The Yoga of Popehood

I don’t know what it really means for the Catholic Church that the Pope has decided to step down but for the Pope I say “well done, sir.” 

When Pope John Paul II died even my long lost recovering Catholic heartstrings were tugged. But mostly it was my yogi heart that leapt in awe and admiration. For someone to be so close to God and so aware of their body to know the moment of death was coming and to call upon the members of his Community (Church in the case) and basically tell them he’s going and to please prepare for that, because he understood the responsibility he had, he understood the importance  his role in his Community was. And also to know the moment his soul was ready to leave his body and ask for his last rights, one final blessing before leave his earthly body. That’s pretty darn amazing!

 

I may not be a god fearing yogi but I have the utmost respect for the position of the Papacy. (even though I think the word papacy sounds really really silly).

So the death of John Paul II, or as my devout Catholic friend calls him JP2, got my thinking about strong connection to spirit and the parallels between devout religion and devout yogis. I’ve always been kind of a stickler when it came to arguing that yoga IS NOT a religion, the scorned ex-Catholic rears her ugly head. But actually that argument came from a more vulnerable place inside me, it came from a place of having a very devout Southern Baptist father and trying desperately to explain that the only thing that made it able for me to accept the idea of any greater being: God, the universe, the divine spirit whatever!, was yoga. Yoga is not a religion it is a way of life, it is a path that leads you to connection with god without naming that god. After being baptized and raised in a monotheistic religion I had a hard time giving ONE name to a supreme deity. Yoga made it ok for me not to name it. Yoga made it ok for me to have faith without know exactly what in. Yoga made it ok for me to pray without directing that prayer to anything specific. So the death of John Paul II inspired me to be a better yogi and to dive into the murky water I know faith and find the relationship with my ex faith and my new way of being in yoga. And then my dog took off after a rabbit on our morning walk and I got distracted. Oops.

So when I heard the news of Pope Benedict abdicating it drug up some of this dialogue I had going with myself that I had forgotten about. Yeah, sure it was a very philosophical/important conversation but honestly the emotion I found coming up even more was from that scared and scarred little girl who had to fight for her freedom. Who fought so long and so hard that learning to ask for help was the biggest and most difficult lesson I ever had to learn. And so when this man stood up with full knowledge of the weight and gravity of his position, his leadership and life and said, and I paraphrase,  “I can’t do this, you need someone stronger than me” I was again in awe of the Pope. Say what you will about the Catholic Church and its scandals and propaganda but I won’t, that’s not what this blog is about. This blog is about yoga and how it works its way into my daily life and when Pope Benedict stood there and made that announcement he was the embodiment of a yogi. He knew that Church needed someone to lead and to be a clear minded strong leader and he knew he couldn’t do that. So he did the bravest thing I know, he surrendered. And he did it not because he was defeated but because he wanted his church, the institute of his faith, to be lead by someone that can give their all. And as any yogi teacher will tell you that is the hardest lesson to teach a student; not to go passed their limit, not to test their body to the point of breaking.  To know that being a “good” yogi means not causing harm, not only to those around you but to yourself.

The last thing I can think of to say about the Papal resignation is they controversy that I can only assume has been created by the news organizations about what will happen where there are 2 sitting popes. Well there won’t be 2 Popes, there will be one. The one Pope that the Cardinals elect to the Papacy and Pope Benedict will spend his last days in prayer communing with the God that he has served faithfully. Just like the yogis that go into the hills and meditate in communion with god. So maybe I should pick up that conversation I started having all those years ago because no matter how I feel about the Catholic Church, its politics, or its controversy, that Pope guy is a pretty awesome yogi.