From another of my teachers, the inimitable Judith Lasater: Follow your nature. The practice is really about uncovering your own pose; we have great respect for our teachers, but unless we can uncover our own pose in the moment, it's not practice - it's mimicry. Rest deeply in savasana every day... enter that pratyahara every day. And just enjoy yourself. For many years I mistook discipline as ambition. Now I believe it to be more about consistency. Do get on the mat. Practice and life are not that different.
In my mind there are various invitations into a particular , depending on what our intention is at that time, but there is no such thing as one set of instructions for a pose that always apply. As one of my teachers Gill Solberg says "thinking everyone will do the same posture in the same way is like thinking every student will fit into the same pair of shoes at the end of class". Our reading this week follows from the notion of being rather than doing our practice, and specifically on how (even though we're studying together and there may be relevant principles for a specific asana) we can find our own way into a posture that is stable, easeful and spacious for us at this time.
From another of my teachers, the inimitable Judith Lasater: Follow your nature. The practice is really about uncovering your own pose; we have great respect for our teachers, but unless we can uncover our own pose in the moment, it's not practice - it's mimicry. Rest deeply in savasana every day... enter that pratyahara every day. And just enjoy yourself. For many years I mistook discipline as ambition. Now I believe it to be more about consistency. Do get on the mat. Practice and life are not that different. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMisha Butot RCSW, ERYT 500 is a longtime clinical social worker and senior yoga teacher living in Victoria, BC Archives
May 2024
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