To Yoke

I know I said in my last post that this wouldn't be all about yoga, and yet here we go.  I came home tonight hungry and tired after an especially emotionally draining day.  As I cooked dinner I thought all I wanted to do was have a large glass of wine and disconnect from the world for a while.  It seemed like an easy way out.  However, when I sat down to eat I opened up the October Yoga Journal and started flipping through.  My curious nature drew me to the article "Legendary Poses"- why is it called Fish Pose, anyway?  I never found out, because I stopped reading after the third paragraph.  "The meaning of the Sanskrirt word yoga is 'yoking', or 'connecting.'  One way of describing the state of yoga is as a feeling of interconnectedness, in which we experience that a part of us exists in everything, and vice versa."  It was an "Aha Moment" for me, to borrow a phrase from a certain daytime talk show queen. 

I've been doing yoga on and off since high school, but I've kept it up pretty regularly for the past three years.  I admit at first it was for the physical release and relaxation, but I gradually began to experience a deeper calm, and grounding benefits.  As I fell into a routine, my body and mind started to crave a practice and miss it when I skipped a session.   It became my chance not only to check in with my body and psyche, but share an hour of restoration with others who had similar needs.  Even though we were on our own mats, and focused on our own practices, there was always some feeling of connection and we would share a smile or nod afterwards.

I knew yoga meant "to yoke", and I threw the phrase around- "I am going to yoke tonight", "I had a good yoking session today."  It was a cute word, and I had a vague idea of what it meant, but I honestly had never looked for a thorough explanation.  Reading the definition tonight finally seemed like a validation of what I had been experiencing in my own practice.  Interconnectedness- connecting with my thoughts, emotions, body, and community.  Expressing gratitude to the teacher for leading and the other participants for joining.  Searching inwardly so that we can make a bigger impact externally. 

Whether it's yoga, soccer, choir, community service, music lessons, theater, or dance, we all need an outlet to express ourselves through something that gives us joy and provides a sense of interconnectedness.  What do you do? 

February 2009, after one of Jarrett's Giordano shows