the movement
honor ancestors, serve descendants, nourish all
Image: Sun set on Olifants River in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Many rivers, one ocean. Many paths, one truth.
I am drawn to water. I cherish the freedom that comes with the buoyancy water gives us. The pitter patter of rain, the gush of a waterfall, the rolling roar of waves; soothing symphonies to my ears. Take a deep breath in. Can you smell the salt in the air? No matter where we are on the planet the movement of water helps us sense our global connection. From rain, snowmelt, or springs, water trickles to creeks. Creeks spill into streams. Streams converge to form rivers. Rivers flow to the ocean. The waters of our world interrelate and interconnect connect us. ‘Many rivers, one ocean’ helped me understand the ancient yogic teaching, ‘Many paths, one truth.’
What is the one truth?
The roots of yoga tech us that regardless of what is happening around us we are whole. We come from fullness and we are complete.
My professor, Dr. Nagarathna, uses an analogy to help us understand this teaching on ‘wholeness.’ She replaces the words ‘whole’ and ‘fullness’ with the word ‘bliss’ and tells us a story about many different clay pots, some ornate and delicate, others simple and strong. Some pots have cracks or chips. Some are raw clay, others are fired clay. She emphasizes,
“As many pots as you can imagine, they are all made of the same stuff. All clay. That is us. We are all made of the same stuff. We are made of bliss. The work we must do is to get past the noise and chatter of the mind to reconnect to the bliss.”
The Patanjali Yoga Sutras (PYS) teaches us
PYS 1.2
“We have to quiet the noise of the mind to attune to a clear signal.”
PYS 1.3
“Once attuned to the clear signal we can experience our true nature; we can be in the state of yoga. We experience the one truth.”
What is the state of yoga? The true realization that you are whole, right here, right now. A yoga practice is the conscious cultivation and connection to what is already there. You are whole. You are from wholeness. Your own knowing and abiding in your wholeness is the clear signal.
What blocks a clear signal?
When facing illness or injury our mind can create a massive volume of distortion which blocks the clear signal. Distortion is fear and suspicion of pain. Doubting that you can heal. Dislike of treatment side effects. Resistance to change of habits and behavior patterns that can slow or even reverse the progression of lifestyle diseases. I’ve been there. I know that distortion can be loud. If left unaddressed, it can cause what modern medicine calls chronic stress.
Our physical cells respond to stress. We are wired that way. A switch gets flipped and our cells act as if we are under attack. A cascade of reactions take place in all our systems (neuro, gastro-intestinal, musculoskeletal). If we were being chased by a tiger those internal responses would help us save ourselves (fight the tiger or run away). Once the tiger was defeated or lost interest in eating us for its lunch, we should shake off the stress response and our systems would return to balance.
The problem occurs when the mind will not stop spinning around doubts, fears, dislikes, and resistance to changes. As those spinning thoughts gain speed and strength, we trap ourselves in a constant stress response (chronic stress). What drew me to study yoga therapy was that it wholly embraces modern medicine while simultaneously addressing our psychology. Without observing and learning to skillfully handle the machinations of our mind, we end up fighting ourselves as we attempt to contend with an illness or injury. From personal experience I know this is an exhausting and ultimately fruitless battle.
What’s the big deal with remembering we are whole?
As we learn to lovingly handle our mind, the distortion fades, the signal clears. We see we are whole. As we perceive the wholeness of ourselves you can discern it in all humans. You can recognize the ways in which people adapt, adjust, grow and change in response to all manner of life’s challenges. As you let yourself observe and appreciate the wholeness in others you witness, “As many pots as you can imagine, all made of the same stuff.” No matter what we are facing, no matter what shape or form, we are wholeness, just like every other being in existence.
Image: Ngo Dong river in Ninh Binh province, northern Vietnam
Many paths
My eldest and wisest teachers highlight there are many ways that humans across the globe consciously cultivate connection to wholeness. Indeed, within yoga there are many paths. The the vast variety of yoga methods can be categorized into four main paths.
Karma Yoga – path of action. A life of selfless action
Bhakti Yoga – path of emotion culture. Embodiment of total surrender & love
Jnana Yoga – path of wisdom. Philosophical investigation of intellect & self-analysis
Raja Yoga – path of will power. A practical approach to higher states of consciousness. The aforementioned Patanjali Yoga Sutras is the most referenced guide to this path of yoga.
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, and religious teacher invited seekers of the yogic teachings to realize roots of yoga teach us all paths lead to the same goal, liberation. In The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda he says,
“Do it by work (Karma Yoga), worship (Bhakti Yoga), philosophy (Jnana Yoga) or psychic control (Raja Yoga) by anyone, or more, or all of these - and be free.”
For as many humans as there are on this planet, there are just as many ways we may language our freedom, our wholeness, our bliss. Each path taken is unique. My path leads me to India in June and July to complete my Yoga Therapy studies and earn my clinical hours of practice. As I prepare to take the next step along my own journey I am buoyed by you, my fellow humanity. The ways you show up in your local and global communities inspires me. The actions you take to connect with and uplift each other hearten me. The practices you employ to embody peace and joy deeply resonate with me. Thank you for walking your path and inspiring me to keep going on mine. Many paths, one truth.
June 2025
Image: a stream in Deming, Washington.