A Little Abhyasa Goes a Long Way

“Do your practice and all is coming.” -- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

The death of Pattabhi Jois stunned and saddened the yoga world earlier this week. I found out on Monday afternoon and frankly, was caught speechless (it took a while for the news to sink in). I suppose that's why I didn't join on the blog bandwagon by writing a post on the topic. Rather than write to honor the great guruji, I think it's more important to act. I do that by following the wonderful advice guruji offers in the above quote. While I like the pretty words, I'm more of an "action speaks louder than words" kind of gal. This week I've been offering up my practice to honor this great teacher, who will be sorely missed.

What Comes First -- Practice or Discipline?
Abhyasa -- or practice -- is defined by Patanjali as the effort we make to stay in our goal. It is practice, along with discipline (vairagyam) are the two tools that use to reach a state of yoga. Of course discussing abhyasa and vairagyam is a little like discussing the chicken and the egg -- which comes first. As I've learned -- first in class and then through experience -- vairagyam will come as a result of abhyasa. If you do your practice every day, little by little, changes start to occur. Over time you become more linked to your practice than you do to the distractions that take you away from your practice.

What to Do When Practice Doesn't Come Easy
Yet I continually hear from students that keeping up with a regular practice is so very difficult. Nowadays most people have about an hour -- if that -- to spare for exercise, so yoga sometimes gets second priority. Since I'm a big believer in balance I tell my students to do the exercise and do the yoga -- just don't try to do both at once. For my clients concerned with keeping their weight down and staying in shape, I offer up a simple option to maintain a yoga practice and an exercise plan -- do about 20-30 minutes of interval training and then 30 minutes practicing yoga. Viola. There's your 60 minutes, and you haven't sacrificed any desired physical conditioning to get a nice balance of cardio, strength, and yoga.

Now if finding time isn't easy, I suggest the getting up 30 minutes earlier (or going to bed 15 minutes earlier and getting up 15 minutes earlier if that's a little more tolerable-sounding to you) and doing a brief 30-minute practice. Yes, you can get benefits from a 30-minute practice. My own asana practice is 30 minutes. Simple, yet effective. Remember, the name of the game isn't quantity, it's quality.

Patanjali teaches us in the sutras that a practice will have a strong foundation if it’s served by these 4 qualities (these are the ingredients necessary to reach our goal):

1. practice for a long time – dirgha kala

2. continuously, without interruption – nairantarya

3. positive attitude (a belief that it’ll work, faith) – satkara

4. eagerness, enthusiasm (we like it, we want to do it) – adara

ReinVigorating Your Yoga Practice
We've covered the first two points, but what about the last two. Unfortunately, I can't help you with those -- they have to come from within you. When I see the last two waning in a person, I offer up the following advice:

• Change teachers/yoga styles. Sometimes change can reinvigorate your yoga practice. Perhaps the style of yoga you practiced at 30 no longer suits you at 40. It's not a crime to learn a new style. The yoga police won't come after you -- I promise. I've met plenty of people who have studied one style for a decade or more only to change styles because their bodies, hearts, and minds needed it.
• Read the great masters. If your faith in yoga is flagging or you find yourself wondering  why you unfurl your mat every morning, try reading for a little inspiration from the masters. Here are a few suggestions: Light on Yoga, The Heart of Yoga, Autobiography of a Yogi, Indira Gandhi: Daughter of India, A Woman's Work with Gurdjieff, Ramana Maharshi, Krishnamurti, Anandamayi Ma & Pak Subuh, and The Yoga Sutras, just to name a few.
• Take a look inside. Why do you resist practicing? Ask the question of yourself and the answer will make itself known.

With everything fighting for our attention today, you might have to cut something out to fit in a regular yoga practice. But as Guruji wisely points out -- when we practice, good comes to us (as well as a dash of vairagyam). Are you ready and willing to let it all come to you?

I'll end with one final salute -- godspeed guruji, godspeed. Thank you for sharing your teachings with the world. We honor you by practicing and teaching, and helping them to live on.

Namaste!

Comments

[solitude]

Nice post. I like your blog very much because i get enough information about health tourism and their tips and tricks. I normally search on health topics and i see that your blog have great informational post on health. Thanks for your this great blog.

[Diane Cesa]

Thanks for your comment Yanz and a great reminder of guiding principles with which to live our lives. Love it!

[Diane Cesa]

Thanks Om Girl! I'm so glad that this post inspired you to hit the mat. I have my own little 'yoga over gym any day' motto that I stick to. And I second that many thanks and add some more thanks of my own. Thank you Pattabhi Jois and thank YOU for your comment!

[Yanz]

Thanks for a great post. I think we could all do well to adopt Patanjali's values of dirgha kala, nairantarya, satkara and adara in our daily lives, in addition to our yoga practice. I especially think that satkara (a positive attitude) is the most important ingredient for success in everything we do.

[Om Gal]

Great insight, here. Thank you! I was just contemplating between going to the gym or doing a home yoga practice, and you inspired me to hit the mat. When my practice was more ashtanga-focused, Pattabhi's teachings were a huge influence on me. Many thanks for all he shared with the world.

[Benefits of yoga]

Great post! The benefits of yoga are still unknown to many people. Different types of yoga have different effect on our health. However, it is important to understand the yoga basics so that the practitioner can perform the asanas perfectly and experience the benefits of yoga.

[Bob Weisenberg]

Good advice. Thanks, Diane.

Bob W.