Self-practice

Developing awareness and correct understanding along with self-discipline and determination, one doesn't need to be continuously attending yoga classes to be looking at and following the instructions of a yoga teacher/instructor to be performing the yoga practice, but out of own freewill and intense yearning for liberation, one retreats into seclusion and solitude to perform self-practice. One takes one's natural pace to perform the practice at ease, without rushing or struggling, or straining the body and mind beyond its limitation, and allowing the fruit of the practice to be there as it is.

Many people who attend yoga classes and those who provide yoga classes or other kind of yoga services, will look at, or take consideration towards, or give importance onto these factors -
- The qualifications/certifications/experience/background of the yoga teachers
- The professionalism and the 'yogi' look/appearance/image of the yoga teachers
- The atmosphere of the yoga practice space, such like the 'spiritual/zen feel', the decorations, the colour theme, the furniture, the fittings, the lighting, the plants, the sub-yoga products of 'yoga attires', 'yoga mats', 'yoga accessories' or 'yoga health supplements', the convenient facilities and other supplementary services, and/or other yoga family members of animals and pets.
- The surrounding environment of the yoga school or yoga studio, such like the scenery and the 'quality' of the neighbourhood.
- The degree of pleasantness of the enjoyment of the senses of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations and imagination/visualization/stimulation, and so on.
- The money-worth element of the fees in comparison with the services or enjoyments provided, and the rewards/benefits/effectiveness/recognition/qualification that one would be getting from attending the yoga classes/courses or performing the yoga practice.

Meanwhile, yoga and the yoga practice has nothing to do with all these names and forms. If the yoga teachers or the yoga classes providers don't get this or don't understand this, then they don't know what yoga is. In the process of the yoga practice of silencing the mind or meditation, the eyes are either closed or the mind is focusing/restraining within, and all the other senses are restrained/withdraw from the objects of the senses. What kind of scenery, or environment, or atmosphere, is irrelevant to one's practice. So as all the other factors.

Yoga of unconditional love and peace and the yoga practice of eliminating ignorance, egoism and impurities, is in the present moment regardless of the mind perception of different qualities of names and forms, environment, experience, time and space. It is not confined in a particular quality of name and form, environment, experience, time and space. If one can only find oneself, or peace, or the truth, in a particular yoga practice environment, experience, time and space, such like being in the nature of forest/mountain/seaside, and doing a particular style of yoga asana practice or physical/mental activity, then one doesn't know what yoga is even though one might feel good, peaceful and meaningful being in that particular environment, experience, time and space, and doing that particular style of yoga asana practice or physical/mental activity. The truth/yoga is always there as it is, regardless of whether one is experiencing a particular kind of yoga asana practice or physical/mental activity, or not, and being in what kind of environment, experience, time and space. Peace, compassion and the ability to forgive and let go what that the mind perceives as 'wrong', 'bad', 'hurtful', 'undeserving', 'painful', or 'sorrowful', is nothing to do with the mind perception of different qualities of names and forms or experiences.

There's nothing wrong and it's very common that most people who attend yoga classes will expect the yoga teacher/instructor to be looking at them and supervising their practice, to tell them to do this and don't do that, to correct their postures, to help them to push/challenge themselves beyond the limitation of their body and mind to make the body become more fit/strong/flexible and be able to do more 'challenging' yoga asana poses, to give positive feedback about their practice, to give encouragements of praise and compliment to motivate them to be continuing their practice, to be interacting in some kind of social conversation, to be involving in some form of social community activities together. Just that they haven't learned/realized what yoga really is about, even after many years of attending many hours of yoga classes regularly, be able to perform the yoga asana practice in perfect alignment, and attaining better health condition, developing fitter, stronger and more flexible physical body, being able to perform many complicated yoga asana poses, and generating momentary good, positive and meaningful feelings in their minds due to the effect of the yoga practice.

All these names and forms are nothing but part of the modification of the worldly egoistic impure minds under the influence of the conditional worldly egoistic thinking and belief and behavior. Yoga practice is mainly to free the mind from the influence of the conditional worldly egoistic thinking, belief and behavior.

One only needs a simple clean space, free from dust or insects/animals, to be practicing external yoga practice of yoga asana and pranayama practice. If there's no clean space available to be practicing yoga asana and pranayama practice, or if the physical health and fitness condition is restricting certain yoga asana or pranayama practices, or if the weather doesn't permit such practice (extreme weather condition), or the environment is not suitable for such external practice (causing inconvenience or disturbance to other beings), then one doesn't have to be practicing any kind of external yoga practice that is limited by certain physical/environmental/weather condition, but it doesn't stop one from performing the unconditional unlimited internal yoga practice of maintaining a calm and quiet mind, allowing the impermanent perceived reality/experience/qualities of names and forms to be what it is, that is not necessarily the way that the mind would like it to be, while be able to forgive and let go something that the mind perceives/recognizes as 'wrong', 'bad', 'hurtful', 'undeserving', 'painful' or 'sorrowful', without craving or clinging towards 'good' condition or pleasantness, and without aversion towards 'bad' condition or unpleasantness.

Contemplate on this and be free.

About the physical alignment and adjustment from the teacher in the yoga asana practice...

