Avidya

Avidya: 

yoga really is the art of relaxing in the very moment we feel less able too, sinking into the pose, or even a situation that causes us discomfort. In yogic psychology this is exploring the kleshas, of the afflictions that keep us trapped in ignorance, unaware of how we're manipulated by the forces of aversion and attraction. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali outlines five kleshas that rule our world, with the first and most important being ignorance, as without awareness to our condition we're never able to truly relax and find ourselves st home within our bodies. This is avidya, ignorance, simply being unaware that we are controlled by forces of the mind, trapped in the suffering of our very own cause. 

yoga offers freedom. 

for me, I experience the kleshas in every practice, having a strong attraction to certain postures that I'm good add and find easy, how my ego plays up my accomplishments here. Just as quickly I'm cast into aversion, having a desire to skip past the poses that cause fear and discomfort in their practice. And all of this takes place in avidya, my own delusions of their cause. The amazing thing is that with just a little awareness of why this all occurs and I gain an immense amount of freedom, not liberated from my suffering, but finding myself relaxed within my body, feeling more at home here. 

exactly where I am. 

whatever posture I seek to hold. 

and this carries so quickly off the mat, everything becomes yoga, an exploration into every present situation and the afflictions that they hold. It's all naturally occurring, gentle, just a moment of clarity offered through the avidya haze. Simply seeing this, aware, and I'm somewhat more relaxed, at ease with what the moment offers. This is the trade of my reactionary response, based upon any one of the kleshas, and a more responsive approach to life, no longer being controlled solely by aversions or attraction, no longer ignorant of their cause. 

I'm now practicing yoga everywhere. 

~

Peace, Eric