It's A Choice

Every day when I teach a yoga class, I am amazed at reactions of students. .......I have taught thousands but when someone "gets it", it is still thrilling! I watch my students closely, to make sure that alignment is good, that they are safe, to see who is enjoying the class and who is there because they were made to come. Some are so skeptical when they walk in for the first time, others are really nervous, some are angry, others are just glad to be where it is calm and peaceful.

Today was a typical day, several were so happy to be there, a couple were a little nervous, and one comes because they are made. It is hard to teach someone stillness and peacefulness when they do not want it.......well they want it, but they cannot believe that anything as simple as breath work and gentle stretches will do anything. I watch this person who is made to take yoga, they do not close their eyes during the first few minutes of breath work, not much effort in the asanas(poses).

Forcing someone to take yoga, makes no sense to me, it is like trying to force someone to quit smoking or drinking alcohol. They leave looking bored with hollow eyes, I feel so sad for them.

They can't grasp what the big deal is, what all the others are raving about, the sensation of peace and the beauty of stillness. But it is a choice you know. I give 100% to my students, but the vessel has to be open, there has to be a willingness, a want or desire to know peace, to relax.

Then there are those, who are so ready.....who drink it up and cannot believe it was so simple and easy. Who understand that breath is everything, it is the key to now, to living in the present. The breath is healing, the breath is calm, it allows you to go inward and find answers you have been searching for your whole life. Yes, it is that simple. Many teach yoga as a physical fitness, as just another way to exercise and I suppose if that is all you look for, then that is what you get. But there is a choice to make, do you want a better understanding of your self, to go deeper and find answers, to be so aware of your body and its workings, to connect with the world around you, to relax, to sleep, to manage pain, to travel a path to good health, and live a happier peaceful life. It is that simple, to breathe, to experience stillness, to meditate.

It's a choice, I urge you to try it, just sit for a few moments when you get up in the morning.

Do nothing but sit, and breathe. Be aware, of sounds, of light, of movement, of smells.

Sit and breathe. Listen to the sound of your breath, to the sensation of breathing and doing nothing else.

Sit and breathe. It's a choice.