Yoga is for everyone even though not all yoga practice are suitable for everyone

Yoga of self-inquiry and self-realization is for everyone, regardless of the different qualities of names and forms that present in the many different bodies and minds, regardless of the different degrees of ignorance and realization, regardless of the different conditions of the physical body and the different states of the mind, of different temperaments, personalities and characteristics, as well as regardless of the different conditions and situations of the surrounding environment.

Although, not all forms of yoga practice are suitable for everyone due to being limited by the different degrees of ignorance and realization, the different conditions of the physical body and the different states of the mind, of different temperaments, personalities and characteristics, as well as the different conditions and situations of the surrounding environment.

Regardless of what form of yoga practice that is suitable or unsuitable for the different bodies and minds being limited by the different qualities of names and forms, or what kind of yoga practice that is suitable or unsuitable in different conditions and situations under the influence of time, space and causation, all and everyone can practice yoga of self-inquiry and self-realization, of purifying, disciplining, quieting and silencing the modification of the mind, to annihilate ignorance and egoism, to realize selflessness and impermanence of all kinds of names and forms.

The practice of the elimination of egoism, is unlimited by any qualities of names and forms that is conditioned by time, space and causation, or selfless impermanent changes.

For example, someone who is suffering from certain illness, injury or limitation/disability in the present moment, or someone who has just eaten a heavy meal, or someone is not physically and/or mentally ready for certain teaching and/or practice, or there's no suitable time and space in the present moment, then certain type of yoga practice might not be suitable for this particular person under this particular condition and situation in the present moment. But then, it doesn't and couldn't stop this person from continuing practicing non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-comparison, non-judgment and non-expectation. It doesn't stop this mind from being in the present, without being determined or disturbed by the action (including inaction, or action that is not possible or not suitable in the present moment) and the fruit of action, without being determined or disturbed by the selfless mind perception of names and forms that are pleasant or unpleasant, agreeable or disagreeable, and desirable or undesirable.

Regardless of what is going on in the mind or in the surrounding environment, whether in action or in inaction, whether in calmness or in chaos, whether in joyfulness or in painful physical and/or mental suffering, yoga/the teachings of yoga/the yoga practice is there as it is, unlimited by time, space and causation, of ceaseless impermanent selfless changes, when the mind is free from the idea of 'I', egoism and the by-products of egoism.

Regardless of the different degrees of ignorance and realization in different minds, where some minds are free from the influence of ignorance, while some minds are under the influence of ignorance, and hence, there are different thinking, understanding, behaviors, desires, actions and inactions in different people, but then, all are the same impermanent and selfless names and forms, and all can be practicing yoga and realizing yoga, if they want.

The current pandemic situation has been affecting and changing many people's life. Especially in certain countries, where many different activities that used to be accessible for all, might be regulated under certain new rules and regulations now, where certain activities are becoming accessible or inaccessible for certain people due to their decision and action, where life is somehow becoming difficult or inconvenient for certain people who made certain decisions for action and inaction under their own particular thinking and desire, where certain activities such as 'physical in-person yoga activities' might be only accessible for certain group of people and inaccessible for other group of people regulated under the 'law' of certain countries, even so, all these rules and regulations can't stop anyone from learning, practicing, or realizing yoga.

For those who truly practice yoga, they make certain decision and perform certain action after weighing what is the most beneficial action that can help the world to move forward, that can help to minimize general healthcare system collapsing, and more importantly, that can help to lessen the financial, physical and mental suffering of many people being impacted by the pandemic situation, especially by the prolonged 'partial half-baked lockdown' in certain countries that doesn't work, but it has taken away many people's livelihood, where some people couldn't get through the challenging situation, and had chose to end their own lives.

For those who truly practice yoga and know what is the essence of yoga, which is selflessness, there's no such idea as 'This is my body, my choice, my freedom, my right' or 'I don't want to be the guinea pig for scientific testing that would benefit the next generations'. Although there's nothing wrong if some people are thinking in such way, and it's everyone's freedom for their particular thinking, belief, desire, action and reaction. Just that, if those who identifying themselves as 'sincere yogis who love yoga' or 'compassionate beings who advocate compassionate actions', but then, the minds are being occupied and influenced by such ideas to act and react, then they haven't realized the essence of yoga, of selflessness and compassion. Again, there's nothing wrong, and it's their freedom of thinking, desire and action/reaction.

