Thoughts on Yoga
How Yoga Taught Me to Succeed
2008-04-17
Whatever you are crazy about is a clue to your potential genius. However just being passionate isn't enough.If you are willing to do the work, you will receive extraordinary results. Everyone has talent, but only a few really take their gifts seriously. If you do decide to excel at something, you will encounter a lot of struggle and growth.
I have always wanted to be a yoga genius. Even as a child, I read books about yoga and experimented on my own with poses and meditation (they didn’t have kids’ yoga back then.)
At age 18 I started attending formal classes. I had no visible physical talent; I could barely touch my toes in forward bend. I couldn't balance on my head, or straighten my arms all the way in backward bend. I couldn't support my body weight on my arms, or sit comfortably for meditation. There was nothing exceptional about my ability.
I just couldn't let go of wanting to do what I saw other, more experienced students doing. I had no fear of failure. I was certain that I could be among the best. I figured it would take a couple of years or so.
I was so enthusiastic, I would take a challenging yoga class and then go home and immediately repeat the class in my living room. (I don't recommend this for anyone over 21.) I repeated the same class on my own every day until I felt I had made progress. Then I would go back to another class.
I stared at pictures of advanced yoga poses and imagined in detail how I would someday perform each pose. I was spellbound.
Twenty-plus years later my body has come closer to those early aspirations. Poses that were impossible are now in my everyday practice. There are still many things I can't do.
Yoga teaches that it is fruitless to compete with others. But you should aspire to be better today than you were yesterday. Even today, in my daily meditation, I spend some time visualizing myself flawlessly performing one demanding pose after another. Of course I practice too.
What has worked for me in yoga also applies to art, business, study, or any field of endeavor:
1.) Start NOW!--Things will take longer than you expect so there's no time to waste.
2.) Believe in yourself--visualize yourself succeeding again and again.
3.) Measure your progress objectively--sometimes you will feel that you are going backwards. Objective measurements will show you that your efforts have not been in vain.
4.) Pratice infinite patience--Be realistic about what you can accomplish in a short time. Be "in it to win it" however long it takes.
5.) Enjoy the journey.