When I first learned about nadis and energy flow, I loved the idea that one could influence the flow of energy by breath and attention. It almost seemed to simple to me at the time and yet it made perfect sense to me. We've heard this concept before, right -- what you put your attention on grows. I can think of so many examples of this from my own life.
A few years back I made the decision to live from a more honest place and for me that included changing who I did business with, what media I would "consume," which teachers I would choose to learn from, etc. I've noticed that it can be a little to easy for me to get disconnected from my truth. Sometimes I get swept up in things and I start listening to my head and all of the reasons it provides. When this happens, I avoid my more meditative yoga practice and often avoid meditation altogether.
Some months back I found myself in this very place -- I had gotten caught up in something that I thought worked for me without doing the gut check to see if it really felt right. Somewhere in the middle of things, I started feeling unhappy with, frustrated by, and tired of the whole thing. Of course my first reaction was to blame the other people involved in the situation when really the responsibility was mine. I was the one who needed to make a change and a different choice. Luckily, I did just that and all of my unhappy feelings disappeared.
I, too, have gotten swept up in certain yoga teachings and by certain yoga teachers. While I've never slept with a yoga teacher or any of my students/clients, I can see how it could happen. And it does happen...often. When it happens there's still this collective gasp of shock that seems to reverberate through the yoga world, and the blame seems to fall squarely onto the shoulders of the teacher/guru. I find this interesting, as there's always another participant in the mix. There are always two sides to the story.
I suppose it all depends on where you put your attention. If you give your power over to someone else, there's always the chance that it'll be abused in some way just as if you ignore your truth, there's always the chance that you'll wind up in an unhappy place (and it's possible you'll blame others for it). I think it actually is as simple as energy flow through the nadis -- if you give it attention and breath, something opens/shifts. And yes, you can use your power for "evil" as well as good. If you put your attention behind something that isn't good for you, the results will most likely be negative.
This is the reason I make a concerted effort to slow down, get still, and go inward. Sometimes I do it with simple breath to movement asana or meditation or walking in nature. As long as I put my attention inward, I find that I stay on track.
I've read the open letter from the Yoga Alliance. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not YA certified nor do I ever plan to be. I have somewhere close to 1,000 hours of training, and I do believe in training standards, yet I have chosen to not join YA. I suppose it was this line in the letter that caught my attention:
"...we know the system has enormous value because demand for it continues to grow."
The revenue numbers seem to be what stand out in people's mind in regards to the YA letter. Yet, what stands out in my mind is the statement above. The demand is what fuels YA. That means that people are giving their attention and power over to YA. If we stopped doing that, what would happen? If no one gave value to a YA certification, it would cease to mean anything. It would no longer be the gold standard on which to judge yoga teachers and yoga teacher training programs.
Where do we put our attention? Where are we putting our power (or are we abandoning it altogether to society or another person or a popular belief or some other seductive source)? Have you gotten quiet and done a gut check today to see if you're conscious or unconscious in your attention?
Just a little something to think about...
Namaste!
