One of the first things he taught in his book was that in order to get anywhere playing bass you have to like the sounds that you make. He emphasized that this was equally true for a beginner and a veteran.
What is the first waking moment you can remember in your life? I remember being 3 years old and locking myself in an unlit closet. I was trapped and crying for help.
One week you are springing out of bed to practice and the next you are dragging yourself to the mat. It is like being in an ocean where the current is deceptive, you think you are in control, in one place, and then in a snap you are downstream!
Yes, the road behind me is strewn with my failures and as painful as all these mistakes were, and are, at least I can say I took on my darkness.
Breathing is the key to opening your body. There is obviously a genetic component to flexibility, but breathing helps you to open up to that.
I used to hear my teacher Sri Pattabhi Jois during conferences go out of his way to remind us that beginning practice with Surya Namaskara was an act of devotion and not a warm up.
Practice only because you want to practice. End of statement. Don’t do it for any reason at all, not for following a lineage, for weight loss, to get in shape, fun, health, spiritual growth, realization, prayer, or devotion. NOT FOR ANY OF THOSE REASONS.
Ashtanga is not arbitrarily difficult or demanding—no, the practice provides you with a perfect, explicit model of what it takes to come to the mastery of anything. And the requirements of Ashtanga’s sacrifice are so blatant, physical and explicit.
I’m going to tell you a secret about myself. I started practicing Yoga for sport. To stretch my muscles out from running. I taught myself how to practice for devotion.
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