The Cycles of Practice by Gabe Hopp

We are always in at least one cycle at any given time. There are so many ways to be in a cycle. There is the annual cycle of the year, monthly cycles of ovulation and menstruation, weekly cycles of work, daily cycles of waking and sleeping, sleeping cycles of REM, energetic cycles of motivation and those of lethargy, circadian and metabolic cycles of the body and seasonal cycles of weather, food, aging. To name a few!

One rhythm that I’ve been personally exploring is that of the breath cycle. This cycle occurs every few seconds! It’s a near constant opportunity to observe, watch, pay attention to one of our cycles. Inhale, pause. Exhale pause. Cycle complete. Begin again. Inhale, pause. Exhale, pause. And on and on.

Another circle that I’ve been talking about lately in my classes is the OM cycle. For a general understanding of Om and why we chant it in yoga classes, you can refer back to our previous post on the matter here. 

But, just for fun, let’s jump off on a little more esoteric note. We spell it OM, but in Sanskrit, it’s actually spelled A-U-M. The Om or Aum cycle has a clear beginning, middle and end, both in sound and vibration. In the Indian tradition of aum, the letter A represents Brahma, the creator. A, which occurs in the back of the throat, signifies the beginning or creation of a cycle. The next letter is U, connected to the Hindi deity Vishnu, the sustainer. U happens in the middle of the mouth and expresses the middle phase of both OM and the cycle. The final sound is Mmm which happens at the front of the mouth when we close our lips and close the cycle. M represents the Mahadeva, also known as Shiva, the god of destruction or endings. A-U-M; beginning-middle-end.

So, what do these cyclical patterns matter? The thing about a cycle, versus a linear experience of something, is that it will always come back around. We dread the brutal Nebraska winter as the “end” of the living natural world, but it’s part of the cycle of our areas’ ecosystem. Without winter, we couldn’t have spring, which we all know is the best season. And, so passes summer and fall and the cycle ends (or begins?) anew.

Why do we care and how does it apply to us in relation to yoga? In yoga we are bound to have periods of growth, vitality and vigor. Our tapas (inner fire) is strong and motivates us to practice with intensity and passion. Sometimes our practice just is. It’s not exciting or new and it’s also not dull or tired. It’s simply the sustaining phase in which we continue on because we must. We are also prone to cycles of lethargy, injury and stagnation, which can lead us to avoid regular practice and to wonder whether we’ll ever feel the joy we once felt from our yoga practice. These periods are challenging to overcome, but we are bound to move through each phase and on to the next. In a committed yoga practice, there is no beginning or ending, we simply ride the waves of the cycle.