I attended a yoga workshop this weekend, and my husband asked, "Why are you going? You already know everything." Hmmm. I've been practicing 11 years, teaching for 9. I've learned a whole lot -- from amazing teachers, from not-so-good teachers, from students, and from myself and what comes up in my own practice. And one thing I learned early on is that you never master yoga. It's like an onion -- you peel away a layer only to discover that there are still many more layers underneath.
For most people, yoga practice starts with asana -- focusing on postures and perhaps trying to master them and move on to more challenging versions. But even our postures open up and change over time. You might think you have a posture perfected, but one day on the mat something shifts, and you go to a new place that you've never been to before. As you advance in your practice, you start to realize that postures are just the stepping stones to get to the deeper aspects of yoga. You start studying the philosophy, playing with meditation, and pranayama. Maybe going off to explore a certain aspect very deeply, and then that leads you to another place, which in turn leads to another place.
And while you are peeling back the layers of yoga, you are also being peeled! Little by little, all the heavy baggage that weighs you down starts to work its way up from the deep recesses of body and mind so you can look at it, process it, and release it: old stuff from childhood, anger, insecurity, resentment, fear, physical and emotional trauma, defensiveness -- whatever is in there. All the while, you are becoming more spacious, more open. Your understanding of yourself deepens, followed by your understanding of others. Your sense of connection grows -- connection to self, spirit, and all living things -- and you realize that you are not separate and alone. You become more alive, awake, and aware. As my tag line on the website says, you "live wide open."
I'm at the point in my practice that I don't have to go to class. I can go into a meditative state, and postures and pranayams will erupt spontaneously. Sometimes I do something completely new that I haven't seen before. But when I go to classes and workshops I always learn something new, and it inspires my personal practice and my teaching. And more importantly, I am in sangha -- a community of like-minded people, of other seekers on this path that I -- that we -- have chosen. Practicing in the energy and safety of a group of people who are willing to surrender their egos and grow their souls is a beautiful thing indeed!
Namaste!
Sandy Pradas