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Courage

by Viki Distin

Cascade Yoga Studio teacher, Viki DistinI have lived the majority of my life in fear - mostly of physical harm to me or my loved ones. It’s a conditioned response I learned as a child, and was likely carried down by many generations. Yoga is instrumental in retraining my body and mind to connect with the world around me. This is a lesson taught poignantly by renowned yoga teacher Judith Lasater.

I love Judith's personal account of her yogic path in her book, Living Your Yoga.

She takes the ancient wisdom of yoga philosophy using Patanjali's yoga sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, and intimately applies it to her life.

I read this book early in my yogic journey. She was able to make sense of the teachings using her own life experiences, and it helped me be less intimidated by the sometimes esoteric material offered by the yoga sages.

My favorite chapter in the book was the one on courage. She got my attention when she said;

“....after the ability to love one's self and others, courage is the second most important quality to cultivate in life...courage depends on your interdependence with people and things. You must contemplate deeply to understand that when you do what is possible, you are not in a free fall, but are cradled by your interdependence with the world around you.”

I believe that as my practice deepens there’s the potential for experiencing this “cradling” sensation so I can live a life full of unlimited possibilities. Rather than displaying a sense of bravado to the world, I can cultivate a true courage that’s rooted in trusting that the world is a good place and is able to support me.    

Indeed my practice thus far has led me toward this intention. My husband has noticed on many occasions where my typical response was to bail, I instead followed through with something frightening. For example I have swam in dark caves while vacationing in Belize, white water rafted in Colorado, parasailed, jumped off high towers for zip lining, and snorkeled in treacherous waters without a guide. For most people these things might seem tame, but for me they were transformational. 

Judith talks about using appropriate boundaries while investigating our response to living a courageous life. She says we need to be able to discriminate between being courageous and being foolish.

Some good questions to ask ourselves are:

- What’s possible?

- What’s in my heart?

- Is it appropriate for me? 

- Do I trust the teacher or situation?

- Do I need more help than what’s being offered? 

She explains that true courage doesn’t come from an avoidance of looking stupid, and that when you act from true courage, the people, tools, and inner knowing are available for you. 

Another arena that requires courage is on our yoga mats. Perseverance in our yoga practice can be very challenging, especially when our yoga mats morph into mirrors. These mirrors can show us what's needed in our lives and where we may need to change. 

It’s so interesting that while yoga requires a courageous attitude to continue on this sometimes difficult path, it simultaneously generates the courage we need to do it!

Living a courageous life doesn't mean that you won’t be afraid, but that you’ll carry on regardless of the fear. 

Lastly, I found it interesting that Judith teaches us that the quality of courage resides in the heart. A big piece of the yoga pie is reserved for cultivating heart qualities. As we deepen our commitment to this practice, we’ll notice how courage will deepen as well. 

As we feel more connected with the world around us, who knows what external and internal adventures await us.