Does it seem like lately everyone is a bit… thirsty? Like, craving something to satisfy some inner desire? Are you searching for something that will fulfill you that you haven’t found before?
It’s part of the human experience: the search for meaning and for magic. We want to know that we are more than just a cog in the wheel of the human race, that we matter as individuals. We want to feel enlightened in this life, not just hope for it in some dim vision of an afterlife. We want to transcend our earthly experience and find – dare we hope – bliss.
In fact, many people turn to yoga to answer the questions within themselves, to find solace and clarity and calm. For some yoga practitioners, transforming the physical body is all they desire. But for some, yoga is a long journey in which they go deeper and deeper each passing season, reaching never-before-experienced levels of euphoria. These folks are lucky to have found something that takes them out of their everyday experience without endangering their health.
Too many people in our world reach for substances outside of themselves to feel different, better, more alive. We know people with addictions and many of us have lost loved ones to those addictions. While some people are genetically prone to addictive behaviors, at the same time it seems like those of us who do not struggle with alcohol or substance abuse still crave the same things that those who are addicted do. We want to feel alive, to be empowered, to find meaning.
Many of us also have friends or family who struggle with emotional and mental health issues including PTSD, bipolar disorder, dementia. Some of those people would be at higher levels of risk for addiction. How can we, instead, offer something that gives solace and satisfaction?
Yoga, prayer and meditation, music, mindfulness, and community are what we each can offer to others in struggle. It’s what we can offer to our Selves. We may not be therapists or doctors, we might not know how to overcome addiction, but we can be there in support for our neighbors and simply by living in truth – a truth based on a healthy mindset – light a path forward.
We all know what it feels like to deeply desire something. Many of us have learned to find it within, using tools like yoga to find our way. What can you offer in peace to those in need? What can you offer to yourself? Come to your mat with curiosity and trust that the answers you seek await you there.