Yoga Beyond Belief: Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice

energy projecting images of perfection and trying to live up to unattainable goals. We beat ourselves up too easily with expectations we create of how we
should be
in our postures and in our lives. It is a natural tendency to envision an idealized pose and then work—or worse, struggle—to attain it. Unfortunately, our efforts at perfection can be counterproductive and can take us away from being in tune with the needs and actualities of the moment. It may be more fruitful simply to tune in to our own needs and levels of ability, not push ourselves unreasonably, and to work within our limits. But hereparadox raises its head again because it is also important to work on improvement and to use the examples of more advanced students and more refined postures to motivate and guide us. Sometimes pushing oneself onward and exerting a bit more can lead to breakthroughs and leaps in ability. The bottom line again is sensitivity, balance, and learning to listen to know what will be most productive and healthful. Understanding what natural laws show about perfection can guide us as we learn through our own errors and it may help us to lighten up on ourselves a bit. This understanding may apply usefully to other areas of life too. Looking back, we see that some of our greatest lessons came from our errors. If everything is perfection, then imperfection is part of the process, part of the perfection of all things.

Discipline
    I often hear students say, “I don’t have the discipline to keep up a regular practice. I really would like to but somehow I’m just not disciplined enough.” Does this sound familiar? People often comment about how disciplined I seem to be. I actually don’t feel disciplined at all, at least in the usual sense of the word. We often hold discipline to mean the effort to do certain things we think we need to do, or should be doing, but in fact we don’t have the energy or will to do. Where do we get the energy, then? When we are really interested in something or really enjoying something, we do not need what we call discipline to do it. In fact, the root meaning of the word comes from
discere
, which means
to learn
. I’ve learned to enjoy my practice and to keep it fresh and interesting. I do this by following my interests, approaching each session freshly, and by not beating myself up when I don’t feel like working. Staying in touch with the benefits, energy, and well-being that my practice gives me is what keeps my energy flowing.
    Developing regularity in our practice is very important, but regularity differs dramatically from routine and regimentation. It is moreimportant to be free, open, and responsive to the needs of each moment than to have a regimented daily practice. At the same time, we need to avoid irregularity and sporadic practice. Routine or regimentation can imply a rote, mechanical process that soon becomes boring and tiring. Staying in tune with the process and benefits you experience keeps energy to practice flowing. We can become hooked, in a positive sense, on feeling good, strong, and flexible. If, due to circumstances, we miss too many days, we will begin to notice undesirable differences in our bodies and this awareness will give us the energy to get going again.
    Taking time off occasionally, by choice or necessity, allows the body to rest and heal. I take at least one day a week off and find this aspect of my practice very beneficial. But it isn’t necessary to schedule my day off—circumstances provide it. Many times after intentionally or inadvertently missing a few days, I come back stronger and
more
flexible. In a lifelong practice, even the down times become part of the process and learning experience. Don’t beat yourself up for missing some days, but also don’t develop the habit of being “regularly irregular.” I have witnessed people so fanatical about their routines that they miss out on many of the joys of living. I recall traveling with a yoga teacher who missed a beautiful tour of a foreign city and a sunset cruise on a river because he wouldn’t skip his morning practice. My practice that morning was the adventure and my yoga lost nothing.
    It is also important, especially for newer students, to develop and maintain a momentum or constancy of practice. Building a strong foundation through periods of consistent dedication carries us through the lean times when we cannot practice and helps establish a lifelong practice. We can learn to see our