What’s the real gift of Yoga?
Freedom simplified
Quick question. Who wants to feel no pain ever again in life?
But before you answer it;
Did you know there are actually few people who have never felt pain?
No. They are not superhumans. They are the ones with a rare genetic disorder called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis, or CIPA. A person with such a disorder does not know how pain even feels like.
How cool would that be right? A life with no pain?!
Butttt no. This superpower comes at a cost. Such people could stamp on thorns, break their arms, walk into fire, and feel nothing. Literally nothing. So if their back is on fire or they are bleeding somewhere, they wouldn’t know until someone else points it out or they see it with their own eyes.
The mother of a girl with CIPA said “This is a curse. I would do anything for my daughter to feel pain!”
Pain is necessary:
We all need pain. As much as pain can be a bummer, the pain has an evolutionary purpose. It is there to tell us to take care of ourselves. For us to avoid walking into fire. Pain helps us survive.
And hands down pain is inevitable.
Again, Pain is inevitable:
We are going to get older, our loved ones are not gonna be around forever, we might fall down one day, etc. Simple put, the pain is going to be there… it is inevitable (like Thanos :p)
And that sucks. This got me interested. Because sucky things teach us a lot. So…
Let’s try to understand Pain:
Because the only way to conquer pain is to become friends with it and understand it better.
Pain is a reminder:
I had weak lower legs as a kid. I always fell down because of that. When I complained about my legs to my dad, he usually picked me up, sat me on his shoulders, and told me that “Maybe your legs want you to always remember them. It’s just trying to tell you “Hey I’m here. Give me attention” Maybe your legs love you so much. Pain is a way for the body to remind us of the body’s presence.!” Somehow it made my pain less notorious when I was a kid.
And how true is it?
“Pain is not an enemy — It’s a friend that reminds you that you are alive”
There are two kinds of pain really.
One that we can do something about, act upon, and rectify;
Another, that we just have to accept.
Physical and mental health — All the physical, physiological, and psychological ailments in the body cause pain. They keep reminding us of our body every waking moment. Imagine people who cannot think about anything else than their pain! The suffering cannot be put in words and they will be ready to do anything to just avoid the suffering. Even if it means a temporary fix.
That is why pain killers and antidepressants are always selling like hotcakes. In most cases, we deceive ourselves by reaching for quick fixes rather than trying to understand the root cause of the pain and addressing it. We are OK with temporary fixes because we just want the suffering to end. As a result, we will end up with more reminders popping up in greater magnitude in the future. The earlier fixes won’t work and each time we would have to reach for stronger quick-fixes.
How does yoga act on Pain?
Yoga acts on the first kind of pain through Asana, Pranayama, the Niyamas. When we are physically active through Asanas and are more aware of our own body/mind through Pranayama and do the kriyas with discipline, we take better care of this body. In turn, we are less reminded of it.
My leg pain was such a reminder too. Taking up yoga has made me forget about my legs. It means one less thing for my mind to think about!
The pain that we cannot do anything about: Let’s face it. This is the kind that we are never ready for. Accidents, mishaps, and whatnot. Something can be around the corner-always. And this is where Yoga philosophy helps. Iswara Pranidhana means just doing what you do with dedication without caring about the end result. Doing something just for the deed. And finally, being completely open to whatever life throws at you and maybe even enjoying it in the process…
Friedrich Neitzsche put it beautifully as Amor Fati (love of fate)
My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it… but love it.” — Friedrich Neitzsche
The point of all this being, pain is a constant. But suffering need not be. But it takes a lot of responsibility and discipline to choose to not suffer. To know that suffering is a choice. That choice is where freedom lies.
“Pain is a constant. But suffering is optional”
Freedom is when suffering is optional:
When you are not reminded of your body and mind through physical/physiological/mental ailments, there is more space in life to think about what you really are meant to do with this precious life. The path becomes less cluttered. And when you can choose to work on your dreams unhindered, there is freedom.
When you take responsibility for your pain, analyse it (swadhyaya) and rectify it (tapas) through discipline, the suffering reduces.
When you cannot do much about the pain, just surrendering (iswara pranidhana) reduces the suffering. Remember Amor fati.
This is what yoga taught me.
And the freedom to choose not to suffer is the real gift from yoga to you & me! And the yoga teachers are not just teaching you how to stay physically fit — rather they are sharing the way to freedom.
Namaste!
