The Gods Among Us: Embracing the Divine and Human in Our Yoga Practice
Oct 19, 2024In the myths that echo across cultures—Greek, Roman, Celtic, Indian, and even Māori—we see a common theme: gods coming down to earth, walking among humans, embodying our struggles, our joys, our complexities. These myths remind us that we are not just flawed, emotional beings navigating the chaos of life. We are divine, playing human for a while. And in this divine play, we forget and remember, over and over again, what we truly are.
In yoga, these stories are woven into our practices to guide us toward virtuous qualities of the divine, while also honoring our human experience. This delicate balance between the divine and human is at the heart of yoga. It teaches us to reach toward qualities like kindness, courage, compassion, and forgiveness. But it also asks us to embrace our humanity—our anger, sadness, judgment, and fear—without guilt or shame.
The paradox we hold in yoga is this: we are both divine and human. We are beings capable of the highest love and compassion, yet we also feel the weight of frailty, doubt, and imperfection. Our yoga practice, like the stories of gods becoming human, teaches us how to walk this line with grace. We learn to cultivate our nobler qualities while honoring the truth of our human emotions.
Yoga doesn’t teach us to bypass the struggles of being human. It doesn’t ask us to ignore our anger, sadness, or judgment. Instead, it invites us to hold space for all of it. To know that within every moment, we are both the courageous, compassionate heart and the vulnerable, imperfect human. And that’s okay.
As we breathe, move, and align ourselves in practice, we are not just refining our bodies. We are refining our hearts and minds, developing the capacity to hold this paradox within. In Anusara yoga, we often talk about opening to grace. This means opening ourselves to the fullness of who we are—our divine essence and our messy humanity. We learn to accept ourselves as we are: sometimes kind, sometimes not; sometimes forgiving, sometimes not. The key is to remember that neither side defines us entirely. We are all of it.
The gods came to earth not to show us perfection, but to show us that being human is part of the journey. They remind us that we are divine beings who experience anger, pain, and love all in the same breath. Yoga calls us back to this truth, asking us to be kind to ourselves as we navigate the duality of our existence. To practice not as a way to escape our humanness but as a way to embrace it fully, without judgment.
The heart, according to yogic teachings, is the essential functioning mind of our being. It bridges the lower and higher chakras and holds the qualities of kindness, compassion, and courage. But it is our body that holds the rest—our pain, anger, and sorrow. Yoga teaches us how to breathe into both spaces, to honor both the divine and the human within us. To not get stuck in the stories of suffering, but to continually come back to the heart that knows we are so much more than our challenges.
So, the next time you find yourself feeling the weight of being human—whether it’s through sadness, frustration, or self-doubt—remember that the gods themselves walked this path before us. They came down to show us that it’s okay to be human, that it’s okay to feel everything, and that through it all, we are divine.
As you move through your practice today, let yourself hold both sides of your being. Let your body express the fullness of your humanity, while your heart taps into the kindness and courage that lives within. This is the dance of yoga. This is the gift of being both divine and human.
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