Just Notice…Just This
by Richard Stathem

This book is an introduction to the yogas … intended to provide an understanding of the general principles of yoga for the novice, and to reinforce and further the understanding of the adept. Hopefully it will explain many of the basic terms, concepts, and ideas associated with this ancient art of body, mind, and spirit. The reader may also have noticed that the title of this book, and the title of this section of the book, refers not to yoga in the singular, but rather in the plural, because yoga is a set of systems consisting of many methods that, when practiced over time, enable one to learn to be in the moment and to discover who in truth we are.

The philosophy of Yoga is a here-and-now philosophy. Put simply, yoga enables one to discover that the body is what we have, not who we are. Perhaps the most common misconception of yoga is that it is mainly an exercise system. It’s true that the yogas include a very sophisticated exercise system … called Hatha Yoga … but yoga, in its true, broad sense, is much more than that. Yoga teaches us how to be with what is, and how to work constructively with whatever the moment has to offer … regardless of our personal feelings about it and irrespective of dogma.

The word “YOGA” is a Sanskrit word which literally means “union”. What is “united” in yoga varies with the level and the type of practice. “Yoga” may refer to the union of interpersonal relationships, union between the various physiological systems of the body, union between the many psychological systems of the mind, union and integration between mind and body, or the union between one’s worldly self and the vast, nameless Spiritual Essence. “Yoga” refers to the joining together, the uniting, of all of the many “selves” and identities we all have … like the hub connects the spokes of a wheel … and as the wheel’s rim surrounds it all. In our daily yoga practice, which includes all that the day offers, we focus on the philosophy of yoga. Yoga philosophy is neither “eastern” nor “western” ... it is universal … as stated in the title of this book: “just notice; just this”. Above all else, yoga is a philosophy of common sense … a philosophy of being in the moment. Yoga philosophy holds that we are whole and complete just as we are, but many of us have lost touch with an awareness of that perfection by becoming attached to the things of this world ... including (and especially) attachment to, and identification with, the body. Yoga awareness reveals that suffering originates with attachments. There is nothing we must get, for we are it all already … but we must learn to create an environment in which we can realize what it is we already have ... and what and who we truly are.

This process of re-membering … re-joining … re-yoking … can be likened to the slow, steady process of peeling back veils covering a bright light. The veils do not determine whether or not the light shines, nor even how brightly it shines. The veils do, however, prevent us from seeing the light … and prevent the light from revealing. The “veils” of our mind include our psychological attachments, which manifest as ignorance, confusion, fear, laziness, and anger … and which prevent us from experiencing the Light(ness) of our true being. And the Light(ness) of our true state of being is Happiness … Pure Joy! It is ours for the taking!