The more physically dramatic the practice the more outward it takes you.The more subtle the practice the more it draws you inwards. This interiorisation is yoga.
Choose any practice that clears the path inwards and repeat it. Again and again. The more we can practice this the easier it becomes to drop into tranquility within ourselves. These are observations of teacher, Kaya Mindlin.
Yoga is a journey of the self, through the self, to the Self.
It is a myth that the poses are the endpoint, the shapes as the goal. This can be good fun though I and arguably should play a part in the process but only to better teach us to focus on what’s going on inside. Cultivating that incredibly valuable, lifelong intuition and self knowledge. The asana (poses) are often referred to as a circus or decoration, I call them the ‘distractions and satisfactions’, after all they are only an eighth of the system of yoga.
The range of motion, mobility, balance and usable strength of the asana are superb for living but deeper still is the building of the ability to lean into yourself. To fold into your support of self.
Soft practices are not easy because this is what we face and are dealing with, the chatter of the mind, the fluctuations around our perception of self and the ability to simply be with ourselves – and to be at peace with what we find there that day.
