Yoga - To Force or to Feel?

Most of us who do yoga yearn for more from the practice than just physical benefits--indeed, for more than just benefit to ourselves.  But how can twisting our bodies, opening our hips, and straightening our legs make a difference in the wider world?  How can lifting our chests help lift up this troubled planet?

Our asana practice can have a positive impact because it constantly asks us to become more sensitive, more conscious, more aware of ourselves--not just our bodies but also our minds, feelings, emotions, and our very nature.  The real value of asana practice is that it can teach us to tune in and truly <i>feel</i>.  As our sensitivity increases, life becomes more rich and enjoyable because we can taste the unique flavor of each individual moment.  More important, we also become more aware of what moves us toward out dharma and what takes us away from it.  This awareness makes us clearer and more peaceful, more able to elegantly handle life’s endless dilemmas without feeling overwhelmed or fearful.  As a result, we become more effective in all of our actions,  and our presence begins to inspire and bring out the best in people around us.

The opposite of feeling is forcing.  When we force, we cannot feel, and when we feel, we cannot force.  The moment we start to force, we begin to lose awareness of the effect our efforts have on our nervous system, on the situation itself, and on the other people involved.  Forcing makes us angry, inflexible, and intolerant;  raises our blood pressure; and can eventually create heart problems.  Feeling, on the other hand, makes us calmer, more receptive, more understanding, and healthier.

If we force ourselves into Ardha Matsyendrasana II (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II), the spine will twist where it always has, where it needs the twist the least.  In this pose, it is particularly easy to force the body while attempting to reach around the back and grab the shin.  To the extent that the desire to do this comes from the ego’s urge to satisfy itself--just to prove we can do this pose--it manifests itself as force.  Feeling, on the other hand, allows us to tune in to the habitual tendencies of the body and sense which vertebrae are twisting and which are not.  Cultivating feeling in Ardha Matsyendrasana II allows movement where there was stagnation, release where there was stiffness, and freedom where there was bondage. 

Just as force and feeling are opposites, so are violence and awareness.  We often get angry, and sometimes even outwardly violent, when a situation arises that is not to our ego’s liking, rather than using it as an opportunity to become more aware.  But violence inevitably breeds more violence.  The more forceful and violent we are, the further we move from feeling and awareness; consequently, the more violent we become.

I believe much of the violence in our world comes from our lack of awareness, which has historically manifested itself as an unwillingness to see other people’s point of view.  When we pause and feel, we become more open and more receptive to the possibility that there are valid ways of thinking other than our own.

Sensitivity is often portrayed as weakness, yet it actually gives us the strength to lower our guard and say to an enemy, “Let’s sit down and talk this through.  How are you feeling?  Why are you behaving the way you are?”  People who have the security that comes with deep sensitivity and awareness have no desire to be violent;  it is insecurity that contributes to violence.  Through feeling, sensitivity, and awareness, we can bring insecurity and its resulting violence to an end.

What does all of this have to do with our individual practice of asanas like Ardha Matsyendrasana II?  The awareness that we develop on the yoga mat, though seemingly small, affects all that is.  As we become more aware in our yoga practice and in our lives, as we move away from force and violence and toward sensitivity, feeling and awareness, we change our individual consciousness and actions.  In turn, these changes influence the consciousness and actions of everyone we meet.  Slowly we shift the direction the world is taking.  As we practice each asana, whether it be a challenging twist like Ardha Matsyendrasana II or a simple standing pose, we have the opportunity  to become the embodiment of peace and to make our practice a prayer for harmony in the world.

© 2008 Aadil Palkhivala

Aadil Palkhivala, world-renowned yoga master, is the founder of Purna Yoga, the owner of the premier yoga studio in the Pacific Northwest, Yoga Centers, the director of The College of Purna Yoga teacher training program, and the author of Fire of Love- For Students of Life, For Teachers of Yoga.

To buy Aadil’s new book Fire of Love-For Students of Life, For Teachers of Yoga: http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=51&stype=43&sLoc=0