Richard’s response was that yoga should not turn us into spaced-out hippies! “This practice should make us function better in society. You become grounded. You don’t space out.”
And importantly, we need teachers to help keep us grounded. When students would go to Guruji and say things like, “Oooh Guruji, I feel the kundalini energy rising through my throat chakra blah blah blah,” Guruji would respond: “Go get me 6 pounds of carrots and a bucket of water.” Or if a student said, “Ooh Guruji, every time I close my eyes I see light,” Guruji would say, “Don’t worry, it will go away.” Hah!
The point: Our yoga practice should increase our groundedness, increase our humility, and improve the functioning of our mind for living in this world.
He ended today’s session with: “In addition to your homework, practice continuously. All day and all night. Whatever you are doing, practice. Practice mindfulness.”
P. Jois answers are very funny, indeed grounded.
ReplyDeleteAnother yogi once said: if your current job does not allow you to practice, look for another job.
Sometimes life situations need a change to be able to live healthy.
Happy practices
Ursula
...maybe the reason we need to "find" a teacher is that as students we have ways of being that differ a bit. as we see students that have much tighter ligaments, maybe stronger bodies, versus a naturally flexible body, not as strong the approaches "need" to vary, still seeing the perfection in each of their practices in where they are at...harder to "judge" the quality of their internal journeys, easier to approach each student with an open heart of support...but we are all still learning so much, no?
ReplyDeletelove it. i agree with him/you. i wouldn't want my practice to make some kind of spaced out weirdo. i believe we should be able to be more mindful via yoga, meditation, minimalist practices, etc. without becoming disconnected from what is important in our world. it should makes us better. it should make us more attuned. it should not makes us more distant from people by making us freaks.
ReplyDelete