On Yoga

by Douglas Milburn

When it comes to metaphysics, the West keeps:

Early on, several cultures independently invented the metaphysical wheel, each couching the discovery in its own terms. Aldous Huxley called these discoveries and re-discoveries "the perennial philosophy" (in a book of that name) because they continue to recur throughout history in forms that differ only in decorative detail. In his book Huxley eloquently talks of the invention and describes its various forms with admirable restraint.

Restraint?

Yes, because to speak of the metaphysical wheel is difficult. The powerfully seductive words necessary to describe it can be easily mistaken for the thing itself (Enlightenment now!).

In the old story, the guru and the neophyte are standing outside one night. The guru points to the moon and says, "What is that?" Without missing a beat the neophyte answers, "The moon." "No," says the guru, "that is a finger pointing at the moon."

Nonetheless, the metaphysical wheel in its various quite usable forms is there, ready to improve the quality of life at least as much as the physical wheel has done.

"What the fuck is he talking about?" you mutter?

By "metaphysical wheel" I mean a system of behavior that has limitless potential in helping with the difficult business of getting up in the morning and moving through the world and going to bed at night and moving through that world too.

Limitless? Apparently. As far as the inventors of this wheel and its many users are concerned, no limit has been found; or, if found, reports have not come back to us.

Sounds like magic, huh?

Nope. No magic. No secrets. No code. It’s all right out there in the open: complete, fairly easily understandable instructions in various reprints of some of the oldest books. And almost free. Given the price we’re willing to pay for gadgets small and large these days, it’s extremely cheap.

The handiest name for this wheel, I suppose, is "yoga." The word has a certain currency and conjures certain popular connotations which, if not quite the finger pointing directly at the moon, are close enough.

Simple, simple, simple: 1. body, 2. mind. (Yes, there’s more, but you can’t talk about the more. Meaning: language cannot handle the reality of the more. People of course try to talk about it but only get into trouble which generally takes the form of organized religion at worst, or yoga studios and yoga TV lessons at best.)

Body. Mind.

Body comes into the world in pretty good shape for what it’s about to deal with. Limber, adaptive, equipped with an astonishing array of pleasure-pain feedback loops and an equally astonishing array of self-defense mechanisms, many of which are more or less automatic.

But immersed in culture (Don’t do that! Do this! But do it this way not that way!), body develops a generally unnoticed shell. Muscles learn to tense to deal with various situations (such as getting up in the morning, for starters). As those situations recur, some muscles wind up staying tensed all the time, creating a kind of armor, which we’re almost never aware of: it’s just the way we are. After some years of such a life, we can’t even relax those muscles if we try.

That’s body.

Mind also comes into the world in pretty good shape for what’s to come. It too is highly adaptive and fits nicely into the complex framework of language and culture with a long long list of do’s and don’t’s which in turn soon enough generates an even longer list of I-want’s and I-don’t-want’s.

Pretty soon you’ve got what passes for "the mature self" lording it over body and trying its best in countless devious and clever ways to lord it over me and you and the world. Tyrant ego: a chattering monkey whom we can’t shut up even if we try.

To be sure, much good has come from the billions of us existing in this rather conflicted condition. We’ve learned a lot about lessening pain and suffering, and about increasing hope and pleasure.

But obviously much bad has come from it as well, and continues to come: we kill each other and other creatures in increasing numbers, and now even wound the planet severely.

Are we trapped? No.
Is there hope? Yes.
Is there an instant way out of the trap? No.
Is there an instant source of hope? No.

Well-intentioned people offer to share their illusion with you: Here, look, believe this with me and all will be well. It is an attractive illusion offering solace as dangerous as it is seductive. A square wheel may get you somewhere but it won’t be far and you can be sure it’ll be one bumpy ride.

For starters, two problems have to be faced:
   1. The permanently tensed body.
   2. The permanently chattering mind.

Neither can be changed overnight. It takes time for a ship’s hull to become covered with barnacles, and it takes time to remove them. It takes time to set a large ship going in a certain direction, and it takes time to change such a ship’s direction.

Yoga can do both: ease the body, and shush the mind.
But only slowly, slowly and gently.
Slowly and gently.

The aim here is not beauty. Not even health, at least not as health is generally understood in the West.

The aim here is only (only!) to relax the body and the mind.

That, my friend, is the finger pointing to the moon.

Buy any yoga book that deals with both the asanas (the body postures) and with meditation, and start. Start and continue, always remembering: slowly and gently.

And simply: ten minutes a day is enough. Paid lessons are only a distraction. Just you alone with yourself.

Believe nothing here except the possibility that the finger really is pointing at the moon. Believe nothing of what others say or report.

Just try it. If it doesn’t work, stop. If it does work, who knows, you may discover the wheel for yourself.

Beyond that point, no matter what the chatterers persist in saying, there is only (only!) silence.