Not a Teacher

Not a teacher: 

I'm not a yoga teacher, not an expert of any kind, and have actually just stopped short of my 200-hour teachers training course. To go further would be to enter the classroom, learning to teach a class, instruct a group of people through a sequence of asanas. There's absolutely no interest for me there, although it certainly is a worthy endeavor if one feels called in that direction. It doesn't seem that I am though, or at least not yet, it's doubtful that I ever will. I value the practice of asanas, before I even meditated I had a regular series of postures I performed almost daily. But even then I knew that there was more to yoga than asanas, a larger purpose, and I found myself drawn in that direction. For over 30 years now I've meditated daily, perhaps there was a session lost here or there, but largely it's been a committed practice and my life has changed drastically since beginning. 

it seems that I've built my practice from the back end to the front, a reverse journey of the yogic path, coming all the way to the ethical considerations that traditionally begin the teaching. I think mainly it's because I've been extremely physical through life, fitness orientated, and it was easy to forget the true purpose of asanas, they simply became part of my fitness routine. Of course the yoga classes that I've attended over the years have encouraged this, most offering little more than a brief philosophical overview before turning full attention to firmer thighs and flatter abs. Important issues, but in a larger context these are more of a byproduct of our practice and not the goal. 

Patanjali states it succinctly in his sutras -

yogas chitta vrtti nirodha. 

yoga is the cessation of the fluctuation of the mind. 

and this doesn't happen by force or through intense concentration, but only through the gentle persistence of our practice, returning to poses again and again, the soft repetition of mantra or easy focus on the breath. This is where a guide proves invaluable, urging our return to this very basic principle, constantly leading us back towards the true purpose of yoga. 

I'm not a teacher, or even a guide. 

but maybe I can be a signpost, a reminder of our true and most important steps along the path, using words to gently serve as guardrails preventing a yogi from wandering too far away. I'm certainly not a teacher, but I am persistent with my practice - and I'm eager to share my enthusiasm. Really, I'm just a fellow yogi, and my own words serve in this commitment. 

writing is simply part of my practice. 

~

Peace, Eric