Beginning to work with story

It is safe to say that many of us come to the practice of yoga because of story. It might be one of dissatisfaction in our life, weather through a physical injury or perhaps a sense that there is a lack of meaning in the things that we do. Alternately, the story could be about an incredible, exotic and transofmative practice that we call yoga and we come to the practice from a place of feeling very curious about what this is all about.

Often, we experience very positive shifts as a result of a yoga practice. However, when the practice does not match up to our expectations, we feel somehow cheated. From a yogic perspective, it is always when story(what we expect) and reality(what actually happens) don't match up that we are unhappy.

We are taught through yoga to neither cling or grip to stories that we like and also not to retract or move away from those stories that we don't like so much. In essence, to remain non-reactive to whatever comes up in our life is what will lead us out of suffering and to a place of peace and contentment.

Now, this is much easier said than done. These instructions seem to lead us to a passive and inactive life. We know, however, that yoga is a practice of action and that through yoga, we are lead to take right action in all the facets of our lives.

Now, I happen to be quite fascinated with story. I love to listen to the stories that others may have to share with me. I have formally studied storytelling practices in the form of theatre and arts and I continue to be a student and avid observer of the way in which our stories shape us. I am learning more and more everyday that story is one of the most poserful driving forces behind human action.

For me, the instruction to simply not react presents a significant challenge. I have to ask myself, where do I start? On one hand, we can act with a complete lack of awareness of what stories do, on the other, it becomes possible to work with their power to transform our world. What happens in between? Of course, it is a process that has no tangible goal or destination as story continues to spring up with each new breath, blossom, rainstorm, meal, heartbreak, moment, birth, death, and beyond. For me, the process of identification and study of story spans those that tell of myth, legend, human and natural history, current event, personal life stories those of relationships, etc. How do I work with and through all this to figure out what to do?

I study the stories which are written down and famous, those which have been tested by time and have survived. Those that have come alive across the world in very diverse cultures.

I listen to those who want to share their stories, especially the young and the old, who's stories are not the same as mine.

I chose the stories that are allowed in, nurtured and fed. I must be careful not to foster those that feed my ego by keeping me in a sense of feeling very right about something.

I notice the story that hides in places where I may not have noticed them before... find the assumptions hidden in the sporting events, the billboards, the magazine covers and newspaper headlines, my own mind. I try to notice what these are leading me to believe and wonder what stories aren't being told in their place.

I gobble up stories that feed, nourish, inspire me as much as those that challenge and keep me sharp to the action that is needed in the world, that I might know what is right and continue to know as the world changes.

We live in a culture which, superficially sees things as black or white. The world we have created is of good and bad, of right and wrong, where positions are what define us. It is very easy fo find reason to seperate, segregate and point at others as the cause of our problems. When I follow this tendancy, stories do not serve me, any other person, my community or the planet. When I gently reverse this tendancy to seek and search for the comon threads that weave all our stories together, when I excavate until I understand in a new way, through a new story that we all share the experience of being human, of being alive, that is where the story works. That is where it is wonderfully helpful and useful.

Now, if this is going to work in the story that is my yoga practice, and more importantly, if this is going to translate into the world I continue to create, I must continue to be a student of the practice and to surrender to the journey it takes me on. I notice my reactions or stories as I practice yoga and meditation. I bait my mind and body into difficult situations to practice the way I respond to situations in my life, that I might act with courage, strength and grace. Because if the story of practice is teaching me anything, it is teaching me about my stories and about the story that I want to create and those I want to be a part of during this crucial time on earth.