Discipline in the yoga asana practice

There's nothing wrong with many people are interested in attending some yoga classes to be learning and practicing the yoga asana practice only for gaining enhancement in health and fitness, with the aspiration of improving their physical and/or mental condition, ability, performance, and achievement, as well as be able to perform the different yoga asana poses.

In order to achieve such aspiration, it requires certain degrees of discipline or commitment to be devoting one's life and energy into performing the yoga asana practice and/or some other form of fitness training exercises regularly.

If one can spend approximately 1 to 2 hours a day, for minimum 3 to 6 times a week, continuously for a few years, to be practicing the yoga asana practice as well as the respective fitness training exercises for developing the required strength, flexibility, stamina, and skill for performing the different yoga asana poses effortlessly, under the correct understanding with right attitude/mentality/manner/attention/effort, then naturally, one will gain significant improvement in the over-all physical and/or mental condition, ability, performance and achievement, while minimizing unnecessary harmful effect or injury unto the body and mind, through the regular persistent yoga asana practice or fitness training without forcing the body and mind beyond its limitations in the present moment, and allowing the limitations to change as they are, during and/or after the persistent continuous regular practice or training for a few years. And all these development or enhancement in the physical/mental condition, ability, performance and achievement are momentary and impermanent. They are not the goal of the yoga asana practice.

All these enhanced qualities need to be maintained regularly, and yet, even if all these qualities are under going regular maintenance, the body and mind will still be under going the inevitable process of decay, weakness, old age, and disintegration.

If one has such aspiration of desiring to attain the maximum benefits from performing the yoga asana practice and/or fitness training exercises, but somehow, one doesn't have the required amount of discipline or commitment, where one only wants to attend the yoga asana classes or practicing the yoga asana and fitness training exercises for once a week, while keeps skipping classes or the practice sessions from time to time due to some other priorities and commitments in everyday life, or merely because "I don't feel like doing any physical activity for today at no particular reason" for the day, and for the next many days or weeks, then of course, there won't be much development or improvement in the physical and/or mental condition, ability, performance and achievement.

Moreover, there will be some physical and mental struggle/discomfort/weakness/tightness/soreness or even unnecessary injury manifesting in the body and mind every time during and after the 'once in a while' or 'irregular' yoga asana practice or fitness training session, as the body and mind were never being given the proper or enough amount of continuous practice, or never received enough regular training for it to develop the required physical and mental familiarity, the basic skill, the stamina, the strength and the flexibility, and to be at ease and effortless in the yoga asana practice routine, and in the different yoga exercises or fitness training routine.

Meanwhile, the presence or absence of such discipline or commitment makes no difference to those who don't have such aspiration for gaining maximum benefits or improvement in the physical and/or mental condition, ability, performance, and achievement via the yoga asana practice and/or some other forms of yoga practice under certain names and forms, but they are more interested in learning and practicing yoga for self-inquiry and self-realization, or to be attaining liberation from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, as such yoga practice is not limited by the discipline, commitment, devotion, or regularity in attending the yoga asana classes, or in performing certain physical and mental yoga practice under certain names and forms, but, the yoga practice is in everyday life, in every moment, of how the mind thinks, reasons, understands, behaves, acts and reacts towards the mind perception of names and forms in this present moment now, that are pleasant or unpleasant, desirable or undesirable, agreeable or disagreeable, and enjoyable or non-enjoyable. Devoid of grasping, or passionate egoistic attachment, identification, craving, aversion, comparison, judgment, or expectation, allowing and respecting all kinds of names and forms being there as they are, allowing them to change and pass away, being undetermined and undisturbed by all kinds of names and forms arising, changing, and passing away.

The enhanced physical and/or mental condition, ability, performance, and achievement that are impermanent, might can help to render the body and mind in certain way for different purposes on the path of yoga, but it is neither an obligatory for self-inquiry and self-realization nor a guarantee that the mind will be free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance.

The yogi, or the liberated mind, or unconditional peace, is not being determined by the selfless impermanent physical and mental condition, ability, performance, and achievement, not even the momentary concentrated, focused, calmed and quiet state of mind induced by the devoted persevered sincere practice. It's the absence of the idea of 'I' and the egoism of passionate egoistic attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, comparison, judgment, and/or expectation towards all these selfless impermanent qualities of names and forms, of the limited and conditional adjuncts, that is not 'I', but I-less.

However, if the mind thinks and believes or realizes that the practice of non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-comparison, non-judgment, or non-expectation is too difficult or impossible for itself, where it is unwittingly and constantly be determined and disturbed by what is happening in the body and mind, and in the world, of the absence and presence of all kinds of names and forms that it likes and dislikes, agrees and disagrees with, and desires and doesn't desire, then this mind needs to put in some effort or discipline/commitment into performing the physical and mental yoga practice that come under certain names and forms regularly, such as certain observation and restriction, the yoga asana practice, the breathing exercises, the chanting or sound vibration exercises, the practice of withdrawing the mind from the objects of the senses, the concentration practice, and the meditation practice, that will move the mind away from the worldly passionate egoistic restless affairs for some time, to be turning the outgoing mind inward to be focusing within, that help to induce momentary calmness and quietness, to begin with on the path of yoga, until the mind developed certain degrees of correct understanding and knows how to apply non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-comparison, non-judgment, and non-expectation into everyday life, naturally and effortlessly, and be undetermined and undisturbed by all kinds of names and forms.

There is a huge difference between one who has been practicing yoga asana practice for one year regularly for 6 times a week and one who has been practicing yoga asana practice for ten years irregularly for once a week or once every two weeks. Or, between one who has been practicing yoga asana practice for many years either regularly or irregularly but without eradicating the idea of 'I', passionate egoism, and worldly ideas and desires, and one who has been practicing yoga asana practice for a few months either regularly or irregularly while working diligently on eradicating the idea of 'I', passionate egoism, and worldly ideas and desires. This is not about comparison and/or judgment about who is better or who can achieve better result, but it indicates that how long one has been started practicing yoga and/or yoga asana practice, either regularly or irregularly, doesn't determine that whether the mind is free from ignorance and the by-products and consequences of ignorance, or not.

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