For the minds that are free from ignorance and egoism, that realized selflessness and compassion, what is 'I don't want to be the guinea pig for scientific testing that would BENEFIT the next generations' or 'This is my body, my choice, my freedom, my right'?

This is not about 'right and wrong', 'good and bad'.

This is not about agreeing with or supporting corrupted authorization, oppression, discrimination or human rights infringement.

This is not about everyone, especially yoga practitioners, should 'sacrifice' themselves for others or to benefit others, in order to be portraying 'selflessness and compassion', or to be identifying as 'selfless compassionate beings', but it's about this mind knowing what is occupying and over-powering this mind that influence this mind's way of thinking, reasoning, judging, behavior, desire, action and reaction.

Yoga, or the teachings and practice of yoga, doesn't discriminate any names and forms, behavior, action/reaction. It exists particularly for the minds that are under the influence of ignorance and egoism. The minds that are already being free from ignorance and egoism don't need to learn, practice or realize yoga. There's no judgment of 'This is bad and wrong due to ignorance and egoism' or 'Being ignorant and egoistic is bad and wrong'. There's no authorization of 'This is wrong and sinful, and hence, it's punishable and suffering deserving' or 'People should think and behave like this, and shouldn't think and behave like that'. There's no discrimination of 'This is not qualified for yoga and yoga practice' or 'This is not eligible for realizing yoga, or unconditional peace'.

All and everyone who truly want to learn, practice and realize yoga, must be taught, or learn how to look into their own mind, to know what is going on in the mind; developing the foundation of self-control, self-discipline and self-independence; freeing the mind from being conditioned by all kinds of worldly passionate egoistic social, cultural, religious, spiritual and political thinking, belief, values and practice; purifying, disciplining, quieting and silencing the modification of the mind; practicing non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-comparison, non-judgment and non-expectation, to eliminate the idea of 'I' or 'the ego' and egoism; allowing the mind to be open, to be quiet, to perform self-inquiry inquiring towards the truth of names and forms, including the teachings of yoga, allowing the mind to see things as they are; to realize the truth of selflessness and impermanence; to be free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance.

If some minds who think and believe that they love yoga very much, that they are practicing yoga, that they are highly experienced and knowledgeable about what is yoga, but would be 'offended' by this teaching, that's their freedom of thinking, action and reaction. Just that this teaching might not be suitable for these minds, yet.

Everything has certain risks, including yoga practice

Any action that we perform and any decision that we make, even in some simple things like breathing, eating, drinking, walking, talking, opening and closing the door or window, cleaning, washing, or even sleeping, will have certain risks that we might not think of, not to say, for certain people who have certain physical or mental illness, injuries or limitations to be doing something, or for those who have certain allergic reactions towards certain elements in the surrounding environment, objects, sounds, smells, shapes, colours, images, food, drinks, drugs, medications, minerals or chemicals, and etc.

Even with sufficient understanding about our own physical body and mind and its ability and limitation in the present moment, as well as paying maximum attention while performing our yoga practice without forcing the body beyond its limitation, also cannot guarantee that there won't be any physical and mental unpleasantness or adverse reaction during and/or after the practice, not to say, when we have very little understanding about our own physical body and mind and its ability and limitation, or if we don't pay attention onto our practice, or pushing the body to go beyond its limitation, and/or without awareness towards certain risk factors that exist in the surrounding environment.

Some people are not suitable to perform certain yoga practice, while some people are not suitable to perform some of the yoga poses or exercises due to some existing physical and/or mental illness, injuries, or limitations. Not everyone have the same condition of the physical body or the same state of the mind. Even the physically and/or mentally fit people who first try to perform some of the yoga practice or yoga asana practice would also encounter certain unpleasantness or difficulty, and might even develop some adverse reaction during and/or after the practice, not to say, for certain people who are physically and/or mentally unfit, where they might encounter great unpleasantness and adverse reaction during and/or after the practice, which may take some time and regular practice for the body and mind to develop certain degrees of understanding, skill, technique, acceptance, familiarity, patience, tolerance, forbearance, adjustment, adaptation and accommodation towards the practice.

