“Measure the progress of your asana not by the complexity of what you can do with your body, but rather your relationship with your mother-in-law,” advised Gary Kraftsow in one of my trainings with him over 15 years ago.
I didn’t have a mother-in-law at the time, but I understood that he was referring to the quality and harmony of possibly the most difficult relationship as an accurate indicator of the progress of our on-the-mat yoga practice.
What does asana do for us? Over my years of teaching, I have seen asana strengthen and condition bodies to be strong and capable, and open and stretch areas that feel tight and over-used. I have witnessed practitioners accessing their breath, resulting in feeling more awake, alive and calm, appreciating the space and ease in the body and mind.
As practitioners go through job transitions and dating sagas, marriages and divorces, tragedies and bliss, travel to places around the globe and to places deep into the soul, they continue to come back to the mat as a way to connect with their breath, their body, their lives.
Our personal practices—whether they be practicing asana or meditation, going to church or keeping a gratitude journal, celebrating religious holidays or sentimental anniversaries, faithfully scheduling workouts and weekly dates—are all ways that help us become more present in our lives and live more fully. Over the years, yoga has become a common access point to this state of mind.
ILLUMINE’s editorial conversation for this issue focused on the idea that “It’s not just asana anymore.” More fitness classes are integrating the body and mind. Though the use of more reflective, yoga-inspired language, these classes highlight the “flow” state of mind that results from any prolonged and uninterrupted time spent doing something we love. By specifically emphasizing the “zen” quality of fitness, whether running, pedaling a bike or lifting weights, there is a more universal encouragement to use the mind to focus on speed, intensity, endurance and stamina.
We explored other practices that get people quieting down and turning inward. We’ve entered into a culture that uses physical effort and doing, no matter what that may be, to get to a more centered and still place of being. As such, ILLUMINE will become more expansive in addressing the fitness and wellness community, as well as the myriad of ways to live an inspired life.
In ILLUMINE’s Winter 2016 issue, our writers explore how and what we do what we do with more attention, awareness and insight. We are more curious about the results of quieting the mind than the asana itself, and we trust that our relationships (with our mothers-in-law and others) are our most precious works of art.
Lourdes Paredes
Publisher, Founder, Editor-in-Chief
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