The pose is
what you are doing. Yoga is how you are
being in the pose.
Rolf Gates
This quote caught my attention and I continue to ponder its meaning for
my practice on and off the mat. “Doing
yoga” is how I speak of my practice.
When I am asked, “What are you doing, Claire?” I respond, “I’m doing yoga.”
Some may think of this as minor semantics of language. However for me, I find words are powerful.
Our thoughts that link these powerful words together become our way of
thinking. Our way of thinking becomes
our way of acting.
“Doing yoga” implies action. You
are moving, performing, and engaging in this activity from beginning to
end. This is true for the pose or for
when I am off the mat, it can be any action or activity.
However, yoga is more than the act.
Yoga is more than the pose. Yoga
is more than the act of putting your body into shapes, stretching, or becoming
flexible. Yoga is about being…we are
human beings. Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “I am a human being, not a human doing.” Yet, I find that I am often a human doing. Doing this or that, without being present or
mindful or aware of the doing.
Yoga is joining and connecting the past/present/future to the stillness
of now. Yoga is being in the pause
between the inhale and exhale. Being
between strength and ease. Being fully
aligned and centered with our Truth.
The words and thoughts, our simple expressions begin the pattern or
habit. It is through the practice of yoga
that Rolf Gates’ words ring true for me.
How do I want to be in the pose?
How do I want to practice? Am I
doing yoga or am I being in yoga?
