Bruce Springsteen as YOGA

CONFESSION:  I am a HUGE Bruce Springsteen fan.  

This is a picture of the first Bruce Springsteen album in my collection, and actually the first album I purchased for myself with my own hard-earned babysitting money.  It was the fall of 1975, I was entering my senior year of high school, and met my husband at that time.  Actually, the first conversation I had with “that new boy” at the back of the cross country bus that eventually became my husband and the father of my two children was about Bruce.  He had this “Al Pacino as Serpico” look going on at the time.  Who could resist?

So what does this have to do with YOGA?

To put it mildly, I have see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live quite a few times over the past 38 years.  For me, there is something about a live Bruce experience that is unequaled.  For 3 hours, I am mesmerized, in the moment, without thoughts of the bad day I had, no thoughts of tomorrow’s meetings, no listening to my inner critic, or thinking of what I should be doing instead.  I feel alive, hopeful, elated, energized, and exhausted.  I feel connected to the crowd as we move as one organism.  The energy is tangible.  It reminds me that I am just a part of something much bigger than myself.  Body, Mind, and spirit are in perfect UNION for every moment of the concert.  UNION = YOGA.

Everyone has their “own” YOGA.  What floats YOUR boat?  For my husband, it is a great Celtics game at the Garden, or watching the beloved Pats on a Sunday afternoon in the comfort of our living room.  It is also when he is in the midst of training for or competing in a triathlon, or on the phone with either of our adult children.  He is totally consumed, in the moment, giving his full attention, body, mind, and spirit.   YOGA. 

Did you ever wonder why you can listen to a really good comic that captures your attention for a full 20 minutes, makes you laugh the entire time, but afterwards you know that it was incredibly funny but you can’t specifically recall any of the jokes?  Fully immersed in the experience, UNION of body, mind, and spirit?  YOGA.  

Can you can recall for yourself a similar sensation, and what it is that helped you reach that state?  Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to create this UNION for yourself at any time?  No pricey concert or sporting event tickets, no crowds, not dependent on anybody else being available, independent of your physical location, what you are wearing, (or not)?  What if you could create this UNION of body, mind, and spirit anywhere for yourself on demand?  

We come into this physical earthly experience in a state of UNION, body, mind, and spirit.  Each of us has the capacity to restore this UNION with PRACTICE…. the PRACTICE of yoga.  The more frequent the practice, the more easily this state of UNION can be achieved.  The more frequent the practice, the longer the actual sensation will naturally sustain itself in your everyday life.  Sitting in your car, standing in line at the supermarket, relaxing in your lounge chair on the beach, even sitting at your desk at the office - there are plenty of easy techniques you can practice to create this sensation for yourself, just by being mindful, through the practice of YOGA. 

What are you waiting for?