This is not to say that my mind is blank, rather, it is to say that my mind thinks in a clear manner and without distraction.

It is said, and it has been my [...]]]> One of the benefits I draw from the practice of Yoga is the ability to maintain a ‘quiet mind.’

This is not to say that my mind is blank, rather, it is to say that my mind thinks in a clear manner and without distraction.

It is said, and it has been my experience, that how a student lives their life is demonstrated by how they practice their Yoga. It has also been my experience that how a student practices their Yoga has an effect on how they live their life.

I choose to cultivate a steady, stable, and strong Yoga practice because that is the kind of life I want to live. The Ashtanga Yoga method as I learned it from my teachers does exactly that. It is practiced in a steady and stable manner that creates strength over time. The student practices essentially the same way, under the guidance of the same teacher, over long periods of time.

This removes a great deal of chatter and dialogue that stands between a student and a quiet mind. Instead of attention being directed outwards towards the experience of taking a class, it is directed inwards towards the practice of Yoga.

In Yoga, a little practice goes a long way!

Samadhi Pada: Sutra 12 –
abhyasavairagyabhyan tannirodhah
Their restraint is accomplished by practice and non-attachment.

Samadhi Pada: Sutra 32
tatpratishedhartham ekatattvabhyasah
Practicing concentration on a single subject must be [...]]]> Samadhi Pada: Sutra 2 –
Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah
Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind.

Samadhi Pada: Sutra 12 –
abhyasavairagyabhyan tannirodhah
Their restraint is accomplished by practice and non-attachment.

Samadhi Pada: Sutra 32
tatpratishedhartham ekatattvabhyasah
Practicing concentration on a single subject must be undertaken.

Ashtanga Yoga Opening Prayer – Source: http://kpjayi.org

In practice I aim to keep my mind quiet.

I do the same asana sequence everyday. This means my mind is not occupied with ‘What do I feel like doing today? How can I get a better stretch in my hamstrings? etc.’

I don’t listen to music. I listen to my breath. This means my mind is not occupied with “what kind of music should I listen to today? Oh, I think this music is to slow. Oh, I think this music is too loud.”

I keep my eyes gazing with proper drishti, keeping my attention on practice. This means I’m not having thoughts stirred by objects or people around me.

Instead of contemplating what posture I should do next, or wondering when I should inhale or exhale, I follow correct vinyasa. Same today. Same tomorrow. Same everyday.

The result after years of practice is akin to going from a crowded street corner filled with noise and confusion to a quiet field where the only sound is the wind blowing through the grass. My mind is more clear, more calm, more focused. I experience long periods of ease despite the challenges and stresses of daily life. My thoughts and my actions are informed by a clear and calm disposition. My experience of life today is dramatically different than the experience I would be having had I not been practicing all this time.

Samadhi Pada: Sutra 14
sa tu dirghakalanairantaryasatkarasevito dridhabhoomih
Cessation of the modifications becomes firm through long periods of dedication to practice.

However, they have never really helped much with Yoga practice. Someone has asked for some insight though, so I’ve prepared this post. 

Often times students will feel pain in their knees and naturally think that they have ‘tight knees.’ More likely, [...]]]> I am a sociology major but I have taken some anatomy courses.

However, they have never really helped much with Yoga practice. Someone has asked for some insight though, so I’ve prepared this post. 

Often times students will feel pain in their knees and naturally think that they have ‘tight knees.’ More likely, it is the hips that are tight.

Generally the knee works kind of like a door hinge. I say kind of because there is a little room for some internal and external rotation, but there is very little room for lateral flexion (think of the way the spine bends when we reach down deep into the side pocket of our pants).

When the leg is placed in lotus position it is the knee that tends to suffer if the hips are tight. The thigh must be externally rotated enough that the knee just has to bend (like the hinge on a door) to allow the foot to rest on the top of the opposite thigh. If the hip is tight, and external rotation is not sufficient, and the student forces the leg into lotus, great pressure and strain is placed upon the knee. 

So then the question of ‘how do I open up my hips?’ 

Practice. 

There is no shortcut really. Although there are numerous books, blogs, videos and workshops that offer tips and tricks for opening the hips, the only way to do it is to get on the mat everyday and practice. Can’t get that foot all the way in to lotus? Just go as far as possible without having pain in the knee. Then do that again the next day. And the next. And then one day it will happen. 

PS:

The University of Glasgow has a great page on the knee with diagrams and videos for keeners:

http://www.gla.ac.uk/ibls/US/fab/tutorial/anatomy/kneet.html

My wife made me Chapatis this afternoon. Delicious and let’s me pretend I am back in Mysore for a few moments.

Sweet.

I like the simplicity of my practice. It allows me to focus on doing it.

There are no tricks actually. There are no shortcuts. Everyday I get on my mat and do exactly the same practice I did the day before, the same practice I will do the day after. A couple [...]]]>

I like the simplicity of my practice. It allows me to focus on doing it.

There are no tricks actually. There are no shortcuts. Everyday I get on my mat and do exactly the same practice I did the day before, the same practice I will do the day after. A couple of times over the course of a year my teacher will give me a new posture to add to my daily routine but other than that it doesn’t change.

By keeping my practice simple, it is like a mirror that simply reflects me back to myself. I can see my reactions for what they are; my reactions. I am the source of struggle in my practice. I am the source of ease in my practice. And so it is with my daily life.

Daily Yoga practice helps me to stay connected to my own true self, my [...]]]> One of my mentors once told me ‘the world is seductive.’ People are always offering me ‘opportunities,’ which is often code for ‘I need your help.’ If the world is a stage, who then is the director? Who assigns roles? Lines?

Daily Yoga practice helps me to stay connected to my own true self, my own true voice. For the rest of the day when I’m offered an ‘opportunity’ I can make a clear choice about whether or not it’s right for me.