Bringing Yoga to Life by Donna Farhi was inspiring, informative and the perfect companion as I began my Yoga Teacher Training. Although, it took me a bit longer to read, I enjoyed the slow pace as it allowed me to really sink my teeth into the words and digest the content. I underlined many passages and dog-eared several pages.
I resonated with so much of what Donna speaks about; however I appreciated the “Yoga as a Life Practice” chapter the most. Being pregnant and raising a toddler, I am forced to experience my yoga practice in a new way. I no longer have the ability to practice for long periods of time at the same time everyday. In a lot of ways my mothering has become my practice. I love how she talks about how life gives us opportunities to stay centered and to “let the task or the distraction become your practice.” She states clearly that “we can draw no definitie line between formal practice and everyday life.” That being said, I understand that formal practice is important and am aware of the peace that comes from this form of devotion. I just love that Donna points out that Yoga goes beyond that mat.
"when we choose to stay with our practice despite the inevitable highs and lows in our lives, we are actively choosing to focus our awareness on that part of us that is unchanging." - D. Farhi
I also really enjoyed the chapter on discipline as this is something I am always trying to cultivate in my life. Donna says, “when we choose to stay with our practice despite the inevitable highs and lows in our lives, we are actively choosing to focus our awareness on that part of us that is unchanging.” As someone who is ruled by her emotions, this chapter and the chapter titled “the Riptide of Strong Emotions” were both inspiring and encouraging to me. I believe somewhere Donna says: “practice anyway”. That was my mantra that best connected me with my intention throughout this Yoga Training. I may feel uninspired, frustrated, distracted, depressed but I tell myself to practice anyway- in whatever capacity. I made it a goal to get on my mat even if it was just to sit for five minutes and check in.
I often wonder why it is so hard to do the things we know will bring us happiness, health, wealth, etc. Why are we so resistant to devoting ourselves to the things that we know will be good for us? Well, Donna does a great job at explaining why that resistance sticks around. She says in the chapter of “The Freedom of Discipline”, that “resistance to practice occurs when we have not yet formed a clear intention. Until we form a clear intention, we cannot rally our energy and align with our goal.”
On day one of this training, Kelsey asked us to form our intention, or rather let our intention arise during our meditation. I had already given this some thought and made notes about it in my training manual. There were lots of goals and aspirations- things like, “to dive deeper into my curiosity of yoga, to connect with others on the same path, to learn what I needed to be a teacher, to gain confidence, to be a guide, to serve, to embody a strong, steady and peaceful spirit.” Then during the meditation the word: “becoming” came to me and I knew that this is why I was here. To become the true version of myself, to continue the work of untangling the limits and lies and conditioning. To become the vision I hold for myself. To become united in body, mind and soul. To become the teacher and the student.
So daily I remind myself, to practice anyway and trust in the process of becoming. My yoga practice is evolving just as life itself is.
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