Sometimes, the yoga practise gives
benefits in completely unexpected ways.
Recently, I had a warm reunion with the Astanga yoga practice. I had found a Mysore studio in Copenhagen with
teachers who appealed strongly to me, and my body was responding with
great gratitude. Quickly, my body grew stronger, and my mental
focus and grounding increased remarkably. But something else happened, too.
It
can be challenging to find a couple of hours daily to explore
yourself on the mat, and it requires quite a bit of organizing. And – of course – a lot of dedication. But in that
moment, when you decide to spend this precious time on your mind and body, you have to decide when to do the other things, you want to do – and decide what you won't be doing.
One day after the afternoon mysore, my teacher suggested me to try out the morning mysores. Immediately, i started a puzzle with the elements of my daily shedule, explaining my considerations about how to fit my practice into my daily life. My teacher looked at me and started smiling. "You know...", he said, "Sometimes yoga is also about cleaning up your life."
I couldn't do anything but smile right back. He was so right. And suddenly, I realized how much the yoga had already been cleaning up in my life - and how it still was an ongoing process.
When you choose a yoga practice, whether we are talking about 3 times a week or 2 hours a day, you suddenly get pushed into one of these situations, where you have to choose your life. And one of these situations, where you find out that you actually have the power to choose. You can choose when and where and with whom you want to spend your time, doing what. And you'll maybe find yourself asking the same questions as me: Is this really important to me? Is this something I want to spend time doing? Or is this something, I actually don't need – something I don't want to spend my life on?
One day after the afternoon mysore, my teacher suggested me to try out the morning mysores. Immediately, i started a puzzle with the elements of my daily shedule, explaining my considerations about how to fit my practice into my daily life. My teacher looked at me and started smiling. "You know...", he said, "Sometimes yoga is also about cleaning up your life."
I couldn't do anything but smile right back. He was so right. And suddenly, I realized how much the yoga had already been cleaning up in my life - and how it still was an ongoing process.
When you choose a yoga practice, whether we are talking about 3 times a week or 2 hours a day, you suddenly get pushed into one of these situations, where you have to choose your life. And one of these situations, where you find out that you actually have the power to choose. You can choose when and where and with whom you want to spend your time, doing what. And you'll maybe find yourself asking the same questions as me: Is this really important to me? Is this something I want to spend time doing? Or is this something, I actually don't need – something I don't want to spend my life on?
At some point, the yoga practice isn't only about building strength and focus to maintain a dedicated practice. It's about building strength and focus to maintain a dedicated life. The yoga practice starts to clean up your life. It starts dusting the shelves of body and mind, throwing old junk away and bringing the values into the light. The yoga is gently giving you the challenge – and the strength - to choose your life.
How nice with a little reminder about choices, and the empowering feeling that can overtake you, when you realize your ability to change something about yourself. One great quote came to, me as i read your post:
SvarSlet"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
Nice one! :)
SvarSlet