A Yogi

A yogi: 

I am not a yogi of drastic poses, being unable to place my leg behind my head, do a proper headstand, or even sit for any length of time in Lotus pose. Yet I am faithful to my practice and have been so for many years, decades actually. What I've discovered is that balance of striving for a perfect pose while accepting my limits of the present moment, doing what my body allows right now without any sense of failure as to what's accomplished. My challenge isn't in the length of time that I hold any posture, now is it found by the difficulties of any one pose - the challenge is met by my commitment to uncover what the posture holds for me at the moment I approach it, discovering that perfect point of poise that each pose offers, if only for an instant, fleeting, yet a possibility to be shown. 

I am a yogi of commitment. 

regardless of the pose. 

more so, I deeply love my practice. Twice daily, well before dawn for sun salutations to greet another day, an afternoon practice to follow that's longer and more involved through the series of postures. Through all of this though, there is a commitment to the principle of least effort, meaning that I give myself fully to each pose, but only with the exact amount of energy required, without undue strain to reach any position, while leaving my mind as tranquil as possible. 

I let the posture tell me what to do. 

and then move on, 

it's become that simple for me now, not easy, it's still a physical event, requiring muscle, skill, and no small amount of grace involved. Yet I give only what the posture asks for, nothing more than my commitment to the moment that I hold any particular pose, having learned by now to listen to the wisdom of body, mind, as well as the asana. 

finally...

a yogi after all. 

~

Peace, Eric