. 

I want to teach from a place that recognises the pressures of modern life. I started this course feeling that there was little connection between my job as a leader in a large NHS hospital to my own yoga practice. Nothing could be further from the truth. What I experience off the mat (periods of work-based stress), I feel when I arrive on the mat. What I find and cultivate on the mat (including practices to regulate my nervous system), I take with me off the mat in the way that I listen to and support colleagues and teams. I would like to harness this understanding through my teaching to ensure yoga is relevant to everyday life for students. In November 2023, I started assisting the teacher who offers a weekly free yoga class to NHS staff at my workplace.  The collective energy in the room (characterised by tension and exhaustion) as colleagues arrive from their busy day to the mat on a Tuesday evening compared to the collective energetic release (and often a long sigh out from the month) by the end of practice says everything about why yoga is much needed in our society.  

I respect the work of Bristol Yoga Roots to ensure yoga reaches marginalised communities in the Bristol area. This is much needed because the level of inequality in society is so deep and pervades all aspects of life (education, housing, employment, health). I would like to hold space for people in inclusive way that values and encourages diversity. Representation is important in all spaces and my sexuality (as a proud gay man) forms part of my identity and therefore part of who I am as a teacher.

I would like to explore how yoga can become accessible and more affordable for working-class people in a sustainable way. This aspiration goes to the very heart of my own roots and identity. 

The past year of training has left me feeling more embodied, more accepting of what has been and I am so much kinder to my mind and body. At the time of writing, I am approaching the longest time I have spent sober. I’ve never felt so close to the true expression of myself that I now feel. I don’t yet know how this part of my life will manifest through my teaching, but I know these paths are inextricably linked. The traditional Japanese art form ‘Kintsugi’ (the method of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold) reminds us that our imperfections can be the birth of something new, to accept our struggles and celebrate the journey to becoming whole again. Despite a challenging past decade with addiction, I am now moving forward with hope for the future. I would like to use my lived experience in recovery as a force for good for others and honour this journey through my teaching.

I have come back to ‘A Path with Heart’ by Jack Kornfield (1993) many times since I first discovered this beautiful gift to the world. When reflecting on the next stage of my spiritual journey, and my tentative first steps in guiding others through yoga practice, I found myself drawn back to the opening chapter of the book entitled ‘Did I love well?’.  Kornfield writes ‘Even the most exalted states and the most exceptional spiritual accomplishments are unimportant if we can not be happy in the most basic and ordinary ways, if we can cannot touch one another and the life we have been given with our hearts’. The yoga path has been instrumental in supporting me in nurturing self-compassion, compassion for others, self-love and love for others. In my teaching journey, I will ask myself regularly, am I following a path with heart?

Caplan, M. (2018) Yoga and Psyche. Sounds True, Inc.

Gilani, N. (2022) The Yoga Manifesto. Bluebird.

Hartranft, C. (2003) The Yoga-Sūtra of Patañjali. Shambhala Publications. 

Keil, D. (2014) The Functional Anatomy of Yoga. Lotus Publishing. 

Kornfield, J. (1993) A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life. Bantam Books.

Maslow, A. H. (1970) Religions, values, and peak experiences. New York: Penguin.

Maté, G. (2022) The Myth of Normal. Vermilion. 

Muktibodhananda, S. (2013) Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Bihar School of Yoga / Yoga Publications Trust.

Wallis, C. (2013) Tantra Illuminated. Mattamayūra Press.