Practice is Like Tofu
Personal Revolution: The 12 Laws of Transformation in Asana and Vinyasa
Words of wisdom from Baron Baptiste (these aren't exact quotes, but close):
"Practice is like tofu--it's bland. You have to add your own flavor to it.""Half of all people who practice yoga are teachers ... That's a testament that [yoga is such a powerful thing] you want to share it with others."
"You all must be really good at coloring inside the lines."
The first part of this intensive Baron talked a lot about bringing authenticity to your yoga practice. Listening to this, I automatically thought that Baron was preaching something I'd been practicing all along. Afterall, isn't yoga all about being completely true to yourself in body, mind, and spirit?
But when the discussion turned to Baron's six-year-old son, I realized the last time I totally stripped and authentic was probably when I was six-years-old myself. When I was a child, I did what I felt like and worried about the consequences later. And although that sometimes meant I acted inappropriately (once I put a caterpillar down the shirt of my poor playmate), no one could could accuse me of being unauthentic.
Which is pretty much how it went this morning in Baron's incredibly quick vinyasa sequence. We went so quickly from one pose into the next, we didn't even have time to think about it, much less analyze our every movement. At one point, Baron shouted out, "Be sloppy, I give you permission!" And we were.
I can't speak for anyone else in the class, but by the end of the sequence I was more in tune with my practice that I have been in a while. I was able to relax into poses more easily, my balance was better than usual, and I felt completely at ease. As Baron would say, I was observing myself and my practice, not resisting.
Obviously, it's a bad idea to approach a yoga practice with carelessness (we could get hurt).But maybe, from time to time, we should let go of all our inhibitions during practice, stop worrying so much about whether we're in perfect form, and just enjoy how it feels to us.
Baron Baptiste has studied yoga and meditation since childhood--his parents opened San Francisco's first yoga center 60 years ago. The best-selling author of