Practicing Yoga

Practicing Yoga – Why is Healing Sometimes So Painful?

This writer frequently points out that people come to the science and practice of Yoga for various reasons.

It may be to lose some weight or because it has suddenly become fashionable and popular.

It may be to deal with some mental, physical or behavioral state that through the grace of a higher power and the wisdom and mindfulness within we have awakened to as being a problem or hindrance to a better life.

It may be to attain better mental and physical health or to cultivate a spiritual presence and foundation for living within.

Many times people may come to Yoga for one reason or another and then through their commitment to and practice of it, move onto and evolve to a new reason for sticking with it.

Anyone who teaches Yoga or has any kind of experience with it will testify that it can certainly add a new and joyful dimension to one’s life and understanding of him and herself and others.

But at the same time, its practice can be very painful and this pain manifests itself in many ways.

Since most of the time we think of Yoga in purely physical terms, we also think of the pain we experience in and through it in physical terms also.

It is painful to initially learn and do postures such as the camel and cobra, among others.

It is painful to put aside an enjoyable book or turn off a television program or movie and bend and twist the body for an hour or so.

It is painful to deal with the after affects of soreness and fatigue that we frequently experience when we a new to Yoga or do not practice as often as we should or could.

Those who teach will remind learners that this kind of pain is one that liberates for it is in the practice of Yoga that the adage “No Pain, No Gain” really applies.

But there are other aspects of applying and practicing Yoga and its teachings and disciplines that can be equally painful.

When we start to see our present and past life, experiences and circumstances with greater clarity we may not like what we see or better see our own ignorance as regards these things.

When we see our own ignorance, we may experience feelings of stupidity, shame and guilt.

If that happens to you, please understand that this too is part of the purification process that Yoga brings us to that can also be painful.

In Yoga we are experiencing a number of things that can lead to painful realizations and experiences.

Not only are we trying to live our life and structure our thoughts, words and actions around a set of moral and ethical disciplines (yamas, niyamas, parakarmas), but we are also experiencing awakenings because we are involved in this process.

It is not uncommon for people who though they are dedicated and committed to practicing Yoga, still find themselves to be victimized by their own mental fluctuations and feelings.

When this happens we need to exercise extreme caution and mindfulness so we do not fall into a state where we think that Yoga is not any good at all or not bringing us the things that we hoped to get from it.

Expecting quick or immediate benefits from and progress in Yoga is unwise and does not take into account the complexity and deep - rooted nature of our conditioning or the long drawn out process that the purification of our being involves.

It is worthwhile to remember that for many of us who come or have come to Yoga, healing is part of what it is we are looking for or will experience, and that the process of healing, whether it is the body or the mind, will always involve the experience of pain.