All quotes from Rebecca's book
Yoga is
about attaining a clearer sense of who you are, how you feel, what you want,
and how you interact with the world around you.
At
yoga’s core, it seeks to connect us to life in a compassionate way.
Originally
written in Sanskrit as chitta vritti nirodhah, the purpose of yoga is “to still
the fluctuations of the mind”, per the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a foundational
yoga text written roughly 2000 years ago.
Everything else, such as the flexibility and fitness, is secondary.
There
are no spiritual scorecards on the path to enlightenment.
Happier
people do not live easier lives, with less hard work, grief, divorce, or
financial strain than the rest of us.
They’re simply more grateful for what they have and choose to be
conscious of their contentment more often.
Gratitude. It’s the skill of taking yourself out of the
tailspin of scarcity and reconnecting to contentment.
Meditation is the natural, graceful state of being yourself and
knowing who that is.
Stop
fleeing the moment and yourself in favor of quick comforts.
Which
moments each day are you throwing away?
Remind yourself that they are real and significant. No matter how mundane, your journey, spirit,
and best self are in these moments.
Celebrate
what your body does before how it looks.
Never diminish others to feel better.
Never diminish yourself.
Prioritize
sensation over appearance. How would you
walk if you felt confident?
Most of
us are highly conscious about the content stored in our smartphones, the
content of our bank accounts, and the content of our closets, for example. Wouldn’t it make sense to be equally, if not
more, concerned with the contents of our minds?
The only
way to meditate badly is to not meditate at all.
Any yogi
could mediate in a dark room lit with candles and incense. But could you meditate at the dentist?
It’s
only when we’re insecure about who we are, what we believe, or what we’re
practicing that we become anxious or judgmental about how others choose to live.
We
don’t need more time in our day to strengthen our spirits and let the inner
journey unfold. We only need more
awareness.
The
easy path leads to the hard life, and the hard path leads to the easy life.
The
obstacle is the deity.
Mastery
of the mind is the purpose of yoga…. The first step to practicing yoga
authentically is to acknowledge that you are not perfect. You live in your life, and you are you. Rather than a limitation or a letdown, this
is a relief and a privilege.
