I recently received few messages regarding my post in which I confessed that I was over the asana practice. Most included questions about how I teach and practice if that is the case. So, I want to respond… Asana is only a part of practice and system of yoga. While yoga has a clear definition and many well expressed paths, the process of yoga is profoundly intimate and directly personal. For me it involves self-observation and reflection in order to focus and master my own energy in order to create my desired reality. During almost 20 years of “practicing” on the mat, I have gone through many shifts and transformations. When I first began, I had a voracious appetite and wanted to sample and taste everything on the menu. So I did. I studied with numerous teachers from numerous traditions. I also went through periods of extreme practice for hours a day, in an effort to “get it,” whatever “it” was. I also went through major periods of self-doubt, self-loathing and insecurity and needed a lot of external validation from teachers, peers and students that I was a good person, that I was a good teacher, that I was doing it “right,” and that I was on the “right path.” As years passed, and as my understanding of yoga became more and more refined, I received the wisdom to insource. It became clear that my relationship to my own energy, to my own life force. to my own heart, and to my own experience were my deepest and greatest teachers. Right now, every moment of my life is my practice. I connect inwardly to how I feel, what I need and what I want and take responsibility for them in the now. Every thought, every choice, every behavior is my practice. Following the flow of your own energy isn’t always easy and is sometimes a lonely path because some may not understand. But there is something for me to recognize and learn from the rise and fall of every emotion, every judgment, every conflict, every criticism, every conversation, every person and all life’s contrast. The truth is that yoga is happening inside me all the time as the unfolding of awareness and awakening of consciousness. Every time I choose peace; every time I choose love; every time I witness my anger with compassion; every time I soothe my fears with self trust; every time I ease my anxiety with deep breathing and a return to presence; every time I say what I mean when I mean it with grace and respect; every time I own my mistakes, take responsibility for my shit and apologize; every time I stop holding myself apart, or separating myself or making myself right or better than; every time I listen and stay open to learning; every time I recognize how my energy contributes to each interaction and situation; every time that I release resistance; every time that I understand myself as a powerful creator, every time I feel on purpose and design with deliberation; every time I allow space for it all … I am in yoga. And it is an ever evolving process that empowers me to grow into my greatness.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 17:52:50 +0000
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