"Spiritual director" is a term for someone who companions someone else on their exploration of how the divine is moving in their lives. Most commonly known in the Catholic monastic tradition, monks and nuns who spent a lot of time in meditation and prayer would check in with a superior to guide them on the path. Also a universal phenomenon, most religions and cultures have a way of making space for spiritual seekers to have conversation and receive insight from someone else about how they are using ritual and making choices.
At this point in my life, I feel called to offer spiritual direction and to teach yoga. The two have common ground in Sutra II.1. Tapah Svaadyhaya Isvarapranidhana Kriya Yoga. This means that we follow a discipline, we practice self-reflection, and we acknowledge a divinity.
Certainly, it is clear in the U.S. today, from stereotypical yoga, that the postures take discipline and practice. And one pretty soon finds out that self-awareness is helpful and surfaces whether one is seeking it or not. Emphasizing faith in the divine is not common in all yoga classes today, and yet many teachers creatively slip it in, especially as Anusara teachers remind us: "Open to Grace!"
In a parallel way, a healthy prayer life has the discipline of a regular practice. This might mean attending Taize services, walking the Labyrinth, or doing daily private scripture reading. Also, a healthy prayer life includes space for self-reflection: we allow humbling insights to show us our patterns and convert us to new ones. Finally, a healthy prayer life means we surrender to a higher power and acknowledge that we are not the master of all things.
On Saturday night at 8 pm, I joined the "Coming of Age" teens at the Unitarian Universalist church during their overnight "lock-in", and offered them an experience of yoga and discussion of spiritual practice. I used Kriya yoga to frame the discussion, because I believe those three elements are present no matter what path a person chooses.
So, I wish for each of us, whether we call ourselves yogis or not, to know the richness of Kriya Yoga: that we make time for a discipline that purifies our body and mind, that we attune to our inner workings, and that we take faith in that which is greater than we are.
In coming days and weeks I hope to add more reflections here about tapas, svadhyaya, and Isvarapranidhana and how each of them shows up in the postures and in our lives, and the Sanskrit etymology.
