Yoga Schmoga

I love this.......via Elephant Journal (thank you)!   http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/10/the-yoga-schmoga-sutra/

The Yoga Schmoga Sutra.

Via Michelle Margareton Oct 8, 2013

This world is your body. This world is a great school. This world is your silent teacher.

~ Swami Sivananda

Official Yoga Schmoga Sutra:

1. All we need is love.

In addition to oxygen, water, food and shelter, we humans need love. We are all the same in that we need love in the forms of friendship, service, goodwill, loving kindness, romance, enthusiasm, compassion, companionship and devotion.

2. Practice is a process.

Yoga and meditation practice is an ideal laboratory for self-study. If your ego is ruling your practice, that’s not yoga. There will always be people “better” and “worse” than us. Continually dropping judgment of ourselves and others is key.

3. Yoga all the time.

The answer is always yoga. The more you do it, the better you get and the better you feel. The better you feel, the better you will be able to positively influence those around you.

What you carry off the mat is more than the mere benefits of asana practice. It is mindfulness in motion. It is communication, relationship, sustenance, openness, vitality. What if you practiced yoga nonstop?

4. All things must pass.

Although everyone has their own pain, we all share the same suffering. All suffering works backward from a fear of death. Yet knowing that we will all pass away and that nothing lasts forever is what makes life sweet. No matter how foul or fabulous the mood, it is bound to pass sooner or later. Ultimately, everything will.

5. Perfection is a myth.

There is no such thing as perfect balance. It’s okay to occasionally fall on your face. Strive for virtue but allow for failures. Be kind to yourself. As Dr. Seuss would say, you are the perfect you today.

6. Never stop learning.

Soak up knowledge, add experience, get wisdom. Everyone is a teacher. Pay close attention. The precious people in our lives—from parents to partners to passersby—are mirrors for the best and worst in us. Be thankful for them.

7. Balance self-awareness and self-acceptance.

Listen to your intuition. Turn your attention inward. Moment to moment, as much as possible, follow your natural flow of energy: sleep when tired; eat when hungry; dance when you feel like it. Don’t fight to be something other than you are. Know how you work and accept that you are in the right place at the right time. The path is the goal. Happiness is the journey itself.

8. Be. Here. Now.

Meditate for sanity, to become a beacon of peace, to cultivate compassion. Our only choice is to live in this present. We must accept this gift of a precious human life. Yoga Schmoga is a lifelong process.

Yoga Schmoga heightens my awareness of my connection to my own self, this amazing Earth, and every unique being upon it.

Yoga has given me the priceless gift of embodying the present moment without grasping at it. It can, and will, do the same for you.