Autumn Lotus Yoga

Students ask great questions that I cherish & bet a bunch will come up in this blog.  Was reminded of one today since it’s an issue that comes up pretty frequently both as practitioner and teacher.

The innocent query usually goes like this:  “If I practice X amount, will I achieve Y goal in Z amount of time?”

Danger, beloved yogi, danger!  

The only true answer is:  if you practice, something will happen in some unknowable amount of time. 

Yoga will abso-frickin-lutely change your hamstrings, your abs, your life — but the changes won’t necessarily be the ones you expect and most certainly not on the timeline you fixate on.   Damn it. : )

That said, one can fascinate (or obsess, depending on your point of view : ) upon a pose, or a theme or whatever and see transformation.  But only if it’s a commitment to the process, not trying to force an outcome cuz that will inevitably cause injury at some level — physical usually first, then mental/spiritual as one berates one’s “failings” as a yogi. 

Best goal we can have is just to show up day after day and see what’s there waiting on the mat. 

As a Type-A, and on behalf of Type-A yogis everywhere, my apologies. : )

Tags: Beginning Yoga, General Yoga Philosophizing

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Daily Yoga Practice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.