I try to spend a little time every week reading through some of the books I have on yoga, or reading Yoga Journal, or even reading through material that may not be directly related to yoga, but is still inspirational. I thought this month I'd share a few of my favorite quotes and/or books.

"Yoga is not about self-improvement, it's about self-acceptance."
~Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, The Eight Human Talents

A friend of mine bought me Gurmukh's book as a going away present from a job I held. She knew I had recently started practicing yoga, and, as she put it, "the cover looked funny." Little did she know that this was to become one of my favorite books on the subject. Gurmukh has a very down-to-earth way of explaining concepts that can be complex or esoteric. For me, this is the hallmark of a great teacher. Here's another gem, which speaks directly to what drew me to yoga practice in the first place:
"I have often said to the students that hat we do in class is the 'practice' of yoga; life is the real yoga. In class we are practicing techniques, metaphorical life lessons on a physical level that we can then apply to our larger lives in the world."

Picking up on that idea, here is a recent favorite from Sharon Gannon, who is the co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga Center with her husband, David Life:
“You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.”

This reminds me of the capacity we all have to get in our own way, whether it’s physically in class, emotionally in a relationship, spiritually in how we are in the world - the list goes on and on. Through the physical practice of yoga, if we are paying attention, we begin to discover where we encounter resistance, either in our bodies or our minds, and we begin to notice what our tendencies are once we encounter that resistance. Do we force our way through aggressively? Do we give up in frustration? Or do we seek a middle path where we continue to put forth the effort, but try not to get attached to the results?

Cyndi Lee, director of OM Yoga Center, along with the teachers at her school, have provided me with so much inspiration in my practice and my life. In Cyndi’s book, Yoga Body, Buddha Mind, she says,
“Waking up to every single breath, every single moment, is the challenge of this flowing form of yoga. To include every sensation whether it comes under the category of pleasant or not. To let go of categories. To let go of the fruits of your action. To literally go with the flow. This is the path to equanimity.”

Cyndi and her husband, David Nichtern, both practice Tibetan Buddhism, and they include many of the teachings of this practice into their particular “style” of yoga. It was in Cyndi’s class where I first heard this story:
“One day, a musician was playing a stringed instrument. He asked the Buddha, ‘How should I meditate?’
The Buddha said, ‘How do you tune your instrument?’
The musician said, ‘Not too tight, not too loose.’
The Buddha replied, ‘Exactly like that.’ “

I think of this often when I am practicing. If I am “tuning my instrument too tightly,” in other words, being too aggressive in my practice, I continue to encounter resistance, or I injure myself. On the other hand, if I am being too loose, I am practicing without discipline, without mindfulness, without intention. So, finding the middle path of the right amount of discipline and intention without the competitiveness and aggression is the one which will lead me to balance and peace of mind.

A word about the discipline of practice from Martha Graham, one of the premiere dance choreographers of our time:
“Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.” A good reminder that the path towards any goal begins with the enthusiasm and desire to continually move towards that goal. In yoga philosophy, this is called tapas.

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali says, “Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.” Hmmm – maybe Ms. Graham also studied yoga?

Finally, an aphorism that is used in various forms by 12 Step Programs to The Dog Whisperer: “Bring the body, the mind will follow.” If we take the time to focus on the things we have control over: a healthy, toned, well-aligned body, awareness of our breath, mindfulness of our actions and reactions, then our minds will begin to reflect those same qualities.

This is only a small collection of some of my favorite quotes and books. Feel free to leave a comment with some of your favorite quotes or books which have helped you understand or be inspired by your own practice.