Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Practice - with a capital "P"

"The greatest reward of doing sadhana is that the person becomes incapable of being defeated. Sadhana is a self-victory and it is a victory over time and space. Getting up is a victory over time, and doing it is a victory over space."  - Yogi Bhajan
Sadhana is the Sanskrit word for Practice - the category of behaviors, habits, exercises and services a student of Yoga will do in the action of reaching truly authentic living. These acts you do with the intention of knowing yourself wholly and completely, as you are, warts and all. These are things you participate in, with the intention of living YOUR life, not the life you "should" have or what others want you to have.

Patanjali notes in the cornerstone of all Yoga literature, that these practices should be taken up with a clear intention, and acted out with consistent dedication.

Students who come to classes consistently (or take tips from free, online classes and clips) are always better suited to show up with this consistent dedication to authentic living. Once the decision has been made to take a change in how you live in your body, how you view your life, or how you think, the hardest part is over. The Practice will meet you where you are -physically, mentally, energetically.

I've had students arrive to my classes after a 13 year hiatus from their on-the-mat practice, usually after a serious injury. How often do you hear of people returning to playing football or chess, after a break like that? The Practice is a journey all its own, and not to be confused with exercise, nor escapism.

In order to shift from unconscious, habit-based, surviving-but-not-thriving, living, sadhana must be completed every day.
"Always do some sadhana no matter how short, because every effort of the individual mind to meet the Universal Self is reciprocated a thousand-fold" - Yogi Bhajan
This doesn't mean you need to pour your savings account into a studio membership...this means taking up one practice that you can achieve every day, just as you eat and bathe and brush your teeth each day. Make your Practice part of your life, and your life will flourish.

Here is a short video I've created for you to do when you aren't going to make it to a public class where your teacher and peers can hold you accountable. Enjoy it and share with those who need it!