Does that means 'yoga practice', or 'yoga asana practice', or 'certain yoga practice and yoga asana practice' are something 'unsafe' or 'bad' for people, and people shouldn't practice yoga?

Again, it depends on the different states of the mind under the influence of different degrees of ignorance, some minds will think and say, "Yes. That means yoga practice is unsafe and bad for people. It may cause unpleasantness and adverse reaction to our body and mind. We all shouldn't practice yoga," while some minds have different understanding and say, "No. It doesn't. Everything has risk. We take risks at our own responsibility. There are many elements that can influence and minimize/maximize the risks to the minimum or maximum."

There are also many imperfect impure minds within the yoga community whose thinking, action and speech are not perfect, as well as scandalous misconducts existing within the world of yoga. It doesn't mean that 'yoga' or 'the teachings of yoga' is something 'wrong' or 'bad'. Although for those who don't have the basic correct understanding, they would think and say, "Yoga and the teachings of yoga must be so wrong and bad."

If the truth of something is 'nothing good but bad', then everyone who take that thing will all experience 'nothing good but bad reaction', and vice versa. Just like any kinds of drug or medicine might not be perfect or suitable for everyone. Everyone might react towards the same drug or medicine differently. It doesn't mean that the drug or medicine is something good or bad. It is neither good nor bad, but just having its own particular purpose and effect that might work differently on different individuals.

Whether we are aware or unaware of it, most of the time, we all are dealing with many kinds of risk assessment and risk taking while being existing and living in this world.

More importantly, it's about investigating the truth of everything via self-inquiry, measuring what will bring more benefits than harms, be bold and responsible to make any decision or perform any action in everyday life, while taking any potential risks that come along with making those decisions and performing those actions, without fear, blame and regret. It's also everyone's freedom of whether they want to take certain risks, or not.

There's nothing wrong if we don't know much about many things. There's nothing wrong to think and say, "I don't know," or "I'm not sure," as well as be open to inquire the truth towards something that we don't know and aren't sure about. It's better than blind-agreeing/disagreeing, blind-following, blind-practicing and blind-propagating something without thorough investigation towards the truth of it.

Unfortunately, many minds, including some yoga practitioners/teachers, are unaware of themselves are being influenced and conditioned deeply by certain stories, ideas and beliefs to reason and judge everything. While self-inquiry is about freeing the mind from the influence of any particular way of thinking, ideas and beliefs existing in the mind, to allow the mind to see things as it is.

'I' and 'impermanent selfless changes' and 'time'

The essential teachings in Yoga and Buddhism, is about selflessness and impermanence.

The essential practice in Yoga and Buddhism, is about purifying, disciplining, quieting and silencing the modification of the mind, or the perceptive cognitive assertive thinking faculty.

There's no 'I'.

There's neither 'I' am thinking nor not thinking.

There's neither 'I' believe nor don't believe.

There's neither 'I' am acting nor non-acting.

There's neither 'I' am giving nor receiving.

There's neither 'I' am enjoying nor suffering.

There's no 'I' am good or bad.

There's no 'I' to be going through impermanent changes of ceaseless births and deaths.

There's neither 'I' to be identifying with nor not identifying with the thought process.

There's neither 'I' am the thought process nor 'I' am not the thought process.

There's no 'I' to be aware or unaware of the thought activities.

There's no 'I' am observing or witnessing the thought process.

The 'I' or 'self', that the thinking faculty thinks and believes as 'an individual existence of I', is just an idea or a stream of continuous thoughts supported by the function of memory under the influence of ignorance.

From the idea of 'I', there arise egoism of attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, comparison, judgment, expectation and separateness within the modification of the mind, or the thought activities of the perceptive cognitive assertive thinking faculty, under the veil of ignorance.

There's neither 'I' am selfless nor 'I' am not selfless.

There's no 'I' realize selflessness.

It's just the perceptive cognitive thinking faculty starts to see the truth of things as it is.

It's just the mind being aware of the thought activities.

It's just the mind sees itself, or knows Thyself.

It's just impermanent selfless names and forms arising and passing away, forming, changing and deforming, under the influence of cause and effect, powered by energy and elements.

The realization of selflessness and impermanence leads to the realization of timelessness.

