Concept

In many parts of the world be it: Vancouver, Bali, Thailand, Toronto, Hawaii, New Zealand, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Halifax or Montreal, Enlightenment is a concept known far and wide, but few people have been able to define it, let alone achieve it. 

To some, it means connecting to God; to others it means attaining inner peace; and still to others it is achieving omnipresence and full awareness of the physical world. 

Surely, one of the only things most people in search of enlightenment can agree on is that it is a process. A divine destination with as many paths leading toward it as there are people searching along those paths. 

Yoga 

There are many yoga teacher training at the 200 hour or 300 hour levels or even a yoga therapy training program but yoga is just one of those paths to enlightenment. Beginning with the physical practice of asanas, we are able to prepare the body and open the channels in preparation for a spiritual awakening, also known as enlightenment. 

As a perfect example, B.K.S. Iyengar, the founder of Iyengar yoga came to the practice as an unhealthy child who could not even touch his toes. He used the physical practice of yoga to strengthen his body, because, as we hear in the video from Guru Sharan Anan: “If the body is not healthy, what can you think of philosophy?” 

Means

This means that we must meet our most basic needs first – the physical – before we can graduate to more complex ideas and a higher understanding. 

B.K.S. Iyengar believed so fully in this concept of physical well-being, that he introduced straps, blocks and bolsters to anyone who wanted to learn yoga and needed support in doing so. 

Thus opening up the physical channels, leading to the possibility for mental liberation and spiritual awakening. 

Body

Once the body has begun to open, we can focus more readily on the mind. Enlightenment happens only when we are able to control our thoughts, heal, and release ourselves from the chaos of everyday life. 

This is in no way a simple task, and can take years to accomplish. In combination with the physical practice of yoga, the mind begins to focus more readily on the self, bringing our attention inward to healing – arguably the most difficult task along the path to enlightenment. 

Shed

Only when we have shed our mental baggage – “what we are not” – can we move forward to the spiritual awakening that we desire. 

Finally, the search for enlightenment brings us a sense of awareness, acceptance, and unconditional love; the fruits of a sort of spiritual curiosity. 

The search for this truth is seen all around the world in many religions, and cannot be pinned down to any one local. 

Other Religions

Whether it be through Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Islam, the most common theme across religions is the concept of unconditional and universal love. It is the universality of the search for God and spiritual understanding that is arguably one of the key things that makes us human, and ultimately what can deliver us to enlightenment. 

Through this oftentimes lifelong process of physical practice, mental training, and spiritual awakening, we can begin to understand what enlightenment truly means. But for now, the journey really is just as important as the destination.