Yoda practices Yoga. The Jedi are Yogis, intentionally.

Before I explain, let’s clear up what Yoga is and what Yoga is not.

Most folks think Yoga is this: ^{_{Photo by Bruce Mars from Freerange Stock}}

This is not Yoga. This is women showing off at the gym.

OK, technically they are doing Yoga asanas (postures). Asanas are just a small part of Yoga.

Compare that to this: ^{_{Photo from Ananda Marga Davao}}

These are Yogis and Yoginis practicing one of the many forms of Yoga. I believe they are about to start a dance. Yes, Yoga includes dance.

Shocker, I know, but many people feel loose clothing is comfortable to wear. Oddly, it’s mostly Westerners women who wear tight clothes while practicing Yoga.

I’m not telling people what to wear. I’m just saying Jedi don’t wear Lululemon.

George Lucas was rather lost while writing Star Wars until he read Joseph Campbell’s “Hero With A Thousand Faces”, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949. “Hero With a Thousand Faces” will be familiar to you even if you’ve never read it.

In “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, Campbell, a mythologist, describes a universal sequence of stages in the hero’s adventure which Campbell called the monomyth. If you just look at the book’s table of contents, you will see Star Wars:

1. Call To Adventure - Luke Skywalker watches Princess Leia’s call for help in R2D2.
2. Refusal of the Call - Luke had to do work on the farm, or at least that was his excuse.
3. Supernatural Aid - Luke meets Obi-wan Kenobi who shows Luke the ways of The Force.
4. Crossing the First Threshold - Once Luke finds his Aunt and Uncle were killed, he leaves his home planet.
5. Belly of the Whale - Like Jonah, Luke fins himself swallowed by something very large - the Death Star.
6. Road of the Trials - Luke has to deal with a wide variety of dangerous characters.
7. Meeting the Goddess - Luke is fascinated with Leia
8. Woman As Temptress - The tension with Leia could be a fit but the temptations of The Dark Side is more apt.
9. Atonement of the Father - Luke faces Darth Vader, eventually reconciling.
10. Apotheosis - This is the essential hero transformation or deification. He makes his own light saber, refuses to kill in anger, is not afraid to face The Emperor and isn’t tempted by Leia.
11. The Ultimate Boon - Luke becomes a Master Jedi
12. Refusal of Return - Luke almost abandons the escape to help Obiwan against Darth Vader.
13. The Magic Flight - In New Hope it’s the escape from the Death Star. Leia: “They let us go.”
14. Rescue From Without - Han Solo shoots Darth Vader, surprisingly.
15. Crossing the Return - Luke goes back to the rebel base.
16. Master of Two Worlds - Luke lives in the physical - he flys, and the spiritual, he didn’t need the physical guide.
17. Freedom to Live - The victory celebration.

OK, that’s interesting but what does this have to do with Yoga?

Even before Joseph Campbell was a mythologist, he was a student of Yoga. He didn’t stretch. He didn’t even meditate. He’s an intellectual so he practiced Jñāna Yoga - the path of knowledge and study. He said he would reach rapture through reading. He spent a lot of time in India with Indian scholars.

There are many kinds of Yoga one can follow and one can choose how to practice according to one’s individual temperament. Campbell’s teaching might be seen as Bhakti Yoga - the Yoga of devotion and love. He loved teaching and was devoted to his students.

You are already familiar with Hatha Yoga, the Yoga of postures. Do you know why Yogis practice asanas? To train the mind and body for deep periods of meditation. Yeah, tight abs are a non-goal.

So what’s the goal?

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that’s similar to the English word “yoke”. As in yoking horses to a chariot or “harnessing” oneself for battle. Yoga means union - to unite the self (ātman) with that ultimate reality (Brahman). (You’ll notice that I walk around using the word “God” because it’s such a loaded term.)

Your mind is interfering with this process that should be naturally occurring. To a Yogi, the nature of a human is to go back to their source. Humans long for this connection, always. They typically misplace this longing into efforts that never quite satisfy - more money, more success, more fame, more fun. I’m not saying “don’t be successful”. I’m saying it won’t satisfy your ultimate thirst.

Most importantly, what does this have to do with YOU?

Please understand, “Follow Your Bliss” does not mean “do what makes you feel happy.” Quite the opposite! It means making an effort to understand your true inner self. There’s much more to you than just feelings! When you find your inner self, the world will change for you. You will start to fulfill you dharma, your purpose, and you will find your own’s Hero’s Journey.

Campbell: “Now I came to this idea of Bliss because in Sanskrit, which is the great spiritual language of the world, there are three terms that represent the brink, the jumping-off place to the ocean of transcendence: Sat, Chit, Ananda. The word Sat means being. Chit means consciousness. Ananda means bliss or rapture. I thought: I don’t know whether my consciousness is proper consciousness or not; I don’t know whether what I know of my being is my proper being or not; but I do know where my rapture is. So let me hang on to rapture, and that will bring me both my consciousness and my being.”

It’s difficult to find this Bliss, this rapture, and even more difficult to keep it. You can approach it with a walk in the woods. You can deepen it through effort. Consistent meditation can stop your inner chatter so that you can realize your internal Bliss more easily. The more you meditate, the more you find your true inner self. People report being ‘centered’. Their thoughts aren’t pulling them around anymore.

In Sanskrit, meditation is called ‘sadhana’ which loosely means ‘work towards the goal.’ It looks like nothing but meditation is hard work!

“But Michael, I tried meditation and I couldn’t do it. It was hard, I couldn’t stop thinking.”

YES! You were doing the work! It didn’t work in the same way your bicycle stops working when you stop pedaling. Keep cleaning your mind and good things will follow.

Thank you for getting this far. Good news - you’re already practicing Yoga, Jñāna Yoga - the Yoga of knowledge. I hope you keep it up, maintain a meditation practice, discover your true self and walk your Hero’s Journey. If you maintain a steady practice, the result is inevitable. It happens for everyone. It is your birthright.

I’m here to help. While I try to fix my michael@mindfulnomad.org email, you can DM me on Twitter/X @michaelbushe

Find our more about my path, The Blissful Path at Ananda Marga.

Read all about Star Wars and “Hero” at The Joseph Campbell Foundation’s excellent page Joseph Campbell Foundation - Learn About Star Wars