There's neither past nor future.

It's merely the mind perception of selfless impermanent changes of names and forms in NOW that gives rise to the idea of 'time'.

'Time' is merely the reflection of ceaseless impermanent changes of selfless names and forms, of selfless forming, changing, decaying, aging, dying, and deforming or disintegration, in all kinds of names and forms, regardless of sentient beings or non-sentient objects.

When the mind is silent, when there's no stream of continuous thought activities, when there's no recollection of memories, what is 'I'? What is 'individual identity and life existence'? What is 'impermanent changes'? What is 'time'? What is 'the world'? What is 'desire'? What is 'good'? What is 'bad'? What is 'fear'? What is 'guilt and regret'? What is 'positive and negative'? What is 'meaningfulness and meaninglessness'? What is 'happiness and unhappiness'? What is 'superiority and inferiority'? What is 'love and connection'? What is 'loneliness'? What is 'hurt'? What is 'pleasure and suffering'? What is 'end of suffering'? What is 'liberation'?

Do not blind-believing, blind-following, blind-practicing, or blind-propagating.

Inquire the truth of everything through self-inquiry and self-realization.

Go beyond the thinking, the beliefs, the identification, the aspiration, the inspiration, the perceived world of names and forms, the selfless modification of the mind.

Be free.

Letting go, is not weakness but the greatest strength

Letting go and moving away from one's native living environment that one cherishes and familiars with, without wasting energy and effort into fighting against ignorance and the consequences of ignorance that ceaselessly occupying that particular surrounding living environment, is not weakness at all. Instead, it's the greatest strength that allows oneself to move forward without fear and worry towards the unknown or uncertainty.

Choosing to move away from a living environment that is drowning in too much ignorance and the consequences of ignorance that directly and indirectly impacting one's over-all physical and mental well-being, and not wasting energy and effort into fighting against ignorance and the consequences of ignorance in the world, is not about running away from the perceived reality that is unpleasant, undesirable, disagreeable, or challenging. Fighting against the ignorance of others is completely useless, because none can remove the ignorance and the consequences of ignorance of other beings in the world.

Even though none can find any place in this world that is completely be free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, but one can appreciate the rest of one's life span by choosing to be in a space that has less ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, that allows possible constructive improvement in oneself and/or others, if that's possible. If it's not possible, then one can let it be. In the end, all are just selfless and impermanent changes of names and forms.

It's wisdom and compassion towards this mind, by conserving energy and diverting life and attention onto some other things and actions that would lead to more constructive improvement for over-all physical and mental well-being in oneself and/or some others, truly appreciating and making good use of this impermanent selfless life existence, if possible, without attachment.

Meanwhile for the many egoistic minds, letting go and choosing not to fight but to retreat, and being free from egoism of attachment, identification and expectation, without ambition to conquer the world to make the world 'mine' and 'to be the way that I desire and the way that I think how it should be', is weakness. That's their freedom of thinking, belief, values and practice.

It has to come from the mind's own awareness, initiative and effort to acknowledge the presence of ignorance in itself, to discipline and purify itself, to inquire the truth through self-inquiry and self-realization, and free itself from ignorance.

Being in a space that is full of ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, is like being on a ship in the middle of the huge ocean that is full of other human beings who think and believe that the ship belongs to them, and all have their own ambition to make the ship and all the others to comply to their own particular desire, way of thinking, belief, values and practice. Everyone also think that they love 'their' ship very much, but then, they don't really look after the over-all well-being of the ship as well as ceaselessly fighting and harming one another while trying to be the master of the ship, to be in power and in control of the ship and the occupants to become exactly the way that 'I' desire, where none welcome but would be offended by any wise advice for constructive improvement for oneself and others. Then, no matter how much energy and effort someone tries to put into looking after the over-all well-being of the ship, it's useless. Just let them have the ship for themselves the way that they desire.

If there are no other ships available, then one has no choice but remaining on that ship no matter how bad it is. But, if there's a possibility of another ship where there's less ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, where more people are self-initiated to be looking after the over-all well-being of the ship without the sense of belonging or authority, where most occupants don't have ambition to conquer one another to make the ship 'mine' or to make everyone complying to 'my desire, my way of thinking, my belief, my values and my practice', as well as welcoming others who would lead to all kinds of constructive improvements for the ship and everyone on that ship, then one can choose to be on that ship as well, where peace and harmony, wisdom and compassion are most welcome.

