yoga is applicable

I am writing this blog on the suggestion of several colleagues from various milieus.  I've been resistant to blogging thanks to my friend Devon Dikeou, an artist, with whom in 1997 I witnessed a dull, self-indulgent autobiographical performance piece depicting something or other.  Devon leaned over to me and whispered “if you are going to do autobiographical work, you’d better be interesting”.  Since a blog is a direct or indirect autobiographical work, and since being interesting is a debatable relativity, I'm still questioning.

The container of this blog is the relationship of two popular subjects that I am interested in--yoga and real estate. To me this relationship is neither remote nor plain, as yoga, depending on the way you define it, (see lower down) is not insular but at best applicable to all endeavors.  

Let’s start with some connections through definition:  

“Real” Property (the “real” in “real estate”) is basically land and what comes along with it--things that you can’t take with you.   The opposite of real property is personal property, a.k.a., your stuff that you pack up when you move.  Doesn’t the word “real” have a distinct weight to it?  After all, “real” in other contexts means authentic.

“Estate” means interest (right claim or privilege) in property, (real or otherwise).  “Estate” also infers what happens to that property, real or otherwise, when death occurs since at the end of the long day you can’t take anything with you.  In that sense, estate points to the expectation that “real” things will outlive a life.

“Real Estate” is land (and what comes with it) and one’s claim to it.  Didn’t Scarlett O'Hara’s dad tell her that land was the only thing that mattered?  Yes he did.  Much of our personal property or “personalty”, (not to be confused with personal*ity), or “chattel” if you want to be all 19th century about it, will fall apart before we do.  But we will fall apart before our land does.  Our species might fall apart before our planet does due to the strain we’ve put on the resources we need to live.  Our planet probably won't outlive the universe, and on.

Yoga is a more slippery word to define.  The way I first heard it is that the root of the word is “yuj”, related to the word “yolk” as in “to yolk a donkey to it’s cart” (*way back*) thereby connecting two things to make one thing.  Thus many people define the word yoga as “union”.  Union of what?  I teach hatha yoga which is the form of yoga practiced through physical poses, postures, seats, etc., called “asana”, and  through hatha yoga it is a popular quest to seek a union between the experience of the body and the spirit.  

There is an over arcing conversation in yoga regarding what has value; what is real and what is less real. For instance certain lineages suggest that since our physical body is impermanent it is distinctly separate from spirit and is intrinsically less valuable. There is a lineage that offers that the permanent is real whereas the impermanent is an illusion--this model connotes that our worldly life is false. For the record, I am not crazy about placing a lower value on our time living in this body because through this life we can and do have experiences of the spirit. I would also prefer to believe that our time here is real, not illusory. However, I do concede that there is a spectrum of value in life and a vast gradation between real and superficial.

Another way of understanding yoga is in the realm of transaction--how we relate to and with our world.  Professor Douglas Brooks speaks about how most everything in life involves transaction.  Thinking along those lines can be quite entertaining and revealing.  What do we desire?  What are we willing to put forth for our desires?  What do we hope to get back from our efforts? In this model we are in the proverbial driver’s seat and we can learn to transact with more skill if we choose to.  I like this model very much.  It breeds empowerment and accountability and increases the probability of navigating gnarly emotions, behavior and outcomes that inevitably befall each life.  

Real...value...transaction.  All words that are interchangeable between discussions of real estate and yoga. Hmmm.