How yoga has affected my life By Mickey Schwartz After a number of classes I began to understand that yoga wasn’t only about exercise and becoming more flexible. Listening to Chaya at the beginning of class, and at her suggestion reading the ancient Indian philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita, something began to change inside of me. I could gain some control over my life because there was always a choice to make; you just had to learn how to make the right choices. The next step was to try to integrate this into my life. I spend a lot of time in my car commuting to Queens so I decided to turn my driving into a laboratory for change. Why did I get so upset when someone cut in front of me or tailgated? Did they think that they were better than me or it was O.K. for me to be late but not for them? I realized that it felt like an assault on my ego. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that in order to make the right choice he must detach from his ego. It wasn’t easy but I began to try “egoless driving”. When someone cuts in front of me, I have the choice to get angry and do something dumb or to just let it go. By keeping my ego out of it and telling myself that it’s not about me but only about the other driver, I was able to just let it go. It doesn’t make the commute fun but it is definitely less stressful. Yoga and studying the teachings of the Baghavad Gita has also helped me with more serious problems. At work, my Uncle needed to be fired and it was my responsibility to do it. It was something that he had brought upon himself and it had been brewing for a long time. Although it is always unpleasant to fire someone, I was always able to do what was necessary, but he was my Uncle and one of my teachers and I was frozen into inaction. I know it sounds silly, but I began to identify with the problems that the warrior Arjuna faces in the Bhagavad Gita. As the owner of the business it was my duty to perform this task just as it was Arjuna’s duty to go to war against his relatives and teachers. They had brought the problem upon themselves just as my Uncle had. My meeting with my Uncle was one of the most difficult things that I have ever done, but I fired him. By following the Gita’s teaching of Karma Yoga (the path of right action), even though it was very upsetting, I was able to overcome my guilt and choose the right action. I’ll end with a more pleasant story. We bought new beds and dressers at Ikea for our twin teenage daughters. The furniture needed to be assembled and I was able to put together both beds and one dresser the first weekend. One daughter had to continue to live out of plastic bags for a week but I promised her that I would put her dresser together the following weekend. The following Saturday came and went. Saturday night was a late night at an out-of-town High School Marching Band competition and Sunday was fading fast. I had made a promise but I was set for the night in my favorite spot on the couch with the TV remote control. But then I remembered the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita about choosing the right action and dedicating the reward of that action as a gift, as an offering. I got off the couch and assembled the dresser. By keeping in my mind that this was a gift to my daughter, an experience that would normally have made me cranky and grouchy was transformed into an act of love. The added flexibility from my yoga practice also helped with the strange body contortions required to assemble the furniture. I have learned that the time spent trying to connect with myself has made me feel more connected to others. Thank you, Chaya.
Student Stories:
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Yoga began for me on a Sunday afternoon in the summer of 2005 when, after much coercing by my wife, Cheryl, I attended a 3-hour workshop at Shree Yoga. I enjoyed the class and learned more than I expected but it didn’t really hit me until the next day at work. All morning, people were telling me how relaxed I looked. I never look relaxed at work! Maybe there was something to this yoga stuff. I decided to join Cheryl on Saturday mornings and it was amazing how, after each class, a week’s worth of stress would just drain right out of me. An added bonus was the time that Cheryl and I were able to spend together.
