As much as I hate to admit it, I didn't really read the Bhagavad Gita (a classic yogic text) during my teacher training. I bought it and carried it around with me for a few weeks with the intention of reading it cover to cover. But every time I opened it my mind wandered off to something else. I had heard the story from a few different yoga teacher, and I had skimmed it a number of times, so instead of forcing it I just put it away and moved on to The Autobiography of a Yogi or some other obscure text that was on my reading list. Like so many other books in my collection, it sat on my shelf undisturbed for more than a year.

But a couple of weeks ago, something strange happened. I was lying in Savasana (Corpse Pose) at the end of a particularly lovely yoga class, trying to focus on my breathing, when something else popped into my mind: the Bhagavad Gita!

"I never really read that," thought my Monkey Mind. "I should probably do that. You know what else I haven't read? That Ekhart Tolle book someone recommended ... Who was that?... Oprah? ... Wait. What am I supposed to be doing? Oh yeah, Savasana."

Anyway, a couple of days ago, something moved me to take the Bhagavad Gita off my bookshelf, dust it off, and start reading it. I'm having a completely different experience than the last time I attempted this important book. I'm only reading a chapter or two at a time (that is, a chapter of interpretation followed by a chapter of the actual text), but each time I've put it down I can't wait to pick it up again. I'm so into the story, I find myself pondering it as I commute or whenever I take a break from work.

Once again, I'm stunned at this phenomenon I've noticed numerous times in the years I've practiced yoga. Deeper poses, meditative moments, wisdom, new levels of understanding—they all reveal themselves to you when you're ready. You can't force opening. You just have to wait for it to come.