This world has one problem and its problem has always been the same problem! This problem is the foundation of all other problems such as mental stress, physical toxicity, environmental toxicity, violence, poverty, inequality, and most disease. Due to technological advancements, these other problems have eaten away so much of the fabric of our well-being, we are moving closer and closer to a tipping point of total toxicity, from mental to physical to environmental.
Solution: The solution to these problems has been given to us through yogic teachings as well as the teachings and examples of all great beings who have come to this planet to uplift humanity.
What do the teachings of yoga and the teachings and examples of all great beings have in common? Each one emphasizes the development of benevolent qualities and the eradication of malevolent qualities. For example, Yoga teaches ahimsa, which means nonviolence, and states the goal of yoga is to quiet one’s mind, which is the opposite of mental stress which according to our medical community is responsible for up to 95% of all physical disease. Yoga also emphasizes non-attachment understanding that the law of our lives is called change so the more one is attached to anything the more one will suffer (stress) when the thing to which they are attached, changes. Jesus Christ taught us to not judge, Buddha taught us moderation, Mother Teresa showed us an example of compassion, Gandhi taught nonviolence, and Martin Luther King equality. None of them emphasized riches or materialism, fame, beauty, or any type of physical prowess. It seems like we honor these great beings in word, we make statues out of their likeness but we discard their message!
If you’ve ever been to church or temple you may notice the preacher or rabbi stands at the front of the congregation and says many amazing things, everyone in the congregation raises their fist and screams amen and then everyone goes back to their life and nothing changes! Why doesn’t anything change? We all agreed with the preacher. The reason things don’t change is because we have to do more than agree with the preacher. We actually have to take the time out of our day to develop the qualities that the preacher was preaching about. These qualities are like muscles. If they’re used regularly, they develop and become big and strong and can actually become the most dominant qualities in our psyche. But if these qualities are not used, they will atrophy, wither away and become almost nonexistent in our psyche. This is what yoga practice actually is. Yoga practice is the time one takes out of their day to develop benevolent qualities and eradicate malevolent qualities.
In our school systems, we are taught to the best of our ability, math, history, and science but we are never taught that the largest factor in our health and well-being is the place where our mind dwells. Math and science fix things on the outside but don’t address anything on the inside. Therefore, we have achieved great things in the physical world but ethically and morally, nothing has changed throughout recorded history. There has never been proof that people in previous generations without the ease and comforts we have today, were less happy than we are today. I have actually read many studies that say we are more stressed and miserable today than ever.
This is because of our emphasis on the outside instead of the inside. It’s no great coincidence that all the great beings always emphasized the inside not the outside. We have become so accustomed to not looking at the inside and the inside has become so atrophied pertaining to benevolent qualities, that the work it would take to redirect our personal and cultural emphasis seems out of reach. It seems incredibly difficult to deal with the mental habitual patterns we have developed that have created this toxic planet. But, it also seemed incredibly difficult and out of reach to put a man on the moon, yet we accomplished that. When we work together, we can accomplish anything. We just really need the support of our family and communities. This is certainly not easy work, but if health, wellness, and healing is our priority, we have no choice. I see no reason why we can’t take baby steps together. This is what we do at poweryoga.com, this is the message and practice of yoga.
May we humans wake up and redirect ourselves before our legacy becomes sickness and toxicity, and our children have to live in a swamp of misery.