30/08/2023
The Asana is not the yoga, it’s all the practises that are associated with it that is the real yoga.
It’s the residue that the asana leaves in our nervous system, a state of being and awareness of sensations in the body, I t’s the preparation of the body but it doesn’t end there.
I could never fully understand how to incorporate the yoga philosophy into my asana practise. And after a wonderful talk by at , I realised that the real practise of yoga is how to apply these teaching into my life, not how to apply them to a yoga class.
The physical practise is wonderful to create time for myself, build awareness and tune in for a bit but it’s not enough to then say I practise yoga….yoga exists in the rest of time in real life!!! How I spend my day, how I interact, how I think and feel. The remaining 7 limbs of yoga. Whilst going to a yoga class a few times a week is great, if I then drive home, get road rage and judge everybody I see on insta, have I really been practising yoga??
Use the physical practise to build strength and awareness of the body but then use that vessel in real life to work the mind, our interactions, our breathing, to always check in and be truly present and aware of our behaviours.
So back to the yoga sutras and teachings again… and again and then applying them day to day. Because when the ability fades or the body changes, what is left is our mind and our relationship with ourselves and others.
