Beyond Asana Blog

I recently received the proofs for a photo shoot I did for a forthcoming book.

How many of the poses looked perfect?

Uhh, none.

How many were completely and undeniably perfect?

Well, all of them.

The truth is, I’ll never do a perfect asana.

Yet, from the perspective of the truth, how could my postures be anything but pure perfection?

Just as I was mulling this over (because its something I’ve been thinking about for only, say, 25 years now), I read this, sent to me by a wise student who had also been contemplating these questions:

You are neither good enough nor not good enough. An apple seed is neither good enough nor not good enough, it simply is in the process of becoming an apple, and then fa...

Confidence: Certitude, self-assurance, reliance on one’s own resources and powers, trust, firm conviction, sureness.
 
In the new course on Nondual Tantra that I'm co-teaching, I was reminded of where true confidence comes from: The remembrance of our innate fullness, wholeness, and perfection. 

Just like a flower can’t be separated from its fragrance or the sun can’t be separated from its rays, this tradition teaches that this fullness can never be taken away from us because it’s who we are at our essence.

Anything else – all our smallness, insecurity, and self-doubt – is considered a state of forgetfulness.

Not that the forgetting doesn’t feel real, not that we don’t experience it as a kind ...

1 cup of Calrose rice

1 cup and 2 Tbl. water

1 Tbl. rice vinegar

Put everything in the Instant Pot.

Set to “Pressure Cook” for 6 minutes, and let it sit on “Keep Warm” for about 8 minutes (or a little more if you are busy).  

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
Where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.

- Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
 
I take these words quite literally these days, as the weather turns colder and I become ever more comfortable under the covers. When the alarm clock rings and it's time to get up for meditation, hopefully I can remember Rumi's advice, Don’t go back to sleep.
 
More profoundly, though, this poem calls on us to nurture our experience of awakening. It asks us to clarify and th...

From where I sit in Southern Quebec, it’s clear that this week is about letting go. In nature, of course, that is happening gracefully, organically, and precisely as it should be. In my own very human life, however, letting go isn’t always that natural or easy.

I sometimes wonder why my mind and body clearly prefer holding on to unproductive thoughts and limiting patterns rather than releasing into the joy and freedom that come when I’m willing to let it all fall away? Maybe a better question is: How can I facilitate releasing what’s ready to be let go of?

By softening physical tension, yoga invites us to first notice, and then surrender, habitual patterns of movement in asana in favor ...

Father Joe Pereira is a Indian Roman Catholic priest, a beloved senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher, and a social worker who worked closely with Mother Theresa for decades. He founded the Kripa Foundation, which offers holistic-oriented programs for the rehabilitation of HIV patients and people affected by substance abuse. 

I met Father Joe a few years ago and we spoke about the role of service in yogic life. He told me:

Service is a natural outcome of a practitioner who looks at this practice as a gift.… you can’t keep it to yourself, you want to share it with somebody…Mother Theresa started by getting this inspiration that people are thirsty for love. And the people who were not being loved is wh...

Subtle takes time.

In the space of sustained inner attention, awareness penetrates beneath the obvious to notice and capture insights in our practice.

Subtle can’t be downloaded or clicked on.

It’s delicate like the wings of a Gossamer butterfly.

Yes, practice gives us the opportunity to develop the strength of mind and sensitivity needed to refine our perception and grasp what might otherwise remain elusive.

The question is, how much do we value it? And more importantly, are we willing to unplug and simply stay put with our experience long enough for the subtle to emerge?

The secret to longevity in yoga practice is a willingness to begin again.

If you’re ready to get back on your mat and recommit to a regular rhythm of practice, you’re in good company. Getting disconnected from, and subsequently coming back to your practice is something all longtime practitioners will do at one time or another.

As you continue down the road of yoga, the question isn’t whether you’ll get disconnected from your practice, it's how will you bring yourself back?

Here are my top ten tips for starting again:

1. Welcome yourself even more unconditionally than usual.

2. Begin with something you love that feels great in your body and go from there. (Rolling around on the floor counts.)

3....

It’s Pitru Paksha, the two-week period in the Hindu calendar (September 21-October 5 this year) dedicated to honoring one’s ancestors.

This traditionally includes your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. It can also be extended to include teachers, friends, mentors, and even pets that have departed.

It’s a great time to acknowledge with gratitude the legacy of wisdom or protection that you've received from loved ones or trusted elders who have passed. You might consider how you continue to benefit from their guidance and love in your life.

What if the blessings of your ancestors were in a box that you could open and release into your life at will?

But even if you don’t relate to...

It might be more efficient to make your morning coffee the night before and microwave it when you wake up. But most of us don’t do that because, well, it’s just not the same.
 
Like your morning beverage, yoga is so much more potent and powerful when it’s served up fresh.
 
What good is all the information that´s in all those wonderful books you’ve read and notes you've taken if you can’t apply it to your life?
 
My experience is that yogic knowledge is never a one-and-done affair. It needs to be refreshed, remembered, and re-enlivened so it’s not just something I understood once upon a time but living wisdom that’s available to me in the present moment, where it really counts.
 
For example, thi...