Maybe there are people who don't like peace and harmony, who don't appreciate wisdom and compassion, but they prefer life existence under the sense of authority and possessiveness, pride and arrogance, discrimination, oppression, intrusion, anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, violence, unrest, and all kinds of ignorance induced suffering. That's their freedom.

Some people might be thinking and believing that, "I am a compassionate being. I love this ship. This ship needs me. This ship is part of me. I am part of this ship. We are a family. I need to do my best to make improvement for this ship and all the others who are on this ship. I cannot abandon this ship and all the others who are suffering due to their own ignorance and the consequences of ignorance. It's selfish and cruel for me to abandon them while it's possible for me to be on another well looked after ship occupied by wise and compassionate occupants. And hence, I will not go anywhere else and would stay here and hope to make a change for better improvement on this ship. Someone has to be here to clean up the mess that created by others endlessly." That is people's freedom of thinking and action, though it has nothing to do with wisdom and compassion.

Under wisdom and compassion, unless one is incapable to do so due to some inevitable reasons, everyone learn to clean up their own body and the facility by themselves after peeing and shitting. Those who are not incapable to clean up by themselves, but merely reluctant to do so, while peeing and shitting everywhere as they like, or expecting some other people to do the cleaning up for them, and someone offers to clean up for them by thinking and believing that this is being kind and compassionate, but it's not. This is not about people don't need to be kind and generous towards one another if everyone is being independent physically, mentally and emotionally, or if none is needing any kind of help from others. It's a complete different story, if people are being generous and kind towards one another, where people would help one another when help is needed, or do something nice for one another randomly out of generosity and loving kindness.

Knowing the bowl that is shared among many others is full of stubborn impurities and cracks, due to many others ceaselessly staining and damaging the bowl as they constantly fight against one another to 'own' the bowl just for themselves in order to only put in specific food that they prefer and to gain certain personal benefits using the bowl, while none willingly to clean up and look after the bowl, but then someone is still hoping to clean up the bowl and repairing the old and new cracks caused by all the others, while putting in all kinds of well-prepared wholesome and clean food into the forever dirty and cracked bowl for oneself and the others, where many others don't want to consume that kind of food, where oneself and some others are actually ended up consuming the contaminated food and suffering for it, which is unnecessary, while hoping that somehow be able to 'transform' the dirty and cracked bowl into a clean and crack-less bowl 'one day', thinking that "This is 'our' bowl, I need to look after and protect this bowl no matter what," this is nothing but egoism of attachment, identification and expectation deriving from ignorance. 

It's the same as offering wholesome and clean food in a clean bowl to those who don't appreciate and don't want wholesome and clean food, and those who are already full with many food that they prefer, will only end up in the food being thrown away. But then the mind strongly thinks and believes that it is practicing compassion, and it keeps doing that, hoping that one day eventually, people would appreciate the wholesome and clean food in a clean bowl, it doesn't matter how much food and effort will be wasted. Why not offering the food to those who are hungry in the present moment, and those who are looking for and appreciate wholesome and clean food?

It's not discrimination, when you stop giving something to people who refuse to accept or don't want to receive the thing that you give, instead, giving it to those who need it and who want it. It's not non-compassionate when you allow everyone to learn from their own mistakes or consequences of ignorance, and learn to become independent physically, mentally and emotionally.

Ignorance

There's nothing wrong when the mind is being affected and disturbed by something that the mind perceives as unpleasant, undesirable or disagreeable, as the mind is not free from ignorance and egoism yet.

The difference between a mind that is free from being influenced by ignorance and a mind that is under the influence of ignorance, is whether the mind is aware of and understands that this disturbance is due to this mind itself is still not completely be free from ignorance and egoism yet, and hence, this mind will continue to work diligently to annihilate ignorance and egoism from itself, or, the mind firmly thinks and believes that this disturbance is due to all the unpleasant, undesirable and disagreeable happenings, actions/reactions and behaviors that this mind believes and judges as bad and wrongful deriving from the ignorance of other people in the world.