Ego's Point of View

Ego's point of view: 

some of the most important yoga asanas to me right now are the ones once glassed over, considered filler poses to hold a place between the more dramatic postures that fit my image of yoga. I'm almost embarrassed to remember how ego based my practice was, driven by performance, even as I practiced alone and the only praise was occurring in my mind. Worse, the entire time I was convinced that my ego was being tamed, diminished to the point of being free from its grip. It seems that ego has a way of sneaking in the back door and making itself at home again. 

almost every time. 

what's different now is mostly age, being older and less inclined to chase ego away or to make it feel at home. Mainly it's just a presence within a larger sense of presence, a voice that urges me to consider a point of view that no longer feels like my own. I'm more apt to smile at my own follies these days, no longer driven by need nor accomplishments, and that includes any wish to eliminate the ego's point of views. It's easier just to smile, relax, and live my life through joy. 

my yoga practice reflects this.

or perhaps now I finally reflect my true practice.

it doesn't matter either way.

right now my yoga practice is healing based, gentle, designed to calm some long held pain. Both physical and emotional. The voice of ego is often strong, urging me to drive harder and hold every pose longer, an athletes voice, body based, with everything judged by the previous standards once performed. But my easier approach is calming, quieting this voice to a whisper that soon drops to silence, no fight necessary, no need to push away its presence. 

I'm just less concerned with ego's point of view.

and gently, gently...

continue with my practice.

smiling all the while. 

~

Peace, Eric