Come and See for Yourself

If you attend my classes, you know that I always start with a short dharma talk at the beginning of each class. These talks are designed to share short insights into the deeper practices of yoga that hopefully help to inform our practice on and off the mat.This week, I'm sharing probably my favorite yoga teaching and it is so simple... Come and see for yourself.That's it.You can listen to me or any yoga teacher talk. You can read all the books. But until you unroll your mat and pay attention to your breath it won't mean anything. It won't change your life until YOU practice. The teachings are just that - teachings. They are reflections of some peoples' experiences. How will they show up in your life? No one can answer that but you. Come and see for yourself.

Lost

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside youAre not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,Must ask permission to know it and be known.The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,I have made this place around you.If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.No two trees are the same to Raven.No two branches are the same to Wren.If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knowsWhere you are. You must let it find you.

-- David Wagoner (1999)