There's nothing wrong with performing the yoga asana exercises with proper alignment and receiving adjustment from the teacher to gain maximum benefits, as well as to 'ensure' maximum safety, or 'minimize' the risk of injuries, from the standpoint of a safe and effective physical exercise.

Yoga is about realizing unconditional peace and compassion through the realization of the truth, free from ignorance, egoism, identification, attachment, craving and aversion, and all sorts of impurities. Yoga asana practice is one of the many ways to help to influence the state of the mind, preparing the mind for meditation.

Does it mean that when the students are able to perform the yoga asana exercises with the perfect correct alignment and with some adjustments from the teacher to make the postures as 'good', as 'correct', as 'perfect', as 'graceful', or as 'beautiful' as much as possible, then they will be peaceful and compassionate, and will be free from ignorance, egoism, identification and attachment? And if the students are not able to perform the yoga asana practice with the perfect correct alignment and don't make any adjustments to make the postures as 'good', as 'correct', as 'perfect', as 'graceful', or as 'beautiful' as much as possible, then they will not be peaceful and compassionate, and won't be free from ignorance, egoism, identification and attachment? Does everyone need to be able to go beyond certain degrees of flexibility and achieve certain degrees of strength to be able to see the truth?

No doubt that the body and mind will feel good when the body is able to do what we want to do, to achieve certain results that we want to achieve, but this is just some momentary satisfaction, pride and good feelings coming from gratifying the desires of craving and aversion, through getting the things that we like and want the way that we like it to be, and by not getting anything that we don't like and don't want. It is not the unconditional peace that is undetermined by the qualities of names and forms.

Yoga asana practice is nothing to do with perfect physical alignment, nor it's about making the body to be more strong and flexible than it is now. It is also has nothing to do with adjusting the yoga asana poses until we think it is 'good', 'right', 'perfect', 'graceful', or 'beautiful' enough. Nor does yoga has anything to do with what kind of benefits that we are getting from performing all these yoga asana practice. The benefits will be there as they are as we perform our practice, but all these benefits cannot guarantee the practitioners to be free from ignorance and egoism, and realize unconditional peace and compassion. That's why there might be people who practice yoga asana regularly for years, and getting all the benefits from the yoga asana practice, but they might still be disturbed, affected, influenced and determined by the qualities of names and forms, and is restless and have no peace. Some people may never perform any yoga asana exercises, not to say in perfect 'correct' alignment, but they are peaceful and compassionate.

By giving some instructions about the 'correct' alignment, and making everyone in the class to be doing the yoga asana exercises in accordance to the 'correct' alignment has nothing to do with the realization of unconditional peace and compassion in the yoga practitioners. It is the teachings and practice of letting go of the egoism of attachment, identification, craving and aversion, and free from being affected or influenced by the past memories and the future anticipations or projections, free from judgment, comparison, expectation, anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, pride, arrogance, feelings of hurt or guilt, agitation, depression, anxiety, doubt, fear and worry, that allow one to be peaceful and compassionate. One doesn't need to be able to perform the yoga asana poses with the perfect 'correct' alignment to achieve that.

Everyone has a different body with different physical limitations. Many of the perfect 'correct' alignments are beyond the physical limitations of some people. It is not natural nor comfortable for some people to perform certain exercises in accordance to the perfect 'correct' alignment, and thus unnecessary tension is generated in the mind, and injuries are generated in the physical body, when they try to do the exercises or poses to meet up the requirement for achieving perfect 'correct' alignment, and forcing their body to go beyond its limitations.

It's about to go beyond all the qualities of names and forms, to realize selflessness, oneness, non-separateness, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness, and to go beyond all the identifications with the body and the mind, as well as the attachment towards all the qualities of names and forms to be who we are. It's not about to go beyond the physical limitations, by challenging the physical body to be more strong and more flexible than it is now, and pushing the body to go beyond its limitations, be able to perform many of the yoga asana poses, generating unnecessary tension and injuries onto the body.

It is being aware of the reality, and allowing the reality to be what it is. It is accepting the physical condition and abilities in the present moment now as it is, without attachment nor identification with the physical condition and abilities/disabilities to be who we are. Knowing that even this present condition and abilities/disabilities of the physical body is impermanent and it will change, and allowing all the impermanent changes to be what they are, from moment to moment.

Everyone just need to perform the exercises or poses at their own capacity and in their own pace at ease, in accordance to their physical condition and abilities in the present moment now, without any judgment, comparison, expectation, craving and aversion. There's no stress or tension generated in the mind, and there is minimal risk of injuries when they perform all the exercises in a relaxed manner and moving into the poses calmly and gently, without forcing the body to go beyond its limitations. Everyone might look differently from one another while doing the same type of exercises or poses, as they all have different flexibility, strength and limitations. And it's fine.

It's about performing all our practice, actions, duties and responsibilities towards oneself and others out of compassion, without attachment towards the actions and the fruit of actions. There's no expectation towards any benefits of the yoga asana practice, nor expectation towards the results or benefits of the yoga asana practice to be the way that we think it should be, but allowing the results or the benefits to be there as they are.

May all be free through self-inquiry.

Om shanti.