Yoga and Emotional Authenticity

A lot of new-agers shoot their yappers off about Love, Light and Peace. I get texts on my phone daily about how to "embrace the Goodness of the GODDESS of the UNIVERSE." I've been practicing Kundalini Yoga for five years and, as an intermediate scholar of such esoteric practices, I can say, "Love and Light is all bullshit." When you encounter real anger in your life, because you've been working an hourly wage job for years and you're ready for change, or when you encounter real sorrow, because your mom really never ever gave a damn about you growing up, you can't love and light that away with some fantasized idea of peace and emoticons of hearts and sparkles. When you sugar coat crap, it's still crap. A consistent balanced yoga practice saves you from such extremities. Life neither has to be all shit, nor all light and peace. Life is a nuanced experience complete with all the variations on happiness and distress. A deep, regular yogic practice allows you to have a more relaxed experience within such fluctuations, as well as trends you toward a more positive outlook and allows you to experience such things as peace and clarity more often. It's important to be authentic about what you're really feeling. It is not possible to move through the pain by denying it's existence with some fruity nonsense. You must look at the pain with reality and with neutrality. Don't let anyone light and love bully you around. With an authentic emotional practice, when the joy and light come through you, you can experience it fully, honestly, and with greater reverence. Do the yoga. Ali