My Own Private Temple

Since this is still National Yoga Month, I want to take this opportunity to expand on one aspect of yoga which I have found so beneficial. I call it the spiritual aspect of yoga. Last week was Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews, and I was at a yoga class in the morning while most of the Jews I know were in temple. Did I feel that was wrong? Not at all. I was immersed in personal meditation, something I try to do daily that gives me a feeling of peace and well being.

The yogi who led our practice talked about making a monthly committment, something like a New Year's Resolution, but only for a month. She said it could be something as simple as flossing your teeth every day, or something extremely difficult. I thought about what I could commit to do for one month, throughout the practice. I also thought how similar the various religions and spiritual practices are in what they ask us to do. Catholics have Lent, where they commit to give up something, we all talk about New Year's Resolutions every year, and many Jews at this time of year also talk about commitments for the next year. I like the idea of making a one month commitment, as it's alot more realistic. Most resolutions are short lived. They are just too daunting.

Practicing yoga instead of sitting in temple also made me realize that love and inner peace come from within us all, not some external sermon. I'm not disputing the important place religion plays in many of our lives, but for me meditation has taken me to the place I want to be. It has also given me strength. That's a great feeling.

So what did I decide to commit to? I thought about commiting to writing for 30 minutes a day, but said no, as I will probably do that anyway. I settled on making a commitment to call a friend every day. That is something I don't often do anymore. Communicating by e-mail, text, and voice mail has taken the place of real conversations. I think person to person communication is disappearing. So, I will call someone every day for the next month, and I'll try to call people that I don't call very often. That is my commitment for the next month, one that I made on Yom Kippur. I may even call you!!