The Inner Life of a Yogi

A Gallup survey on spirituality in America asked people to rate the assertion: "I have had a profound religious experience or awakening that changed the direction of my life." Amazingly, 41 percent of Americans said that this statement completely applied to them. In other words, roughly 80 million adults have had some form of life-changing spiritual awakening.

In the concluding session of our Mind of a Meditator course, we explored the nature of spiritual awakenings and the lasting effects these experiences can have on people’s lives.  Our Zoom room erupted with enthusiasm as participants shared their inner experiences and discovered much common ground — experiences that yogic texts have been describing for centuries.

Participants also reflected on how these awakenings had changed them over time. The shifts were profound and consistent with research findings: a deeper dedication to truth, a felt sense of unity with all beings, less fear of death, and less attachment to material goals. Studies affirm this — spiritual experiences often lead people to reorient their values and priorities for the better.

If life-changing spiritual experiences are so positive and surprisingly common — not only among yoga practitioners but in the general population — why don’t we speak about them more openly? Why do so many of us feel the need to minimize or hide them?

We live in a culture that gives credibility primarily to what can be measured, and even many in yoga have drifted away from the spiritual foundations of the practice in pursuit of wider mainstream acceptance. It’s no wonder that sharing our inner experiences can sometimes feel isolating, vulnerable, or even a little (or a lot) strange.

This is where yogic wisdom becomes so important.

Yoga was never meant to be only about the physical body. The body- and breath-based practices of yoga were originally designed to awaken kundalini shakti - the energy of spiritual evolution - and support its unfoldment, opening the practitioner to increasingly subtle and expansive states of consciousness in meditation. The entire framework of Hatha Yoga exists to expand the landscape of our inner being.

The medieval texts of Hatha Yoga — the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Gheranda Samhita, and the Shiva Samhita — are remarkably specific about what awakening can look and feel like: inner lights, inner sounds (nada), spontaneous movements known as kriyas, energy rising from the base of the spine, and states of profound stillness and bliss. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that all of its practices — every asana, pranayama, and mudra — exist for one purpose: to lead the practitioner to these awakened states. This is how yoga was always designed to work, shifting us not only physically, but energetically and spiritually as well.

While spiritual evolution may not be the explicit goal for many modern yoga practitioners, we are still working with energy in yoga and therefore opening ourselves to deeper and more subtle dimensions of experience. When these experiences arise, it can be deeply affirming to know that the wisdom teachings of yoga offer language, context, and orientation for the inner journey.

And how precious it is to be able to share these experiences with like-minded others — and to feel genuinely seen in them. One of the greatest takeaways for me from our course was recognizing just how rare and nourishing it is to be with fellow practitioners who are sincerely oriented toward the deeper dimensions of yoga.

Yogic wisdom reminds us that while spiritual experiences are deeply personal and intimate, we are not alone in having them. To have this affirmed by peers and supported by centuries of contemplative tradition as well as modern science isn’t only liberating —  it helps us trust the inner journey more fully and surrender to its unfolding with greater confidence.