Seva to Union
by Catherine Streigel, RYT500
I grew up Catholic and, though I have since drifted from that faith practice, the focus on service — on serving others — is the part that left the most profound impact on me. Volunteering my time with no expectation of anything in return was always grounding and humbling. It left me feeling closer to my true self. The teaching was simple: by serving the least of us, you are serving God. There is a closeness to the divine that can be found in service.
In the ancient yoga texts, the word seva, translated as service, is most often used in reference to serving one’s guru. Through devout service to the guru, the student gains wisdom, sets aside their ego, and moves closer to enlightenment. Service becomes a spiritual technology — a means of softening the small self to access the larger Self.
For many modern yogis, however, the traditional guru–student relationship no longer exists. So where does seva live now? If the guru represents Brahman (the divine consciousness that pervades all things) then when we remove the singular figure of the guru, we are asked to find Brahman elsewhere. I would argue that one of the clearest places to look is in those who need care.
In recent years, the social and political instability of our world has left me feeling overwhelmed and helpless. I know that the antidote to helplessness is action, even small action. Often that action looks like caring for my daughters. By serving them in a way that makes their world feel stable and safe, I am connecting both them and myself to God’s love. I am putting into the world what I wish there was more of.
As my girls grow older, I have felt called to expand that circle of giving. Several months ago, I began volunteering to facilitate yoga at the women’s prison in Raleigh as a way to root myself more intentionally in service.
Leading incarcerated women in yoga has been humbling and grounding in ways I could not have anticipated. It asks me to lean deeply into what I know as the wisdom of yoga. It asks me to set aside my ego and serve the people in front of me in the best way I know how.
When I teach in the prison, there is none of the routine or familiarity I rely on in a studio. The space changes day to day depending on what is available. The temperature swings from freezing cold to overwhelmingly warm. The number of participants can range from two to twenty. The majority have no prior experience with yoga and no articulated goal beyond wanting to “feel better.”
And yet, two things remain constant: the inherent humanity and worthiness of every person in that room, and the transformative power of breath, body, and spirit coming together. I have witnessed profound shifts in energy after only a few minutes of slow, steady pranayama. I have watched tense shoulders soften as participants move gently into sensation and stretch. Perhaps most moving of all is the moment when guarded, nervous energy melts into stillness — when someone who arrived wary lingers in savasana, reluctant to leave.
If yoga is the union of all things, then to connect deeply with another human being — especially someone whose life experience differs vastly from our own — may be as close to bliss as many of us will ever come. In that union, seva ceases to be something we do and becomes something we are. Through service, we dissolve the illusion of separation. And in that dissolving, we become closer to God.
