The Narrow Corridor

“The first commitment to not cause others harm is often called the narrow way because its comparable to walking down a very narrow corridor. If you lose your awareness you will veer off course and bump into the wall, so you have to keep bringing your attention back to the path and walk straight ahead.”  Pema Chodron, Living Beautifully

Even a yoga posture presents itself as a narrow corridor.  Say we are siting in Virasana, where our 

range of movement is limited by the parameters that comprise the pose.  Knees together, feet apart and our seat in between the heels: this is the physical aspect of the narrow corridor.  The narrowness of the corridor, the parameters of the pose expose to us through our body: our flexibility/our resistance, our joy/our anger, our endurance/our anxiety, our ability to be present/our ability to check out.  Remove the parameters, the constraints of the pose, and all of that which was getting revealed in the process at an accelerated rate is lost or postponed to be uncovered at a later time perhaps in a different circumstance of duress.

Any physical, mental, or spiritual discipline can present itself as a narrow path or narrow corridor, where our range of movement (be it mental, physical, or emotional) in some way may be limited.  But the narrowness of the path not only reveals to us where we are & the work we need to do, it also sometimes provides a very direct way to get to where we want to arrive.

The Yamas*, suggested to us in Master Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, when practiced at the subtlest levels of not causing harm to others, present a very narrow corridor.  Every instance of bumping into the wall quickly unveils to us, our hidden resistance to not adding to the suffering of others, our anxiety surrounding not taking more than we need, our struggle with not wanting what belongs to others, etc.  The narrowness of the corridor very quickly divulges to us where we actually are and the very specific work at hand to “get back to the path and walk straight ahead”.

*Yoga Sutras Chapter 2, Verse 30
Ahimsa, Satya Asteya Brahmacharya Aparigraha Yamah

Yamah consists of Ahimsa (not adding to the suffering of others), Satya (not lying to others), Asteya (not stealing from others), Brahmacharya (not manipulating others sexually), and Aparigraha (not taking more than you need).  These considerations in our practice towards others, are the first limb of the eight limb path of Ashtanga Yoga.  These considerations in our practice are the first step in reaching that awareness of ourselves as calm, un-agitated, untainted, content and free of hang ups.