Practice and all is coming – did we understand this completely?
Practice and all is coming is one of the most popular quotes of Sri K Pattabhi Jois. It at the superficial level means “keep practicing the asanas and pranayama. You will get better every day”
However, did we understand the significance of it? When Pattabhi Jois says practice and all is coming, he is emphasising not to intellectualise the practice.
In the online Yoga Teacher Training Courses these days, I was asked many times by the students about one’s approach in a particular asana.
The students of Yoga today are not just interested in the asana practice, which is a good sign. We know that Yoga is more than an asana practice and we all want to evolve spiritually.
As we wish to evolve in our Yoga Sadhana, we wouldn’t like to miss anything that is in the practice. We want an integral practice.
However, this is leading to another extreme. Slowly we are as a community moving to over-intellectualization of the practice.
It is good to be mindful and understand what you are doing on the mat. It is good to bring the philosophy into the practice.
There is nothing wrong if you are trying to understand the Chakras, the Yamas and Niyamas and see how it can be a part of the practice.
However, if you keep your intellect extremely awake during the practice, you will miss the beauty of the practice. It is like watching the sunrise and trying to analyse the movement of the sun and his colours.
When you witness the sunrise, enjoy the moment. When you are on the mat, enjoy the practice.
There is beauty in the practice. It has to be experienced. A practitioner should really cultivate the intellectual understanding of the asana.
However, as you get better every day, you should be able to get rid off the intellectualisation of the practice.
Balancing your intellect and emotion, the sun and moon, the shiva and shakti is all what you do on the mat.
Think less, practice mindfully and be a witness of everything that happens within.