Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign hello, and welcome to Deep in your yoga practice. I'm your host, Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri, right smack dab in the middle of the United States of America. And if you're listening to this right as it comes out, you, you might know that we have a big holiday in the US this week, which is Independence Day or the fourth of July. And I thought it might be fun, given the context of this week, if we dive into this concept of yoga and liberation and of freedom in general within the context of a yogic life, a yoga practice, yogic philosophy. So my invitation to you or to anyone listening would be to expand what your idea of freedom is beyond national identity, beyond personal liberties, because those two things I think we focus on quite a bit in the US and more into a universal and internal and even spiritual concept. So let's explore what liberation means in yoga philosophy and how we can access it through our practice, both on the mat and off today. So what is liberation within the context of yogic philosophy? I end almost all of my yoga classes with a mantra of may we be happy, may we be free.
[00:01:38] What does that mean exactly? So one word in Sanskrit meaning liberation is moksha. And in yogic philosophy, this is one of the four aims of life. So in life, we're aiming for dharma, which is duty, living in accordance to the divine, living in accordance to maybe your own personal purpose as well. Arta, which is prosperity, Kama, which is pleasure and moksha, liberation and freedom from suffering and from illusion. So speaking of personal liberties, within the yogic context, freedom isn't an individual just being able to do whatever they want whenever they want, it's deeper than that. It's freedom from attachment, from ego, from fear, and from suffering. In fact, if one is just doing whatever they want whenever they want, they're not actually free in yoga because they're not living in accordance with, to the concept of dharma or purpose or duty. So we can be free from attachments and still live in such a way that we're aligned with our responsibilities and our values. So how do we reach this state of moksha, of liberation, of samadhi? So in classical yoga, which is defined by Patanjali's yoga sutras, which I've talked about in other episodes, liberation, or what Patanjali called samadhi, is reached through the eight limbs of yoga, and those are different observances, different tools and techniques to essentially find liberation.
[00:03:24] And once we start getting to the upper limbs, which are very subtle, we get Closer and closer to this sense of moksha, of samadhi, of liberation.
[00:03:33] So in these final stages, we're looking at meditation, which is absorbing with your point of focus, maybe on the divine being, your point of focus and samadhi, which is the eighth limb. And it means full absorption of bliss. There's no separation between you and the divine. All is one. You're identifying with the soul, with spirit, feeling yourself connected to everyone and everything.
[00:04:02] So moksha or liberation is this byproduct of samadhi, the eighth limb, when you're no longer identified with your ego, with your roles in life, with things that change in general, but instead you're identified with the divine in a real non egoic, non attached way. So sounds easy, right? No, I don't think so. I'm attached to so many things. My ego is constantly moving in one direction or another. But I can use my yoga practice to. To harness that and to find these moments of liberation and freedom and to keep moving myself closer to that state, rather than attachment and ego and fear and judgment and all of those things. This concept of freedom is also referenced in the Bhagavad Gita.
[00:04:54] And the Bhagavad Gita, freedom comes not from escaping life's duties, but from selfless action without attachment to the outcome. I'll say that again, from selfless action without attachment to the outcome, which is Karma Yoga. So when you're living in dharma in purpose, you have to let go of the fruits of your actions or the Karma, and do the right thing anyway, essentially. And that is how we find freedom in the philosophy of Vedanta. There is also this idea of liberation. And that's when realizing the Atman or individual soul is one with the Brahman or universal consciousness. So again, it is identifying with more than just you, identifying with the collective of spirit, of the Divine, however you define it, and seeing yourself not separate from that. And as a metaphor, you can think of it as remembering that you are the ocean and not just the wave. So in our daily lives, there are a lot of barriers to this sense of liberation that come up. And we can use our yoga practice to help work through these barriers and to again find that sense of identification with the whole, with spirit, with that which doesn't change. So some of these chains that we might be attached to are internal. So what's going on inside your mind and emotions? And that might mean ego. And I'll remind you that ego can go to different ways. It's not just someone who is full of themselves. If you will. It's also feeling not enough, not good enough. That is also the ego speaking and not the soul. So that can be an obstacle to liberation. Is feeling not enough fear of change. So clinging to the way things are and not allowing things to happen as they need to can be a huge obstacle. I think as humans, we like to find comfort in the familiar. But the nature of life is change. The nature of is change. Things are always in a constant state of flux. So being able to kind of let go and go with the flow is a way to find that sense of liberation. Limiting beliefs about ourselves or about life can hold us back. Feelings of shame that we're bad. That's the ego speaking of clinging to comfort. Like I talked about, there are also external barriers to liberation in daily life. And those can be our governments, those can be our social systems. They're not really designed for everyone to truly be free. No matter what the idioms are, what people might say about America and freedom, or whatever country you might live in and freedom. Our social systems can be built to oppress us. Trauma, oppression in different ways. That might mean gender oppression, it might mean sexual oppression or racial oppression or poverty oppression. There are so many different ways that shows up for us externally. Um, and even things like the external pressure of productivity culture can become this obstacle. We feel like we constantly need to be doing and achieving and winning, and that can really chain us to our egos. So again, we have these internal and external barriers that can occur, and they can also work together. Because if you're being oppressed externally, that's likely going to show up internally, right? I've talked about my yoga practice these days, and it can often be short or sporadic. It's regular, but I'm not able to take hours out of my day for yoga. Right now, although I see yoga as an immersive lifestyle and philosophy. I mean, like my practices, asana, pranayama, meditation, et cetera. I do notice when I get to sit that once I start breathing, once I start going inward, I'm able to see some of these obstacles that are sort of floating around in my consciousness. Maybe I've been clinging to limited beliefs. Maybe I've been telling some negative stories about myself. Maybe I've just been feeling off, but I haven't been able to pinpoint why.
