Yoga and Happiness

Recently, two Globe and Mail articles, side by side, looked at two good books: one was about happiness and one was about self control.

The book on happiness suggests that longing for happiness is a central tenet of the human condition.

Through yoga, my understanding and experience is that it is in our very nature to be happy... there are just so very many reasons that we loose touch with that. And for some reason, we mainly focus on acquiring / reaching out for something to make us happy.

Humans tend to look to the future or the past to bring about their happiness: Towards a time when something (or somebody) has been acquired, or some stage has been reached that will make us complete. Backwards to a time when something or someone made us feel complete.

Given that the only moment we are truly alive is in the present moment, then doesn't it follow that we ought to spend some time being in that moment? For example: When we are walking, are our minds on the path and the surroundings and the accompanying sensations? Or, are our minds shifting forward or backwards in thought and getting stuck on some point of contention?

It is possible to spend some time in-the-moment and without distraction in a mini yoga class... time when concerns for the past and yet we can't change it. Concerns for the future can be paused in yoga too (we can control our speech and our actions but can we control the outcome?).

If you try yoga, you might just find that paying attention to the present moment brings a peacefulness that lets you know your very nature is to be happy. Our activities and thoughts disconnect us as we multi-task ever more tasks for too many of our waking hours.

The second article indicates that the 'best bet' to mastering our self control is mastering our environment (since everywhere is overwhelming with temptations). Well it does help not to have temptation close by for sure! And yet again, through a regular yoga practice, it is very possible to tune into being more at ease with life so that we can reduce the need to reach out beyond our self for coping mechanisms or crutches.

Through a sustained practice like yoga, we can work through what disconnects us from our inherent happiness, and we can find that we have a different relationship with what overwhelms us or what we turn to as a support.

When a yoga practice personally resonates and when it is done with the whole heart, consistently, then we will know our inherent nature is to be happy. Progress is not fast and not without effort but very, very possible.