It’s easy to fall prey to the seductive lure of the ego; it covertly takes center stage as we ceaselessly search for that which is outside of ourselves. We find ourselves desperately clutching for things, people, positions, anything to shore ourselves up in the hopes of alleviating that dull aching pain of our perceived emptiness. As a collective we have been indoctrinated with the belief that more is better. We are in collusion with our own ego, believing that we need to be younger, more attractive, have more letters behind our name, have more commas in our bank account, or have more ‘likes’ on social media.
Occasionally we fall prey to our ego even on our very own yoga mat when we mistakenly believe that we need to move further into a pose, for instance, or push ourselves into a position that violates our body. We perhaps see the person on the mat next to us in class and suddenly feel as if we’re falling short. We are gripped by the illusion of lack.
Eventually, in total exhaustion from our quest, we surrender. Perhaps it is then that we begin the loving investigation into the Essential Self; that which cannot be added to nor taken away from. Is it not true that even when we lose a position in life or our financial wealth, or anything that we identify with, that our Essential Self is never touched by these temporal states of being? And is it not true that when we are stripped to the core of our Being, that what we essentially are still exists without qualifications; that we are whole and perfect simply because we exist?
Life is our teacher. Our yoga practice is our teacher. Yoga is about surrendering the ego, not propping it up. And perhaps it’s the case for many of us that we are led down a path of injury in our practice or we lose something or someone we have assigned great power to before we begin that inward journey. We are brought back to life, so to speak, in the aftermath of destruction. We pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and see clearly the sovereignty of the Essential Self; the one that is never born and never dies.
– Chrissy Leake
