Western Minds and Yoga Philosophy: From the Practical to the Visionary

Yoga Philosophy is a treasure trove of wisdom waiting for us to access it. Yet it lies somewhat beyond the realm of easy accessibility for most of us modern Westerners. Most of us have had some introduction to the common concepts of Eastern Mysticism at this point. People throw around terms like "non-attachment", "karma", "past-lives", "true-self" etc. in posts, daily conversations and in yoga classes. But as we usually tend to do in the west, we take concepts and terms out of context and often misinterpret and misappropriate the concepts.

In our innocence and our eagerness to apply these eastern concepts, we often forget the deeper history, cultural context and essential meaning of these philosophical approaches. Often it requires that we carefully study, digest and translate the teachings so we can both comprehend and apply the wisdom into our daily lives. The role of modern teachers of yoga philosophy is exactly that. We must study these systems, practice and embody them and find ways to make the wisdom accessible and useful to students without neutering the power and essence of these teachings. How can we both extract practical benefit from our studies while protecting the integrity and higher aim of the practice? This is easier said than done obviously.

What I've gathered about us modern practitioners is that we're a pragmatic bunch of people. We like things that are practical. We like science. We want things to work or make sense. Logic and practicality helps us to feel safe. Hence we want practical improvements in our stress level and impact in career and relationship. As a result something like Yoga Philosophy can come off really abstract when we don't directly tie it into our understanding of how we can practically benefit from it. It makes sense. Why would we practice or spend our valuable and already limited time on something that doesn't really make sense and that doesn't meet my objectives and goals in life?

As a result what we see in the western world is a modified and appropriated version of eastern wisdom teachings; "mindfulness based stress-reduction", "yoga for backpain", "meditation for sleep and relaxation" and the list goes on. On one level this makes total sense and is important. It makes these practices appealing and relevant to modern people and practitioners.

But the downside of our pragmatism and practical nature is that we can unintentionally become shortsighted with our practice at times. We're after the low hanging fruit. Yogic systems have very ambitious goals by their nature. Yoga systems claim to show us our true nature and true nature of reality and to liberate us from mundane suffering as we know it. On one end the goal of yoga may seem unobtainable or just too mystical. On another level it's an opportunity to stretch our perspective on what's possible. And the reality is that a lot of people accomplish profound states and some others experience relief, healing and greater maturity which may not be the ultimate goal but still relevant for us in our daily lives.
To reiterate, can we somehow honor the need for practicality and at the same time strive to maintain the greater vision of yogic philosophical and practice pursuits?

Balancing Transcending and Embracing
As previously mentioned, Yogic philosophy and practices have a focus of guiding the individual to encounter, experience and ultimately abide in the recognition of their True Nature/Self. In Vedanta, a prominent yogic school of thought, it is believed that the recognition, realization and abiding in one's True Nature/Self leads to the experience of Moksha (liberation from suffering and delusion). In my experience and study, this is not some abstract or unattainable fantasy. They are pointing to something (although it may not fit the category of a thing) that is quite ubiquitous in our experience that we don't often recognize. This is our essential Awareness. When we can become adept at both recognizing the essential Awareness of our being, and learn to abide in the recognition, we become freer.
Being able to clearly recognize and stabilize this realization often requires a philosophical and mental preparation to support the experience. In Vedanta, we initially shift the location of self from our mundane identity associated with our body, thoughts and feelings, to this very awareness. This takes regular practice, but when we succeed in doing this, it removes us from a strong, rigid and unconscious identification with our thoughts and emotions and identities which can free us up from the drama of some of our mental and emotional habits. We shift from being our thoughts and feelings to being aware of and having thoughts and feelings arise in the field of our awareness. This can be powerful shift in perspective for helping us to access a new source of calm. Although a still mind is useful in having the original recognition of our True Self (yoga sutra 1.2.) what's amazing about resting in the Recognition of our True Self is that it doesn't require that we actually be calm or still in our minds. Once we learn to recognize and shift to our True Self as Awareness, our Awareness is already calm and still in its nature. It's literally like stepping into the eye of the storm. Even though the body, emotions and mind are still turbulent, we can view it and hold it from a place of calm within ourselves.
When we can loosen the grip of our identification and step into the role of the observer/True Self, we can begin sitting with whatever inner experience we're having, from a more spacious, calm and resourceful place. When we shift this spacious and embracing observer/True Self towards our body sensations, painful emotions and anxieties, they can be digested and released more readily and easily.
If we are willing to be patient and open-minded enough to cultivate the deeper purpose of yoga philosophy and practice, we can develop a connection to our essential being that can have both spiritual and personal/mundane benefits for us modern people. The goal of accessing this True Self is not to transcend and avoid/leave our human experience. Its purpose is to allow us to experience our human existence with greater calm, peace, flow and vibrance.