On the occasion of my 67th birthday, I’m meditating on Rabindranath Tagore’s* words (above). They fit my experience of yoga practice and teaching weighed against what might be done in various stages of life.
When I was a 27 year-old venturing into what was to me the unknown world of yoga, I couldn’t get enough of physical postures, the more advanced the better. This youthful approach lasted into middle age, until osteoarthritis knocked it on the head. Gradually I weaned myself off of trying to perfect poses and started a very slow process of learning to dialogue with my body, rather than order it to do my bidding. Discipline is one thing; flogging quite another!
I love the way Maria Kirsten has described the way she teaches yoga. Check it out to discover some new ways of thinking about and feeling what you do in yoga classes.
I’ll probably always be attached to my asana practice. It’s been crucial to my well being and keeps me earthed. Doing quiet practices like pranayama and meditation feels riskier to me than attempting the most advanced yoga poses, but it also feels like being considerate of this age and stage of my life.
*Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941) Bengali poet, Nobel Laureate in literature