The goal of yoga asana practice is not the perfection of the body or perfecting more and more yoga postures. Instead of focusing on how much further you wish you could go, or comparing your efforts with those of someone who is more adept, focus on what you are accomplishing in each breath. "Through tiny, slow and progressive openings, deep, profound change occurs".
Yoga asana is a tangible, direct way to learn what it means to let go through the body. It is a down to earth, flesh-and-bones practice -a place to begin to meet yourself, reuniting the usually separated body-mind. Yogis also believe that every aspect of the body is pervaded by consciousness. In this way, a unified body-mind not only brings vibrant health, stamina and flexibility, but is also, "an integral aspect of spiritual practice".
So, the goal of yoga asana practice is to live in our bodies and to learn to perceive clearly through them. "If we do not know when we are breathing in and when we are breathing out, when we are unable to perceive gross levels of tension, how can we know how to create a balanced world? ... Even when we feel pain, even when we face great difficulty, we can take refuge in our practice. There will be times when progress is slow, when injury or illness or life circumstances limit our ability to do the outward forms. But that doesn't limit our ability to plumb the depths of our inner life."
HAPPY PRACTICING.
(From 'Yoga Mind Body and Spirit, A Return to Wholeness' by Donna Farhi)
Meditating in Bracklesham Bay w Tracy
