Friday, July 23, 2010

Is your yoga working?

“If the practice has any value at all, it’s because of the changes that occur outside of the yoga practice.” 
 ~John Campbell 
I liked his explanation for why yoga works outside of the practice:

Yoga eases some of our physical pain and strengthens our mind, “making us less prone to self-absorbed and dysfunctional behavior."

When we have fewer worries on our mind, we naturally think less about ourselves and think more about other people.

5 things your yoga should be doing:
  • Fewer self-obsessed thoughts
  • Better interactions with others
  • More compassion towards others
  • More sensitivity
  • More creativity 
If these are not happening, then the yoga is not working (or you may not be being guided properly).

It's so easy to get stuck in the self-focused physical practice (I want to jumpback, do a handstand, grab my heels in kapotasana, get the next pose, on and on). But the important question to continually ask myself is: "Is the yoga actually working?"

5 comments:

  1. Yes, that is a great way to put it, that is indeed a very good test to see if yoga is working... wonderful!

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  2. I just found, and absolutely love, your blog. Well said! Its so easy to get caught up in wanting to do the next level pose, bend deeper, but there is just so much more.....all comes back to being present in the moment to appreciate and learn from it.

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  3. Hi JodiB - thanks so much for reading and I'm looking forward to more of your comments!!

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  4. This is a lovely post! I have found yoga to be a beneficial practice that has the power to heal the world if we as individuals choose to do the work and share the experience.
    Om!

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