[00:09:11] And then when I'm able to go inward and create some space, I'm able to start seeing some of these things for what they are. And once I see them, then I'm able to work through them a bit. Whether by myself or with help from therapist or friend. Yoga really helps us see what is there and start to parse out what is real and what isn't. I'll follow that up by saying that the yoga practice doesn't spiritually bypass any real world injustice. It shouldn't. We don't do it to run away from the injustice or to ignore it. We can look to the Bhagavad Gita for that. We're meant to stand up for what is right, to do our duty while letting go of the results. And yoga can give us the tools and the presence and the clarity to face oppression with strength and compassion and resilience. So I'll give a real world example. I am a little bit phone phobic. I'm able to sit here and record a podcast to no one. I mean, I know it's to you, but as I'm talking, I'm basically alone. But the moment I have to pick up the phone, my heart starts racing and I feel a little bit stressed out. And there are many injustices occurring right now in our even in our city, in our state, in our country.
[00:10:31] In the past, while I have tried to, I guess, be the change I want to see, I haven't been as politically active. But I've definitely felt called lately to be calling my reps and senators on a regular basis. And picking up the phone to make a call can be hard enough, let alone calling to make my voice heard, to voice a complaint, to make my needs heard, to advocate for others can be especially scary. So I'm able to use my yoga to help prepare me to be able to use my voice. So that might mean before I make my calls, that I take a few mindful breaths, that I pull on this, like, inner strength as I go inward, that I've been able to cultivate through my yogic practices and that I'm able to align with my values and the philosophy I believe in, hoping that that will come out through my voice, even if I'm challenged, as I'm advocating for this change. So I hope that that gives you maybe a little bit of fuel or hope or motivation to do the same. There are different ways you can also practice liberation on your mat, and one is through asana. Asana are the many postures that we utilize throughout a yoga practice. And this movement can be this way of really feeling at home in one's own body and regaining or gaining this sense of agency, of autonomy, of fluidity even. And you might do this by making choices throughout your yoga practice. So, of course, your yoga teacher is there to be a safe guide for you, but you get to tune in and make choices that work for you and your practice. And you also get to explore the many variations of the way your body shows up. There might be days it feels tense, There might be days it feels free. But one thing is for sure, your body is yours. And you get to really connect with that through your asana practice and maybe find freedom and joy within the movement, which is absolutely your birthright. Pranayama, or breathwork, can also be a beautiful way to connect with freedom within your nervous system. So asanas absolutely can do that. Combine them with breath or do a breath practice on your own, and things can really start to shift. By regulating our breath, we can regulate our thoughts and emotions as well. And there are so many different techniques that we can use to calm our nervous systems or even to amp them up if we need it. Maybe I'm about to make my calls and I need to do a little bit of, like, breath or fire or kapalabhati to amp things up a little bit and get myself in a go mode. Or maybe I need to calm things down a little bit. The cool thing about pranayama is that we have the power in our own hands, in our own breath, to regulate our own energy. And how cool is that? Meditation is also a wonderful yogic practice and tool, which is liberation through observation, through going inward. Like I said, I use these practices to kind of parse through what has been going on through my mind, through my body, through my emotions. And when I do that, I can also realize that who I am truly is not all those things. Those are things that change. They're like watching clouds float through the sky. They come and go. So when I realize that that's not who I am, that creates a sense of space. And this sense of liberation or moksha can come from unhooking from these mental loops and coming back to a state of presence, of equilibrium, of being in the seat of the observer, as we say in yoga, maybe even the seat of the soul. So those are different ways to find liberation on the mat. A few different ways you can find liberation off the mat that are also yogic are through different yogic concepts like yamas and niyamas, or through different schools of thought in yoga. The first would be swadhyaya, which is one of the niyamas in the eight limb path. And this is self study. This might mean journaling, therapy, contemplation. It might mean studying ancient texts or newer philosophical texts. It's taking in information about the world, about yourself, and using that to