True Yoga is Simple: 13 Steps to Deepen Your Home Practice by Olga Yumasheva - HTML preview

PLEASE NOTE: This is an HTML preview only and some elements such as links or page numbers may be incorrect.
Download the book in PDF, ePub, Kindle for a complete version.

From INTELLECTUAL

UNDERSTANDING to DIRECT

EXPERIENCE

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that going

to classes is useless. When we initially listen to

the instructions and try to copy the asanas, we

get an intellectual understanding. And it’s

great if someone can explain things that we

are new to.

Think of a dictionary. We check with it when

we’re not sure about the meaning of a word,

or how it’s pronounced, or we need to find

synonyms to make our speech more eloquent.

The same way yoga group classes are highly

beneficial when we treat them as a point of

reference. They help us learn the technical

aspects of asanas, we get corrected on asana

alignment, we can pick up new ideas and bring

them into our regular practice. Dictionaries

don’t eliminate the need for live conversations,

and group classes shouldn’t substitute self-

practice.

Experienced teachers know what they’re

talking about, only because they took time to