How Yoga Works

So today I finished the book How Yoga Works. I can honestly say that while I would love to go on and on about the ending, I fear at least one of the three people who have viewed my blog have not read the book.  For that reason I will spare all the details of how I feel on paper as to not ruin it for that one soul who has yet to experience it.  But my, what a book.  I was genuinely surprised and pleased  at the book.  And that was only for the story line.  When you actually get into the details and philosophy of how yoga works, and how yoga is intended to work in someone, it really brings a new dimension not only to the book, but also to the discussions over the sutras we are having in class.

The class discussions are actually starting to become more of my favorite time in class, even over the yoga which is surprising even to me.  Having the little background of yoga that I do, I know that I really enjoy the asana poses because they help limber me up and help me find a peace and calmness to my otherwise hectic days.  But going over the sutras, and How Yoga Works, and the discussion of how they are to apply to my life, in even the most minuscule way, is really cool.  It is another way to think about things and is another way that I can stop and take a step back and think about things which causes me to slow down and get more of the peace the same way the asana does.  More than that, it is quite deep and gives me something to think back on during the week more than any of my other classes.  I mean there is only so much deeper you can do with European history or American policy decisions.

Outside of class I really tried to focus on my personal practice, especially with missing almost all of last week and not really being diligent there.  While I have probably taken a few steps back in terms of my practice because of it, I am able to stretch myself further in the sense that I am doing more poses and incorporating it more than just good stretches and limbering up, however that is still a lovely benefit I am getting. In fact, just this morning I noticed how much closer I am to touching my toes while bending over while standing and that was a nice visual to show me how much I have improved in such a relatively short time.