Towards Steadiness and Ease

Towards steadiness and ease: 

it's my yoga now, shared with Patanjali, unwavering in its commitment towards steadiness and ease. I'm less interested in the complexity of a pose, nor do I find that I need to hold them for a greater length of time. There's no goal to my practice other than the practice itself, asanas for the sake of finding comfort in my body, and all effort concentrated towards an eventual surrender to the pose. 

sthira sukham.

that I'm moving towards steadiness and ease.

truly so. 

Patanjali says very little about asanas, the third limb of yoga. Of the 196 in total only three actually mentions them and not in any great detail at all. The asanas weren't emphasized, but how we should approach them certainly was - that we should commit ourselves to steadiness and ease, a balance between the two, our minds relaxed and bodies poised on the edge of comfort and effort. I have finally come to a point of understanding this, how the asanas themselves are a meditation on this balance, each selected posture calling for both a mindful effort as well as my surrender. 

it's my yoga now, finally, no longer involved with ego and a drive to perfect each pose. In this sense I've already surrendered, even before a single asana is selected I have let go of any need to stress my body further than is needed. My only goal is to reach that edge of poise and surrender, not quickly, but only as it arrives to me as move through every pose. 

I'm no longer in a hurry. 

there's no urgency here. 

only sthira sukham.

moving towards a sense of steadiness and ease. 

~

Peace, Eric