If you’re ready to apply yoga philosophy to your own life—or teach it with clarity and feeling—my classes and workshops create space to sharpen your thinking, steady your inner life, and connect your practice to what matters now.
Do yogis go on vacations?
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Greetings Reader, A few weeks ago I spent the better part of an idyllic afternoon hanging out with a friend on a quiet veranda overlooking a stretch of woods behind my apartment complex. Our meeting was both pleasant and purposeful: our plan was to explore some ideas about how we could expand our support for the Free DC movement here in our besieged capital. But before we got down to the business of resistance, we took some time to catch up. I mentioned that my wife and I are planning a trip to Spain later this fall. “Oh, so you’re going on a vacation!” my friend exclaimed. She was excited for us. “Well, it’s not really a vacation.” I replied. “We’re going to visit a friend who lives on the Mediterranean coast just south of Barcelona and then check out the Alhambra on our way up to Madrid, stay there for a bit, and then come home.” My friend gave me that bemused look that you give someone when you can’t understand how they could possibly not understand something that’s obviously obvious, shrugged her shoulders as she flipped her palms up, and said, “That’s a vacation!” I thought about it for moment. It occurred to me that I might not know what a vacation is. Was I actually going to spend two weeks and change not working? Not writing? Not teaching? Not recording reels or writing carousels? Not developing the next workshop? It seemed . . . incomprehensible. Not because a temporary cessation of work never happens. I don’t work when we go to India every other year or so. Well, mostly. I think the cause of my confusion was the word “vacation.” Going on pilgrimage to India’s holy places is an amazing and spiritually invigorating experience, but trust me: it’s not a vacation; it’s an austerity. Going to a tropical paradise and falling asleep on a hammock with a book you were pretending to read resting on your chest and a half-consumed glass of fruit juice on the table next to you — that’s what I think a vacation is. If I’m right, then I’ve never taken a vacation. And since that’s not what I’ll be doing in Spain, I wasn’t really thinking of going to Spain as a “vacation.” But I guess that’s what it will be. Maybe I should expand my conception of what a vacation is. Do yogis go on vacations? According to the Bhagavad Gita, the answer might be, “Yes.”
“The state of yoga is never attained by one who either eats too much or abstains from eating, nor by one who either sleeps too much or remains ever awake. But for one who appropriately balances their eating, action, recreation, sleeping, and wakefulness, linking all such activities to the practice of yoga, all miseries are vanquished.” – BG 6.16-17 In this verse, “recreation” is a translation of the Sanskrit word vihārasya, which can also be translated as “pertaining to one’s sense enjoyment.” It’s accompanied in the verse by the word yukta, which, in context, means “proper” or “as needed.” Together, the phrase yuktavihārasya can be translated as “recreation as needed,” or “of one who’s sense enjoyment is proper.” In the context of yoga, “proper” enjoyment is a level of enjoyment that we need — rather than just want — in order to feel peaceful. It’s also a kind of enjoyment that we can connect to our spiritual practice. So, I guess yogis can go on vacations. And, since I don’t seem to know what a vacation is, I’m clearly overdue for one. But the whole idea is so foreign to me that I might not be able to do it correctly, which means I need to start practicing now if I want to vacation correctly when we go to Spain. So, I’m going to take two weeks off. Which means I won’t be sending an email to you for the next two Sunday mornings. I’ll be back in your inbox on September 13. I hope your next couple of weeks are filled with idyllic afternoons spent hanging out with friends. Wishing you all good fortune, - Hari-k P.S:Where are you reading the Gita? One of the unexpected pleasures of writing my book, Journey Into the Bhagavad-Gita, has been seeing my guide to the Gita become part of the ongoing conversation about its teachings. If you're reading my book, I'd love to see where it’s travelling with you. Please send me a photo of yourself with your copy—or just the book wherever it happens to be accompanying you: on your desk covered in notes, on a meditation cushion, in your yoga studio or teacher training, tucked into your bag on a trip, or wherever you're spending time with it. And if you're comfortable with me sharing your photo with the wider community, please let me know when you send it. Thanks. |
Hari-kirtana das
If you’re ready to apply yoga philosophy to your own life—or teach it with clarity and feeling—my classes and workshops create space to sharpen your thinking, steady your inner life, and connect your practice to what matters now.
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