> Index of articles

Dear stretchers – and future stretchers…

Whatever activity we decide to perform it will have different effects on different levels of our being. If we sing there is a memory of the meaning of the words and the melody, which may either make us laugh and be happy, or sad, we may feel calm or become energetic. The vibration caused by singing makes us aware of the body, for example the face, mouth, throat, chest and stomach. It may make us aware of how deep or how shallow our breathing is. We may become ashamed at the sound we make and begin to be self-critical or we may be inspired to sing more often. We may feel timid if singing in the company of others.

All this arises by simply singing! And I have not yet mentioned the energetic (pranic) effect of sound on the mind and the body.

Beginning to stretch in 1983, I became aware how out of touch I was with the body, which was very stiff and painful. The enormous effort that it took me to stretch the body, experiencing states of anger, frustration, elation, sadness, shame, relief. The mind swung constantly between being attracted to what I was doing and feeling, and to rejecting whatever didn’t please me. This constant movement of the mind between attraction (raga) and rejection (dwesha) is something we all share, along with animals, since the beginning of life on this planet. It is part of our animal nature.

My reason to begin stretching was the stiffness in my left elbow, the actual experience vastly broadened my awareness to the rest of the body, making me aware how the mind was reacting, during as well as afterwards. We have all had this experience when the beginning to stretch. Being ruled by raga and dwesha the conclusions arising after a stretch class will be coloured by one or the other. Many will want to walk away from what they have experienced, to seek something more pleasurable with less effort, others become aware that they are feeling much better and that in walking away or deciding not to repeat the experience, they will be taking all their tensions with them, possibly to the grave!

The aim of stretching, or yoga is to gain freedom from the conditioned mind whereupon a higher Self can be experienced, maintained and life involves less physical resistance, learning to move with the flow of life rather than attempting to swim against the current.

What is it that influences these conclusions, apart from raga and dwesha?

The mind is made up of consciousness containing memories of all the impressions you have ever experienced, in this life. It fluctuates between the past and the future, but stretching is one method of keeping it fixed on the present. There are 4 aspects of the mind: manas (the aspect that sees or experiences something, via the senses); chitta (the filing cabinet containing all the impressions we have had in the present, storing them for future use); ahamkara (the ego or sense of I in relationship to the material world; the individual identity); and buddhi (which recognizes and understands our human nature, intellect and higher intelligence).

What does this mean as far as our actions and reactions are concerned?

An example: manas sees a chocolate cake; chitta remembers the previous times that a chocolate cake was eaten; ahamkara recognizes if this was a nice experience or not and if it wants to repeat it; buddhi steps in with the awareness that this might not be such a good idea at the moment. If budhhi is weak, you will probably eat a piece the cake. If ahamkara is very strong, you will probably eat the whole cake!

Stretching is only one aspect of the chocolate cake…

Stretching the body, making it feel better is extremely popular indicating not only our love of the body, but also our relationship to the material existence (anamaya kosha). But the stretching of the body alone will not make changes to the composition of the mind, although it will make you more aware and feel better. If you want more long term harmony and balance, you will need to use different forms of yoga.

It is possible to learn all kinds of complex physical movements, but remain trapped between raga, dwesha and the limited sense of ‘I’, the ego. There has been incredible technological progress around the world, a material and intellectual evolution, whilst each day there is evidence of people behaving like animals, or worse. The process of evolution has been lopsided.

Saving the environment begins with changing your own environment…

Mental and spiritual evolution of the limited self is as important, if not more important than saving the environment. It is the ego-centricity of mankind, the greed and love of power which is causing disastrous damage and imbalance to the environment.

The journey of becoming more balanced, caring people has to begin somewhere and the reorganization, the enlargement of consciousness begins when we stretch the body.

Pranayama will balance the fluctuations of the mind, the hormonal system and remove toxins from the body. Yoga Nidra will neutralize past psychic tensions in the unconscious whereupon they no longer influence you in the present.

My decision to continue stretching was not based upon whether I enjoyed myself or not. I knew this was not a form of entertainment. But over the years the fluctuations between raga and dwesha have become less dominant in my life. I do things now more because I feel that they need to be done (the buddhi aspect of the mind).

Becoming much more aware of the workings of my ego, I am more often able to prevent my thoughts and actions becoming ego-centric, and alas sometimes I fail!

For most people stretching is a kind of sport, for others it’s a ‘quick fix’ for some physical problem, so that they can get on with leading an unbalanced life.

When you stretch you touch your whole being. Learning to listen more to the heart than to the head.THE MIND - FRIEND OR FOE?

Buddha is quoted as saying that the body is a reflection and an expression of the mind. The mind is a collection of memories, impressions and patterns of behaviour. Each time you experience something the mind reacts according to whether it has had a similar experience previously, if it has not, then it stores up information for future reference. The body, along with its many physiological functions, is affected by what the mind experiences. For example, when you are angry the body becomes hot, the heart beats faster, the veins open up allowing more blood to circulate and the breathing changes. This can only be considered 'pathological' when you hold on to anger, or sadness, for a long period.

During the years that I have been stretching, I have observed that it is not only my body that has learned how to let go of old traumas, but that my mind also can more easily adapt to changes, to disturbances and to disappointments. I have become more emotionally balanced and fall ill a lot less than I used to. Stretching has made me more supple both mentally and physically. I have seen the same process occur in many of the people who attend the stretch classes, in the same way that I have watched the increasing physical and mental inflexibility of those around me who do not stretch regularly.

In a world in which we are encouraged to be what we are not, to exceed our limits in our endeavours, at work or at home, I see how essential stretching is for a greater degree of harmony, both within and without. More importantly, stretching gives you the choice of how you want to feel about yourself and about your life. The world around takes on another perspective when you are feeling balanced, strong and flexible.

But very often the level of conflict within ourselves, and in the world around us, takes on such proportions that the slightest change can lead to panic and more confusion. The balanced feeling you experience after a stretch class will not stay with you if you do not make stretching a regular occurrence, in the same way that you sleep and eat regularly. Also, the resistance or pain that you may experience in some of the positions will not disappear just by deciding not to practice those positions. It will merely return to the background and become unconscious once again. My own experience, as well as those who have been stretching regularly, is that pain and resistance go way when you are not afraid to look at them and understand how they are being maintained, and find out why you have given them a place in your body and mind in the first place. The electrical impulse for pain is exactly the same as that for pleasure. It is the mind that translates the impulse into one or the other.

Many people in the world feel very insecure; uncertain about the direction their life will lead them, and are afraid. One thing we can all influence or change is the way we feel, think and act. We are the captains of our own ship and, in the words of Nelson Mandela, "It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us"

David Lonsdale
August 2007