The River of Yoga Practice

I’ve been at this yoga project for a while, the river of yoga practice has ebbed and flowed its way over 34 years of life-terrain, touching gain, loss, heartache, moments of insight, flesh & blood, and clear stillness; meandering towards a greater ocean, somewhere on the other side of present mountains.

The practice evolves with time; as ecology evolves; as culture evolves; as insight matures; and our role changes. Thankfully, there are many methods to support us in these changes.  Still, the actual experience of yoga itself is timeless. “Yoga is as old as human heart” as Babji would say.

The practices are a means to a greater end, that sounds something like: deep harmony, right-relationship, and even revelation. Over the decades, here have been times when I’ve mistaken means for ends, clung to rout-methodology and forgot the larger purpose or spirited-connection to yoga.

Looking back, over the decades, and the many yoga teacher trainings, these barren moments seem strangely necessary. Then come the cool rains of grace, perhaps at an unexpected moment, that revive the deeper spirit of why we practice at all.