Pushing Back the Veil? • 23 January 2008

What is practice?

1. a self-soothing routine we use to build up a stable, continuous sense of self in the face of uncertainty
2. a forum for pursuing a vision of perfection
3. an arena for self-mastery
4. competition
5. PERFORMANCE, duh
6. a systematic daily pushing back of the veil between consciousness and the unconscious

Yeah. REALITY CHECK on aisle six!

Given the possibilities (and here are some other definitions of practice), isn’t it wildly self-congratulatory to say what we do is number six?  

What exactly does it take for any systematic action to be “practice” as self-inquiry? In other words, under what conditions can we actually honestly push back the veil into the shadowy places?

What energies (perfectionism, nervousness, sloth, disbelief, willful shallowness?) will sabotage practice and merely deposit new neuroses behind the veil?

Can anything (asana, pranayama, sitting, writing) be practice? What actions are most likely to make for good practice? What activities are least likely?

Oh, And is the new mantra of Yogaworks—“practice makes yoga”—anything other than a backwards double-double-entendre, spiritual materialism, and a craven appeal to the unconscious? Come on ladies: get a practice—everybody’s got one! Get perfect!