Yoga and Buddhism

Yoga and Buddhism – Think of them as Opportunities,

not Burdens

The teachings and practices of Yoga and Buddhism, like

anything new in life, can be challenging to grasp and understand upon our initial exposure to them.

If we do not see a need for a change in our life we

may not have any interest in what they offer us at

all.

We may also think of them as being threatening to how

we think, feel and act at the present time.

If we have such feelings, it is best to not force

ourselves to investigate or practice them.

And if we are being introduced to them by a spouse who

has recently discovered their benefits, we may feel

confused about what we should do.

This is said because many women come to Yoga or

Buddhism in their late thirties or early forties and

see and experience the benefits from them, and want to

share these things with their husbands.

Many times unfortunately, the husband may not feel the

same interest or need that the wife does.

What Yoga and Buddhism are designed to do is not to be

burdens for us to “have to” practice, but to give us opportunities to realize and access the greater gifts that we,

and others possess.

Sometimes it is hard for some of us to see this if we

have everything that we have been taught we should or

need to have.

But Yoga and Buddhism, and many times just the

experience of life, teaches us that even though we

have a family, food on the table, friends, money in

the bank, a job and a comfortable place to live we may

still have states of being that are not happy or

unwholesome.

We may feel bored.

We may get angry easily and abuse ourselves and others

because of that anger.

We may think that our life is going nowhere.

We may be wrestling with some realization about or

unresolved issue from the past.

So even though we have much in the material world that

makes our life enjoyable, comfortable or secure, there

can be much within the inner world that diminishes our

life value and experiences and takes us away from the

wisdom that we all possess.

Yoga and Buddhism provide us with opportunities to

cultivate this inner world to a place and state where

there is joy, wisdom and mindfulness.

If we can see that Yoga and Buddhism provide us with

the opportunity to be more of who and what we can be,

we will be able to put aside any thought of them as

being burdens that require more of our time and effort

then we would like to give.

We can also benefit when we understand that much of

what might be thought of as being a burden is really

nothing more then the initial challenges involved in

making posture and meditation practice part of our

life.

And it can be quite a challenge.

These initial challenges will be dealt with more

skillfully when we have a supportive and understanding environment, and a gentle and patient teacher.

For this reason, seeking out who to learn from and

practice with is going to be quite important.

The teacher, through his or her attitude and approach

to both the teachings and the learners, will be

instrumental in alleviating any burdens in learning,

while emphasizing us to see the teachings and

practices involved in learning as opportunities.

So in coming to Yoga or Buddhism we should do two

things.

Look carefully for a teacher and do not allow the bad experiences with one particular teacher hurt us or make us

lose faith in the path or practice that we are interested in.

In addition, reading, reflecting on and studying

during our free time is most beneficial, as we begin

to formulate our own understanding, instead of the understanding that we are given by others, which many times

we may not clearly see at the time they are offered to us or perceive incorrectly.

If you are looking to Yoga or Buddhism as ways to give

yourself a greater understanding of yourself and

others and improve your mental and physical health,

see them as opportunities, not burdens.

Such an approach will see you through the doubts and

demanding times that you will have as you make them a

greater part of your life.

(John lives and teaches in Bangkok, Thailand. He can

be reached at johnckimbrough@yahoo.com)