I listened to a podcast this week, Dispatches from the Cremation Ground podcast, that speaks to how many traditional yoga practices were about pushing the limits of your body and mind (sitting on a bed of nails, walking on coals, fasting, not sleeping) and many of today’s practices are doing the opposite, encouraging practitioners to stay within their own limits. The host poses the question, how did we get from one side of the spectrum to the other? 

As I mulled over the question, I came to the conclusion that there’s a time and place for both of the these techniques within the scope of one’s spiritual practice. 

Drawing from Joesph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey – there comes a time in everyone’s life when it’s time to leave the village compound, leave the familiar, go out into the unknown. This is an important part of the spiritual journey. In order for us to learn new skills, deepen our understanding our ourselves, we must venture out into the unknown. This can be done by traveling to a new place, taking on a new practice (meditation, kriyas, mantra). This is can also happen to us such as dramatic change in our lives – a new child/love/job,  accident, loss, grief. The challenge whether self induced or brought upon from outside forces can teach us about our limitations, help strengthen our resolve, connect us to aspects of ourself we don’t always interact with and widen our perspective on ourselves and the world around us. 

After going through the trial/quest/challenge, we must return to the village compound and integrate what we’ve learned. This is where the more gentle approach to the practice comes in. When we’re integrating, we must be kind with ourselves (body, mind & spirit). Restorative, yin and slower practices are fertile ground to take time to heal and ground. 

An example of this – during the pandemic, there was a surge of more restorative practices such as restorative, yin, sound baths and gentle hatha classes. These were needed as we were in a global crisis. The pandemic was an initiation. Never had the world experienced a pandemic on this scale. There was so much trauma in the collective from it. What was needed to counter this was to get very gentle with ourselves. We needed to heal. 

As we crawl out of that time, it seems as though we are ready to begin to challenge ourselves with practices that ask more of us.

I leave you with these questions to mull over –
Where are you on your current journey?
Check out the diagram above and asses.