Moving Into Stillness 2: Yoga Is Union And Joining

Embrace your ocean nature and connect with the Divine in this 8 part interview series between Dr. Jim Dreaver and founder of Freedom Yoga, Erich Schiffmann, where you will uncover the true nature of being, what Yoga means, what meditation truly means, and how to release fear and cultivate self-trust. Cover image, 'Ride the Wave' painted by Wenlin Tan, and voice by Wenlin Tan.

Transcript

What do you think is unique or different about the way you actually do the poses? The idea is to be creative in the poses and to use them as a way of exercising your intuitive abilities. Yoga is not mechanical. Each pose is a map into a specific area of your energy field. You use that map to explore. Can you clarify that? Think of massage. When someone asks you to massage their neck or shoulders, Your job is to look for the tight and tender spots and then rub. You rub the whole area and you deliberately flirt with the sore spots. These knots of tension are the contracted areas of your energy field you're attempting to undo, Expand, And open. You don't go directly into them and press as hard as you can, However. You approach them with care, Circling the areas and pressing with various intensities. In this way, You gradually erase the soreness. In yoga, You do exactly the same thing. Using the pose as a map, You deliberately explore, Looking for all the tight, Weak, Unbalanced, And sore spots you can find within that area of yourself. You then flirt with the tight spots by breathing into them and stretching them with various intensities. You intuitively make subtle internal adjustments as you deliberately look for even the smallest hint of tension. This is like going through your garden and pulling out the weeds. Eventually, You'll have only baby weeds and your work will get easier. When you are really weed-free, The poses will feel clean and there will be a feeling of free-flowing, Unobstructed energy. This is something you will want to do once you get a feeling for it. How do the asanas help you teach what you are trying to teach? My primary intention is to foster the awareness of the ever-present, Supra-personal God-force as it flows through you as you and me as me. Yoga is a process of self-awareness. Yoga is one means. It is not the only means, But it is a particularly good means. It is not the means we are using right now, For example. The asanas and the meditations, However, Teach you to feel and be sensitive. They cleanse your body of tension and pain and thereby help you experience the energy you're made of more clearly. Your innate intelligence, That which has been called the inner teacher, Will then guide you and tell you what to do. You become your own best teacher as you learn to rely on the inner teacher. The discipline of yoga is the best way I have come across for taking care of your physical health, And meditation is the best way to experience stillness. Together, They are a way of learning to be in the now. Now is where you will most vividly experience the energy of life, And is, Therefore, Where you will feel the most alive. You can only ever feel your connection with God in the now. I use the poses and meditations, Therefore, To emphasize the present moment. The desire for physical health is the lure that gets many people involved with yoga, But it is not the main goal, And you discover that. You find something much more meaningful All of this brings a relaxation on every level because you come upon the natural joy of being. This is probably how you felt when you were young. So if I was to ask what yoga means to you, How you define yoga, What would you say? Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means yoke, And yoke means union and joining. This is a reference to our ever-existing connection with the creative God force. Yoga as a practice is about making this personal connection a conscious feeling reality fact, Allowing yourself to then be guided by this inner feeling reality is the source of right action. Yoga, Then, Is about cultivating the consciousness of your personal connection with the all, And of living your daily life with this awareness. The interesting thing about the word yoga, However, Is that union and joining do not mean the same thing. Union means oneness, Wholeness, Not separated or divided, Indivisible. Joining means coming together, Implying the formation of a union from a previous condition of separation. The implication here is that people who at one time felt separated, Is that people who at one time felt separated, Abandoned, And alone, Like strangers in a strange and hostile land, Now feel connected, In harmony, Safe, And whole because of yoga. Yoga changes the way you feel, The way you look at things, And the way you interpret what's going on. Yoga, Therefore, Is a simple statement of a previously unrecognized, But, Nevertheless, Nevertheless, Already existing union between each of us and all of nature and the universe. We are all a part of the oneness, Creations of a common creator, And parts of the same whole. We were never not a part of the whole, Never at odds with the universe, And contrary to appearances, There are no enemies. Therefore, We need not fear each other. We are the universal family, Born of the father-motherhood of God. This is what is meant by union. Yoga is also a process by which you become aware of this ever-existing union. This is what is meant by joining. This distinction is important because being joined and knowing you are joined is a different experiential reality from being joined and not knowing it. Being a part of all that is but not knowing or feeling it is tantamount to not being joined. You are already in union with the whole of creation, And you always have been. There's nothing you need to do in order to establish your personal connection. It is already so, But you may not have been aware of this. Not being aware of your ever-existing connection with the creative god-force, Ignorance is the root of fear. Joining, Therefore, Can only be meaningful to a mind that perceives itself as separate. Since you are already joined and have always been an integral part of the whole and have never been separate except in your imagination, Then really there's no such thing as joining. No actual joining ever takes place. There's no need. There are no separate parts. But insofar as you feel separate, Then there is a tremendous need. Joining, Then, Is nothing more or less than the clear recognition that you have never been apart. The teachings of yoga, Then, Are designed to awaken you to the happy truth of your real identity. With this comes the release from fear and the subsequent inner relaxation that accompanies fearlessness. This is interesting because you retain a sense of individuality, Free will, And separateness. But you now operate with the knowledge that you are connected to a larger thing, Like players on the same team, Or cells in a body, And that you, As an individual, Are an expression of that larger thing. There's no you apart from it. You are it in this moment. There's no you apart from it. You are it in specific expression. Yoga, Therefore, Encourages a sense of joining with, Which results in an awareness of the already existing union. When that happens, You relax inside and start feeling good. You feel different about who you are, Better. You mean more at ease, Less split, More whole? Yes, You experience self-unity and wholeness, And you no longer feel bad inside about who you are. You also learn that although yoga is not a religion, It does induce a religious feeling.