Tapping out

Renunciation has deep roots in yoga. Initially, it was a renouncement of action in an attempt to break free from the cycle of reincarnation and transcend into some kind of cosmic ether. But these dudes were hardcore, man. They weren't just banging out a few poses. They'd be refusing to sit down for like twelve years at a time, sleeping upright against a tree. And they'd do things like hold their arm in the air until it withered from atrophy. They'd live as beggars in the forest and had nothing but a small shred of cloth for pants, and a pot for carrying water.

But we don't have to go that far, even if you're into wearing little cloth pants. These guys were extreme, but in renouncing society and all that comes with it, they were essentially removing all the distractions, simplifying their lives in an attempt to maintain focus on something they felt was pretty ultimate and important.

Today we're swimming in distraction. Drowning in it these days. Whether we want to or not. Renunciation can be permanent or temporary, even a little can serve you pretty well. Whether it's time away from Netflix binges and Instagram, or even your own thoughts, it ain't always easy to do, and even tricker to maintain.

But, finding time away from these things, for however brief a time, can change everything. As well as helping still the mind, yoga was long ago seen as an escape – a way to temporarily escape worldly responsibility, escape worldly suffering. And that seems a pretty sensible practice for mental health and longevity.

Maybe you use yoga to renounce the feeling of stiffness and discomfort in your body – your bad back and stiff shoulders. Maybe it's to get a break from incessant, fear-mongering news stories and argumentative social media threads. Whatever your reason, it's a time where you can try and renounce your own distractions.

Those sadhus, the people who lived in the forest, turned their back on society in pursuit of enlightenment, of escape, no longer getting involved with society's bullshit. And today through yoga, we kinda get to live in those fringes of society, even if only for a couple hours each week.