“I wish I started Yoga 10 years ago!” “I should have taken care of this back pain when I just felt it.” “My doctor suggests I should try Yoga.” My reply is always the same, “You are here now.” The words “should”, “wish” & “try” are suggesting your effort was/is only partial. So instead of fixating on the guilt of the past, NOW is the time for you to be 100% fully involved in the process of Yoga, and make your life vibrant and exuberant. Every bright smile after each practice is a statement for that! Yoga is never about bending & twisting your body to make a human pretzel with your limbs. It is a collection of complex mechanisms which promote seeking connections with the Cosmos.
The main branches of Yoga are:
Kriya Yoga - Yoga of attainment through self discipline & purification
Jnana Yoga - Yoga of truth & wisdom
Karma Yoga - Yoga of Action (physical / energetic / mental)
Bhakti Yoga - Devotion to the Divine (within & with-out)
Hatha Yoga - Yoga of aligning with the Cosmic geometry.
If you are looking for apples, you need to look up and pluck them from branches above, not by digging into the earth like potatoes. When you are in a depleted state, perhaps due to an injury, depression, or stress, the solution is never external: getting another trinket; engaging in intimate acts; obtaining more money! Look inward, and you will find that the golden essence of growth is your own realization to learn and liberate yourself from that experience. This is the beginning of your Yoga journey. It is absolutely alright to practice Hatha Yoga for pure physical strength & mobility, there is nothing wrong with it! However, it is like driving a powerful all-wheel car and only use it to get groceries. Instead of exploring uncharted terrains and being excited for the unlimited possibilities of where it can take you, once you have reached the boundaries of the physical body, without exploring the boundless dimensions of Yoga, you can easily get bored and stop practicing.
“But I am not flexible enough!” “I don’t have time for the practice.” “It is so hard! I am too old for that.” Do not set limit to the human experience. Like I have always said, if comfort is what human seeks, the entire human race would still be crawling, because standing upright is a serious evolution challenge. I would like to invite and encourage you to explore the freedom and the power that comes with this amazing human machine with our dedicated INYE community. The moment is always NOW!
Enhance the vital energy from within, and devote to the Yoga practice in order to glimpse the full mechanisms of life.
Each Yoga practice is a doorway to experience energetic processes with intensity & ease, expansion & dissolution. These are not contradictory qualities, they are complimentary. The teachings of Hatha Yoga alone can cleanse & revitalize your body & mind, to raise your sensitivities and harmonize with all there is around you. Once you are strong & stable, then you can embark on the spiritual processes with greater ease.