become more wise, more thoughtful, and really more connected to yourself and to the world around you. Another way to find it is through Dharma, which I mentioned earlier, which is living in alignment with what they might call universal truth, but also with your own truth. And not people pleasing or conforming or living your life in a specific way just because others expect you to. Dharma is about finding your own purpose, your own passion, your own path, and living in alignment with that truth. That might mean what you love, that might mean who you love. That might mean how you choose to present yourself, identity, how do we live in alignment with that truth of who we are? And one of the most beautiful things about Dharma is when you are living in that alignment with your own truth, whatever that is, it makes the most potent and impactful impact in the world. And that doesn't mean it's always going to have a huge impact, but it's going to be authentic. And that is so incredibly important. Another way to find liberation off the mat is through santosha, which is also a niyama in yoga. And this means contentment. It's really this mixture of acceptance and gratitude at the same time. And this brings up a paradox in yoga of freedom arising really from this sense of a radical acceptance of the way things are rather than escaping or resisting the way things are. And that doesn't mean you accept and give up. Like, if there's injustice in the world. That doesn't mean that we say, oh, well, that's what's happening. It's okay. This is what's happening. Yes, I'm aware of it. My eyes are open now. What do I do about it? And it's also being able to find gratitude even when things are really tough, because that is a fuel that can kind of ignite your tapas or devotion and discipline and carry you through to this wave of beautiful change. One more way to find liberation off the mat is through Karma Yoga, which I mentioned earlier, which is taking aligned action and not clinging to the results. So we're taking action that's aligned with our dharma, with who we are, with our purpose, with universal Dharma. So action that's aligned with our values and just trying our best, practicing without attachment to the outcome. And that is one beautiful way to find freedom. So some things to ask yourself when considering true liberation moksha during this beautiful holiday is, where do I feel most free? What conditions do I believe I need to feel liberated?
[00:17:33] And where can I release attachment, an outcome, a narrative or A fear. You might also consider from question one of where do I feel most free? What are the most liberatory spaces in your life? Are they within a specific community?
[00:17:50] Are they within creativity, within nature, within activism, spiritual practice, your yoga community, all of these places, all of these activities, all of these little hubs can fuel and provide a container for this sense of self liberation. So I have a few closing thoughts. Just a reminder that liberation isn't a destination.
[00:18:17] Like many things in yoga, there's no end point, it's a practice. So it's something that we show up to every day. We show up to letting go of ego, we show up to letting go of fear. We show up to living in alignment with our purpose. And we might not show up perfectly, but showing up in itself is oftentimes enough. It's enough to initiate change, to initiate this opening, this ability to receive, connect with and remember the freedom that is already within us. I invite you during this season, this holiday, to continue reflecting on what freedom truly means to you. And I'll also invite you to consider that personal freedom is intrinsically connected with collective freedom. If we're not all free, no one is truly free because we are a part of a whole. We are all connected. So yes, I've offered these practices today, but also, what are some ways that you are able to tap into freedom, to moksha to liberation, not just for yourself, but for the community at large. And I know that we cannot save every person. But maybe within your dharma, your purpose, there is a community that you feel very passionate about. Maybe it's children, maybe it's people in Palestine, maybe it's the houseless within your own community. Where can you offer your heart and your services in the most beautiful way? And remember also, we do this hopefully in a way that's selfless and without attaching too hard to the results. We keep trying, we keep showing up, even if things don't end up exactly as we want them to. I'll invite you to end here today, maybe taking just a few deep breaths, knowing that you can access this breath anytime, it's completely free to you. And notice how this deep breathing can bring about a sense of freedom, of liberation, of space, of peace. And I invite you to bring that into your life whenever you remember to, whenever you need it the most. I hope that you have a beautiful holiday. If you celebrate that, you can find this inner sense of liberation and also connect to your yoga practice in this deep and beautiful way. Until next time. Om Shanti, Om Peace.
