So here are 10 things about yoga that could make you reflect on your practice today. They say once you started, you are never gonna be the same anymore.
1. It might look similar on the outside, but the difference consists in what happens inside. The intention that you put in your practice is going to change the way your asanas look on the outside. A dedicated practitioner and experienced yoga teacher will be able to tell if it’s an asana what you are doing on your mat or if it is just a lifeless shape. It doesn’t matter if you are stiff or flexible, if you are weak or strong. All it matters is the intention and the energy that you put in your practice.
2. Good practice is self-less practice. Is the type of practice that you do without any expectations or attachment towards the shape of the pose.
3. Mental strength is not something that you are necessarily born with. It is something you practice and cultivate every single day.
4. If you care about the people around you and you respect what surrounds you, your practice will start to feel good. The practice is nurturing your whole being as long as you decide to be a good person.
5. Selfishness in your life will be reflected in your practice on the mat. Use that to guide you in making positive changes in your every day life situations and relationships. If you practice just to look good and prove yourself you will limit yourself only to that. It will not feel good for long before you get fed up with it.
6.Pain, joy, sadness, anxiety, worries, fear, courage will be reflected in your body, posture, practice on the mat. Listen to your inner voice and use what you learn on the mat into living an authentic sincere life.
7. Be honest with yourself and with others. Sooner or later, the truth will always win.
8. Long time practice has the power to remove the “avidya” (sanskrit word for “ignorance”, “incorrect knowledge”). It brings clarity and focus into our every day life. We become aware of how things really are, not how we imagine them to be. And all of a sudden we change and open our hearts.
9. By working with pain in the practice (pain of doing postures we don’t like that much, pain of discipline, pain of practicing when we are tired, stressed, unhappy, worried etc), we move forward. We stop being attached to “likes” and run away from “dislikes” and start building an equanimous mind. Yoga sutra says: “The untrained mind runs towards pleasure and away from pain.”
10. “Practice and all is coming. Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.” Sri K Pattabhi Jois
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© Unfold Your Mat 2017