This has become a yoga blog!

Rewilding. This idea of deconstructing the constraints we have put on ourselves to allow what is naturally within us to emerge; this is yoga. My fascination with Rewilding is really a fascination with yoga. The same idea but using different language.

*I am not speaking of the physical practice of yoga, which is called asana. Asana is one small portion of a larger spiritual practice that is yoga. In the west we hear yoga and think stretches and a work out, but this is simply not true. I will explain my definition of yoga in a bit!

I frequently have the feeling that there are no original ideas left to have in the world. With how many millions of people in the world over the thousands of years of human existence, it’s pretty damn egocentric to think that you can find something totally original in this world. There is absolutely reframing, reshaping and recycling of ideas through original thought, but the foundation likely already exists.

Whether this is a tapping into the universal consciousness or simply something we have unconsciously absorbed from around us, I don’t know. Either way, I believe when we learn to get quiet and listen, the universe will share incredible wisdom with us. Sometimes it is through people, sometimes a source of information (book, podcast, show), and sometimes through experience.

As I have been writing, I keep being led back to yoga. Every thought I get stuck on seemingly has a solution in this spiritual practice that has been around for thousands of years. One definition of yoga is the study of the self. (There are many definitions for yoga, this is the one that resonates with me currently) And when you have thousands of years to sit with the self, apparently questions get answered!

I’ve found this with pain as well. When I start down a road that is scientifically driven, I end up at a dead end. Eventually I find a back alley and it almost always has been yoga. I will dive into the science and surface into the spiritual. This doesn’t necessarily mean yoga is the answer. Almost all spiritual practices and philosophies are rooted in the same foundation. Pain and suffering are often strong influences in those foundations, hence why I keep being led here as I study pain. Humans have always been seeking an understanding of pain to minimize it in our lives. We inherently seek pleasure and avoid pain. Yoga has a lot to say about that but we will leave it for another day!

I will always be driven by intellect, it is my nature. This leads me to feeling more comfortable looking through the lens of science. But this only takes me so far. What has helped me the most is being okay with science and spirituality mixing together.

This awareness that I do not have to choose between the two, has shifted how I get to play in both worlds. Science is a world where we want to figure everything out. Spirituality is a world that reminds us it’s all a mystery. Again, dichotomies that require each other to function. I have lived a lot of my life thinking the science and spiritual should never cross. They were too opposite to play nice. But over and over I am learning that opposites are only such when we expect them to be.

So call it what you want, science, yoga or spirituality. It’s all a seeking of truth. We are all just standing on different viewpoints. Our perspectives are all different but we are all looking towards the same horizon.

Right now, I’m standing on the viewpoint of yoga and it is truly beautiful. Seeing my world through this lens has shifted me in ways I cannot express fully. If you know yoga well, you will see it popping up everywhere in my writing. If you are not familiar with yoga, that is okay too! Yoga is everywhere, but it is called many things. I bet you know more about yoga than you think!

Rewilding is yoga, yoga is rewilding. It’s a bit embarrassing that it took me this long to link two things that have been so present in my life lately! So welcome to my new yoga blog which is simply my thoughts on how yoga is helping me make sense of everything in my world!