Living Yoga

I just began reading the book The Secret Power of Yoga by Nischala Joy Devi.  It is a translation, or interpretation if you prefer, of the Yoga Sutras, the original philosophical texts that are considered the spiritual foundation of a yoga practice.  It is required reading for any yoga teacher training program whether you believe in the spiritual aspect of a yoga practice or not.

Nischala Joy Devi’s translation in The Secret Power are from a feminine, heart centered and positive prospective.  Now, this doesn’t sound like something I would normally go for because I don’t even like chick flicks, but I was intrigued and picked up a copy.  I just began and plan to devour it slowly but what struck me already was her choice to use positive words in place of negative words.  In the introduction she mentions that in the original sutras (from a masculine perspective) a word translates to “non-stealing,” but that even though there is a “non” in front of it, our eyes & mind focus on the negative part “stealing.”  Nischala swaps “non-stealing” with words like “honesty,” “generosity,” and “integrity.”

This made me think about all the many ways in our society we focus on negative things instead of the positive.  On the news there are far more stories about war and crime than there are about generosity and charity.  I have to admit that I’m addicted to Lost and 24, both shows loaded with testosterone filled violence, I enjoy being shocked and on the edge of my seat.

Only 16 pages into it and The Secret Power of Yoga has already got me thinking.  Fighting violence and negativity with more of the same, only gets you double the negativity and violence.  I’m glad Nischala made her version of the Sutras positive.

In what ways can we start swapping negative words out with positives?