miércoles, 5 de agosto de 2015

Where there is a will, there is a way

A sucession of miracles each day.

I flew back to Guanacaste last monday.  Had the privilege to visit this amazing part of my country again.  The invitation came to teach again,  yet i know there were other forces involved as well.  Came back with the happy news that three of my students from the beach will attend the next intensive.  So even if i had a plan i know certain things are just meant to happen.

Yoga is not meant to be heard by everyone.  Now it has become very popular and mainstream,  but the style that i practice is not the yoga of the "yes"... it´s the yoga of the "no".   The NO´s start as soon as you get to your mat:  I´m tired, it´s too early,  i´m hurting,  i´m stiff,  i´m sleepy, i´m hungry...the mind goes wild when confronted with the present moment.

The NO´s follow after a few years of practice. Then we think we "know" something:  we have opinions about the practice,  the teacher, our peers,  our bodies...we go to India and then start this trip about being "special".  Some of us stay there for a few years and i´m sure my teacher watches us with amusement and probably a bit of concern.

Few more years go back.  The practice gets tough.  India is easy: back home very hard.  We all have our families,  jobs,  social life.  Our practice asks for commitment.  It´s easy to find entertainment in the yoga world.  See people,  get social,  enjoy the view.  But the way gets narrow and narrow and sometimes we just want to quit.   So many sacrifices,  so many things we need to give up in order to continue.

Some think this yoga is a discussion group.  They get together and talk instead of getting to their mats.  Sometimes they talk about other people, teachers,  students,  Mysore,  bla bla bla...total waste of time.  Either you decide to get in the boat or you are out.   Talking is a pathetic way of trying to stay connected to something that is totally quiet and personal.  Even if we practice with other people, the truth is we are alone in our sadhana.  It´s us and the energy,  however you would like to call it.

Us and the Prana.

Prana gets wasted.  Some don´t know how to manage it.  We are waking up a Leviathan here and we need to focus and create.  Otherwise we become lean,  mean yoga machines.  Tough attitude,  bodies and minds caught up in narcissistic endeavors.  Basically a...holes.  I´ve seen many of those and i´ve also see many of those transform into amazing open-hearted human beings.   But it takes a few more years for that to happen.

So Ashtanga is not measured in months or years,  but in decades.  It´s measured by how soft we become,  how tolerant and compassionate.  It´s not about the looks though our looks sometimes confuse people.  The body is only our instrument and yes,  it becomes strong and flexible,  does amazing things.  But the cool part is what happens inside of us.

I´m ready to go see my teacher and face myself again.  In his presence all masks fall apart.  He has a way of seeing us and our trips,  grounding us and keeping us real.  This is not a yoga of fashion.  It´s the yoga of sweat and tears.  It´s the yoga that opens our being and makes us realize the truth from the false.  It´s the yoga of  those who lost hope a long time ago to find happiness in this world and yet ended up finding a treasure we never thought existed.

I trust those who commit and give it all to find themselves.  I trust that part of me that knows and wants to learm.  I believe a few of us are meant to go all the way in this lifetime.  How far we want to take it is up to us.  If we have a teacher we are way beyond lucky.  And our teacher will make sure we stay on track.

If there is a will we will find the way out of the darkness.  For ourselves,  for those who we love, for the world.  Is the only way to save ourselves:  to remember who we really are.

The way is steep but where there is a will,  the way instantly opens up.


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