Art of Yoga Practice: Part 2
We continue the conversation from the previous post on the Art of Yoga Practice.
Anita: And then of course there is sraddha (faith), smrti (remembering why I am doing this practice), consistency and regularity that helps. These are also mentioned in the Yoga Sutra as the attitude needed from a practitioner and the qualities of a practice.
Sraddha is neither blind faith nor being impatient with results. Sraddha is an attitude of patient, alert, connection and relatedness to the practice instead of a restless, dull, disconnected, mechanical, transactional or extractive attitude towards the practice.
Sraddha is not restless impatience for results: The story of the monkey
There was once a monkey-gardener, who wanted to ensure every sapling was growing well. After watering, he would pull up every sapling to check if it was ok, alas never allowing it to grow!
Sraddha is not blind faith
: The story of the snake
Once there was a snake, it followed the advice of a monk not to bite but only hiss, as it wanted to make friends and didn’t want to scare away people. It ended up being hurt as it was too ‘nice’
Raji: Sometimes students are looking for some intensity, they have some pre-conceived notions about a yoga practice or what they want from it. For e.g. Did I get a good workout in the class?
Anita Balasubramanian: As a client, what is my goal if I am constantly looking at the physical aspect and say, did I get a good workout. What is happening to my mind? What else could be the goals for me? This can be discussed with the teacher to consider if a yoga practice is the best option towards those goals. I have told some of my clients to do strength training, because that serves their needs better. I have also asked some to take up dance or gardening to bring joy in their life, if that is the goal. So it is not an either-or but to know what are the goals for the person and whether yoga practice and philosophy can serve the person. As yoga teachers, we must be aware of the limitations and possibilities of yoga practice as well as other modalities.
Any well-being professional (including a yoga teacher) must be willing to listen to the person, look at what they need, and assess if I can take them in that direction. Else point them to whatever else they think might serve them better. It's not about stressing that people need to do Yoga, but to look at what you need, what your goal is and identifying a practice that can take you in that direction. It's not about selling yoga to the person. The person becomes the center of deciding what the practice ought to be.
So, that’s our conversation around practice. Hopefully, your questions are answered to some extent. Here’s a summary of our chat:
