Brahmacharya is most often thought of in terms of celibacy, but most yogis will tell you that sexual abstinence is not necessary. Yoga journal describes this Yama as "when we consciously choose to use our life force to express our dharma, rather than to frivolously dissipate it in an endless pursuit of fleeting pleasures." In laymen's terms: personal energy conservation.
I am in love with Yoga Sutra 2:48, "Sthira sukham asanam," mainly because it's the only one I can remember. But using it in class and my own practice has been transformational. "The yoga posture should be steady and comfortable." Way back in her days at the YMCA (when I was her student), Dana unknowingly drilled this concept into gym yogis by continually emphasizing "the place between effort and ease." The asana is challenging, but it shouldn't kill you. The same works for the mind and the breath.
So brahmacharya in the postures is achieved by mindfully using the prana and muscular energy in the body, choosing when to exert yourself and when to back off. In teacher training, we learned to never practice beyond 60% our effort. Personally, I find I am much more prone to injury when the ego takes over and I move beyond 60%, not matter how aware I think I am. But at its essence, brahmachara is more a lifestyle than it is a number or a formula. I would love for this to be an open discussion. Please leave your own brahmacharya thoughts in the comments!
Something to look forward to (in class and in my next blog): Brahmacharya and your Psoas!
And now, for your amusement...
Moderation - sounds conservative. Let's see what our life lessons teach this week. It has been my experience that finding the middle,.... finding moderation.... often involves a swing to one extreme, followed by a swing to the other extreme.... which eventually settles in the middle like a pendulum.
ReplyDelete