"Asana is a steady, comfortable posture".

Asana means the posture that brings comfort and steadiness (taken from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which are known (very simplified) as a guide for a yogic practioners on their spiritual path). The yoga postures are meant to be done with ease and steadiness- this is practice, not perfect. Sthira asks us to find steadiness & strength in the postures and to find stability in our actions, thoughts and emotions.

Sukha asks us to avoid unnecessary strain on our mats- not to compete with ourselves or our neighbors- and to nourish ease in our actions and relationships.

How often do we get to your mat and compare ourselves to our neighbor... " Wow, how does so and so so that pose" or worse " Look at so and so not able to do this or that" ....or we compare ourselves to yesterday, "Oh, I am not able to do this or that because the last time I tried it didn't work" or "I know I would never be able to complete that".

We are immediately entering into judgments, or letting our fears take over. We have turned our backs to stability, we have turned our backs to joy, we have turned our backs to presence.

Our outer appearance is far less important than the state of our inner being- it is our thoughts and our approach to our practice that will shape the outcome.

I'd like to share a personal example.

Just recently, I've attended a few classes where the instructors are playing music with lyrics during class, which is something I personally don't enjoy. My mind immediately goes to a place of judgement. I think "my practice is ruined because there are songs with lyrics" but...that's not true.

My practice is enhanced because I realized a few things:

1) I am coming from a place of judgement immediately, not towards anyone, but towards the thought that I can not go inward and have an enjoyable experience due to the music playing

2) I entered the class with an expectation for my practice

3) I am forced out of my comfort zone to enjoy my time moving within the edges of my mat

4) I am not present with myself

Watching myself, I notice these things and accept them, kind of shake my head to myself and move on to find joy within my body during my time moving. I move on to let go of external noise (outer experience) and regain my presence with my inner being. Noticing these things shows me where I need to work to find balance, it shows me where I need to soften to gain strength and ease- both on my mat and off.

If our minds are filling with judgements, we are not steady, we are not stable, we have no ease or joy and we are not present. Asana is a tool used to silent the vritti, or the thoughts, through steady movements and steady breathe to guide us towards cultivating good space, to guide us towards cultivating good prana (energy flow). Asana, remember, is any posture that brings you comfort and presence- so, beyond the edges of our mats, when are you practicing asana? Are you able to be present, committed, to whatever you are doing when you are doing it? This is the practice.

We want to cultivate sthira & suhka to establish our foundation for daily life, for weathering inevitable changes, for being present for situations we both can and can not change and to support us through difficulties we face in this lifetime. We need to establish stability, steadiness, joy and presence otherwise we miss the lights of life, the joys, and we get stuck on autopilot, we get stuck in judgment's and fears, in repetitive behaviors.

How do we do this?

We create a graceful rhythm by establishing a minimalistic routine that will encourage stability. Once we become grounded in stability, we can watch all aspects of our life.

Our thoughts, actions, behaviors on our mats pour beyond the edges into every aspect our daily lives- our lifestyle, our daily choices, who we are spending time with, what we are saying, what we are eating / drinking, what we are watching / reading / listening to- this all feeds our prana, this all supports the driving life force that enlivens us mind, body and soul.

We cultivate good space on our mats by showing up without expectation, by allowing ourselves to soften, to find strength in every movement, every breath. We cultivate good space beyond the edges of our mats by looking into every aspect of our being and opening to honesty.

How are you cultivating good inner space? How are you cultivating sthira and sukha between and beyond the edges of your mat?