Gone are the days when people thought of yoga as something strangely exotic―a practice followed by a few slightly misguided but totally harmless hippies. Having gone through a thorough metamorphosis here in the West, the life-changing benefits of yoga are slowly beginning to be recognised and embraced by more and more people in our society.

When yoga first became really popular in the western world the emphasis was almost exclusively on the immense physical benefits of the practice. And they are undeniably there. A regular yoga practice will strengthen and tone the body, while at the same time stretching muscles to create a longer, leaner look. Many problems such as back pain, joint pain, headaches and general body discomfort can often be very successfully addressed. Even hormonal problems, such as those associated with menopause, are often alleviated by yoga practice.

However, yoga offers so much more than the promise of the ‘body beautiful’.  While on your yoga mat you learn how to relax, even during stressful moments (as in when you are trying to strengthen your abdominal muscles). You learn to be accepting of who you are (even when you have the tightest hamstrings in the class!), becoming less judgmental and more compassionate towards both yourself and others. Discipline, truthfulness and non-violence in every form are basic principles of yoga.

And through gentle breathing practices, deep relaxation sessions and quiet meditations, we slowly begin to realise that life does NOT have to be lived in a frenzy of crazy activity; and that we have the tools right in our own hands, to be used whenever we need them, that will enable us to see more clearly, act more calmly and live a far more happy and relaxed life.

I don’t know about you, but I have developed a perverse fascination with turning on the news at least twice a day to find out just how much worse everything has become. And so far it hasn’t let me down very often. It seems that every day something else is crashing down around our heads while we are left wondering how and where it will all end.

So what are our options?

Well, there’s close your eyes very tightly and pretend it’s not happening. Or rush around trying to work out how much money you have just lost on your shares or the value of your property. Or panic about when you are going to lose your job or how you are going to meet your credit card payments.

Or you could try the yoga approach.

A frequently studied principle of the yogic sacred texts is the concept of letting go. Also known as ‘surrender’ or ‘detachment’, the philosophy of yoga teaches us that we cannot change ‘what is’ in any moment. We can only change our attitude to what is. Refusing to accept a situation is like hitting our heads against a brick wall. Detachment is not uninterest. Quite the opposite in fact. To be detached would be to stand in the thick of the storm, with all its confusion and noise, and to remain present to yourself and to all that is.

So what do we do in the face of all this financial turbulence? We take those skills that we have learned on our yoga mat and we put them to work in our lives. On the mat we learn patience as we wait for tight muscles and joints to soften. We learn endurance and perseverance as we hold difficult poses for just a few more breaths. We learn to have compassion for ourselves and others as we all struggle to quieten our minds in meditation. And we learn detachment. We learn to let go. We learn that all we can do is give it our best shot and let go of the outcome.

So don’t add to the madness and mayhem. Trust that while we cannot see our way clearly at the moment, ‘this too shall pass’ and when the dust settles perhaps the world will be a better place. There is a comforting Zen saying that reminds us to have faith:

Everything changes in this world
But flowers will open
Each spring
As usual.

Copyright © Sue Grbic 2008

Albany Yoga Room
www.albanyyoga.co.nz