The Autistic Yogi Reflects on Self Mastery

Self mastery is the essential reason that I embarked upon a deeper journey into Yoga and it has been one amazing journey of navigating hills, cliffs, straight stretches of road.  I think I am well on the way of mastering my inner struggles, that is to say that I am finding it easier and easier as I practice and age to be settled even though the journey is tumultuous. Now and again an obstacle comes across my path that reminds me of the fallibility of our human nature and it is in these moments that I see the work that a continued practice of yoga has to offer.

Certainly yoga is not just about the self, but is about how we are in the community and sometimes I think we can lose site of this. I recall my certifying instructor Tracy Mann saying 'The byproduct of your yoga should be better relationships'.. We should certainly be able to relate better with ourselves and others around us. Our breathing should be a little bit easier to tap into when the stresses of life come.

My yoga journey is not about getting into ever more complicated postures but being able to be a better person within myself and externally to all those around me. The liberation I saught on my initial journey was to be free from an internal anger and wrong perception of how I fit into the world.

Make sure that your yoga journey does not just include asana but has a rooted contemplation and dialogue of ethics, both for yourself and your community.