School’s (almost) out for the summer, and we are ready to romp and frolic with you! Our theme this month is Lila (Sanskrit: लीला, IAST līlā): or Divine Play! Perhaps even more than the other concepts we’ve explored, Lila, translated as ‘Play”, “Sport”, “Spontaneity” or “Drama” is beautifully represented by Asana, the physical Yoga practice. Here at HYS, we love nothing more than to use our time on the mat as play! Exploring our bodies and breath with curiosity and joy, and doing so within a welcoming community co-creating an atmosphere of FUN, has always been at the heart of our mission. While there is “no winning in Yoga!” the physical exertion of “sport” is part of what makes the Asana limb of Yoga so intriguing. From the challenges and rewards derived from pushing our physical bodies to their edge to using our mind to surpass limiting beliefs to the many health benefits that accompany this exertion of and attention to the body, Asana represents some of the best aspects of Sport. In the traditional texts, Lila is defined (a bit more esoterically 😉 as a way of seeing all of reality, including the divine cosmos, as the outcome of creative play in which the Universe is simply God (Brahman) taking a physical form. As Ram Shanker Misra explains “Because Brahman is Perfection, there can be no purpose (our italics) of Brahman in creating the world. The world is a mere spontaneous creation of Brahman. It is a Lila, or sport, of Brahman. It is created out of Bliss, by Bliss and for Bliss.” Every once in a while it may be helpful to look at life, just like Yoga Asana, in this way. We are all here simply playing to learn and enjoy, to be in the Bliss.
Lila ~ The Joy of Divine Play
