This blog looks at the practice of yoga postures or shapes as a means to receive the function of the movement over the form as well as letting go of chasing perfection as a way of living. A Sutra teaching will also be listed at the bottom of the blog with translation both ancient and modern.
While driving down one of the main streets in Austin, there’s a billboard that has been catching my eye. The billboard shows a lady doing an “advanced” yoga posture (think very bendy) to advertise the smoothness of a liquor. The lady is beautiful, quite toned and can illustrate the posture she is performing “perfectly”. There is no doubt, she has worked hard to achieve the form of this position. I celebrate that. But a deeper question exists for me…”Is perfect what we want to cultivate?”
In the ViniYoga tradition, the form of any posture (the way it looks) is not the goal of yoga movement. The focus in this ancient tradition is to receive the function of what the posture has to offer. Here’s a modern day example to illustrate this point. If I am trying on a pair of jeans that are just not fitting me but I think that I have to get these jeans to fit, then I am attached to the form. But if I accept these jeans aren’t working for me right now and I want the jeans I wear to fit well and allow me to move freely, then this shows that I am willing to purchase jeans based on their function. When I can become clear and free of my attachment to the form of something and look at it’s function, I am in the process of yoga. Don’t you just love that way of thinking?
As an Austin Yoga Therapist and Teacher, I want students to receive benefits of the tools of yoga which are breath, movement, sound, and meditation based on what is appropriate for them. Vini of ViniYoga means appropriate application. What is appropriate for one person can be entirely different for the next. In my public yoga classes, I use basic postures that are generally safe for everyone and I sequence them in a way to create different effects. Truly like learning to play the basic notes of music in creating infinite possibilities. If we follow the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali , the text states in II, 46 that the postures should have the qualities of stability and ease. This is also an analogy for living from a place of stability and ease.
Could yoga practice teach us the art of “letting go of perfection”? Can we learn to surrender into the natural intelligence of poses and let the breath’s rhythm lead the way? The Sutras point to this methodology and approach. While the Sutras are an ancient text, a great modern day book to read regarding letting go of perfection is “The Gifts of Imperfection” by professor Brené Brown. I would recommend this book to anyone that is open to hearing its message. Life changer!
This image of a hand completely open represents yoga in its true form. You won’t see that image on a billboard because it can’t be marketed. The open palm represents the mind being unstuck in a way of thinking and open to deeply “see”. My mentor, Chase Bossart teaches that, “a result of asana (yoga posture) is not about physical attainment, but rather creating change in our system, whereas we become less influenced by things happening in our life.” Isn’t that beautiful?
Let’s look at our practice as a way to create steadiness and ease and ultimately to let go of this idea of perfection. It isn’t real. May you embrace the beauty of your flaws as they are also your gifts! When I practice, the closer I get to this realization, the more balanced I feel. This is the work of yoga!
Sutra: II, 46 Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali (Mukunda Stiles interpretation) and Modern day translation based on many years of study with my teachers, Gary Kraftsow and Chase Bossart
sthira sukham asanam
sthira = stable; steadiness
sukham - comfortable, ease
asanam - yoga pose; to be put together with the eternal cosmic vibration
Modern Day Translation:
This Sutra is referring to sthira as the quality of attention. as well as physical. The postures should serve you. They should be comfortable. As you move through your life, you want to have the qualities of stability and ease. This applies both to the physical as well as the mind.