True Yoga

"True Yoga is not about the shape of your body but the shape of your life.  Yoga is not to be performed. Yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesn't care about what you have been. Yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied."  - Aadil Palkhivala

I gave that quote to all my students yesterday.  I hear students say they are not flexible enough to do yoga.  They worry about how they look, and what they can't do.  So many think that yoga is just some form of exercise or some strange religion......it is neither.
Though there is movement in the poses and some religions have embraced it.  For me, yoga has taught me to let go of judgments, 
to take care of my body, my home, and the earth, all that is around me.  Yoga has taught me that kindness is most important, that how I treat my fellow man is how I will be treated.  Yoga has helped me to maintain a semblance of health while dealing with chronic illness, to eat healthy, to enjoy the sunshine, fresh air and clean water. Yoga has taught me to live now, to learn from my past and understand that I might not have a future. Through yoga, I found the peace that was always there......and I found joy in gratitude.