As we continue to practice yoga, different things can arise for us. This is a deeply spiritual practice which is designed to awaken parts of us which may have become hidden in the hustle of everyday life. We learn ourselves on a very deep level, we learn the true nature of ourselves - not what we wish people to perceive us as, but rather, what we truly are in our heart.
Recently in my own practice, and just in everyday life, I’ve been contemplating the idea of attachment to the self, something I have consistently come back to over the past couple of years. There seems to be a a big focus on how people are coming across to the world. Mainly, I find this to be on an outer level rather than a deeper level, which in turn leaves us fearful of how we are being perceived and less connected to our true nature. The obsession with conformity and gaining attention has obscured our truths and left us with an incredible attachment to the self.
The idea of the self is fairly abstract, when we begin to distance ourselves from the idea of ‘me’, ‘mine’ and ‘I’ we can begin to see things in a new way. This is essentially what we are trying to achieve during meditation. Detatchment from the senses, as well as from the self. The idea that you are not your body, you are not your mind, you are not whatever you believe yourself to be portrayed as. You are in fact so much more than that. We as souls are infinite energy which all connect on a Unified Field. Without delving too much into Quantum Mechanics and complicating things, it is worth mentioning that several quantum physicists studying the field agreed that there is a definite connection between everyone on a more molecular level. As well as this, there is an awful lot which science cannot explain.
This is something which keeps coming up for me in my practice. The idea of letting go of anything concrete, becoming more fluid, open and in a completely state of equilibrium is the journey you take when practicing yoga. That journey is ever evolving, as the mind frees up, so does the body - building both flexibility in the mental as well as the physical.
So I’m grappling with the idea of completely letting go of everything I define myself as on a surface level. Leaving all of that behind to delve deeper and see what is truly at the roots. Stripping away all of the judgement, striving, pretence and fear through this practice is probably the most treasured gift I have gained from Yoga. Through years of consistent practice, this for me, is only really coming to light now and something I feel I’m only at the tip of the iceberg with.
The concept of delving deeper and learning detachment of the self, on a practical level really teaches you to release judgement of others as well as letting go (i.e. not giving a shit) of how you are being perceived. Getting over the hurdle of fear is still something I’m trying to figure out but as with anything I have struggled with, my practice on the mat teaches me everyday how I am off the mat. So with that continued practice, I know that I’ll no doubt come out the other side of fear in the same way.