So What? Now What?

Last week we considered yoga’s aim, which is beyond mastering the body and more about mastering the mind. This aim is more easily reached when one practices with discipline; Patanjali says that one’s practice is firmly grounded when it is continued for a long time, without ceasing, and in all earnestness.

Basically, that means you have made a commitment to yourself to practice, with or without a class, a certain number of times per week and that you keep this going…for a long time, without ceasing. How many times per week? If you’d like to see changes in your body and life, then three times a week is the minimum. Ideally, five to six days a week of practice will develop. The other part of Patanjali’s equation is “in all earnestness,” meaning you’re practicing with sincerity and conviction. This practice is for you, for your own growth and transformation, so it requires your commitment, your honest intentions, and your self-discipline.

Then you’ve established a committed practice. But…so what? now what? (as my teacher likes to say). What comes from this commitment, this disciplined practice? Transformation. And the blossoming of yogic practice in the rest of your life. You might find yourself observing your emotions more, allowing yourself to act in the world rather than react. You might find that you are less judgmental of yourself and others, that you feel more compassion for your own choices and situations as well as those of others. You might find more clarity in decision making, since you’ve come to know your authentic self at a deeper level. You might find negative habits easily falling away.

Sounds good, yes?

But transformation isn’t an overnight phenomenon. You might also find some days that you just don’t feel like stepping on your mat. You might find days when you just don’t want to act as your highest self. Some days, you might feel frustration and impatience. You might react to a situation in anger or fear before you have a chance to understand your motivations for acting. You might revert to old negative habits—like eating too many sweets or watching to much t.v.—you thought were long gone since your yoga practice developed.

But so what? now what?

A disciplined practice and transformation doesn’t mean that you somehow become superhuman. On the contrary, you are able to recognize, understand, and have compassion for your full humanity as you strive to embody and enact more divine characteristics. A disciplined practice means you forgive yourself when you don’t live up to your own ideals. A disciplined practice means you step back on the mat. A disciplined practice means…more practice. And, as K. Pattabi Jois (founder of Ashtanga yoga) said, “With practice, all is coming.”