Jason Crandall
“The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body.”
1. Intention
When our practice comes from a deep place of wanting to improve ourselves, to connect with a higher power, and to find inner peace, then we can approach asanas from a completely different—and more empowered—place.
2. Perseverance
By coming back to our mat again and again, our practice inevitably deepens. We can stretch further and we find energy flowing more freely. Things we hadn’t previously observed about ourselves become clear in those moments. Like anything in life, having perseverance is the key to success.
3. Patience
If your practice is not going well one day, it’s OK! Keep going, lighten the load, give yourself a long relaxation, and remember that simply arriving to your yoga mat is practice in itself.
4. Joy
Enjoying what you are doing on the mat is crucial if you are going to maintain regularity in your yoga practice. Enjoy the stretching like a cat stretching its body after a long nap, and if you’re having a bad day, give yourself the chance to practice your favorite asanas. Approach your practice with playfulness and joy.
5. Enthusiasm
The partner of joy, the word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek “entheos” which means “filled with God.” When you practice with a sense of positivity and from a place of wanting to be in this moment above all else, then you are quite simply bringing yourself back to the divine again and again. Which is what yoga is all about, right?!
The most important factor in having a regular practice is keeping the right attitude and approaching your opportunity to spend time in this way with an enormous sense of gratitude. From this perspective, you will authentically want to practice yoga, and not view it as a chore. We all make time for the things we want!
