I aim to live my life with the attitude -- “If not me to bring forth the qualities that I wish to see in the world then who?”—If I want to see honesty or bravery or leadership or compassion, I pray that I don’t wait for someone else to exemplify these qualities.
In yoga we have an opposite notion or a contrary image about how wisdom takes form within the human mind. Instead of thinking that attaining knowledge is about filling up our minds with learning, facts, information, viewpoints, stances, opinions and such—the yogi aspires to empty out of all thoughts and become ‘void minded’.
Each of us is meant to walk through our days finding our own unique ways of contributing to cosmic goodness. Each person’s sacred work is ongoing. It happens in the immediate moment in every choice you make and every interaction you have with your self and others.
...its important to remember that your struggles with the difficult physical actions are merely a warm up for the stances that yoga ethics demand.
There are no easy or fast solutions to many of the problems we each face personally as well as collectively. There is often great complexity in the even the basic matters that we must deal with. The complexity that is inherent to acting skillfully and responding fittingly to whatever circumstances we face requires us to be patient, caring, and compassionate with ourselves and with each other.
I’ve increased my tapas because I have one dream and one dream only, and that is to do whatever I can to help the world move towards peace instead of heading towards destruction through engaging in uncompromising, fruitless, imperiling conflict.
I came across these words of one dancer: “The bravest thing a dancer can do is get old”. The same is true of a hatha yogi who dares to get old and keep practicing.
Every exercise in practice provides you with a microcosmic opportunity to advance along your solitary path to the macrocosmic pinnacle of yoga.
Every act of prayer contains an element of emptying yourself, a relinquishment of volition, will and ego.
Sansaya (doubt) is one of the 9 obstacles that clouds the mind and thwarts practice. Skepticism, cynicism, jadedness, lack of trust, fear of trust, worry, anxiety, anticipating the worst, finding the worst, all of these are reflective of doubt.
