Yoga Kicks Ass ....

I taught a class recently and there was a student in the class who really should have been in an easier class than mine. On top of that, she was wearing a snug, long sleeve top, and she walked in late (see more on that on earlier post) -- stomping around, snapping out her mat, arranging multiple blankets, oblivious to the fact the other students were meditating. She struggled through the class, was smart enough to know her limits (which is all good) but I think she was actually surprised that my class was demanding and that I actually made her sweat. At the end of class, she was very gracious and made the comment that my class was "intense"... I am not sure that was meant entirely as a compliment -- but I strongly suspect that intensity was something she had never experienced in yoga.

This student came to yoga class expecting it to be easy. Actually, a lot of students are under this impression. They think they are just going to float through a class.

Yoga kicks ass. There is no other way to put it. Yoga is a very mental practice. Yoga challenges you in ways you never imagined - it takes you to the edge physically, mentally and emotionally. It will make you come face to face with inner emotions you never wanted to meet. Yoga will challenge your will and bring you to your knees until you let go of the fear through surrender. "Intense" doesn't begin to cover it.

So, if you are practicing yoga and finding that your class is easy, pleasant and not physically, mentally or emotionally demanding of you -- you're not doing yoga.

I don't know if that means you are in the wrong yoga class or if that means you are not really present on your mat. But you are not getting your money's worth.

Yoga kicks your ass whether you like it or not. Surrender to it. That is how it changes you. You have to let go -- release. That is where you find the healing in yoga. That's how you can take those changes off the mat and incorporate them into your everyday life.

I dont teach the hardest class in the city but if you come to my class, be prepared to sweat, be prepared to work hard to find your center.... because in the name of yoga, I'm prepared to kick your ass (gently, of course).

Namaste.