Yoga, training and health inspiration for you

What if you should just leave your job and go to the other side of the world to live your dream? That is what Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck did. Here she shares her story about her yoga- and surf adventure in Sri Lanka. 

Adventure awaits

About a year ago I did something that at the time felt like the most stupid thing I could ever do for my career. I quit a job I had thought of as a dream job. It was a well paid founder role at a hyped social impact tech start-up. On the paper it looked perfect, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I was in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing. I’ve always had a constant longing to be close to nature and the one thing I knew was that I wanted to live by the ocean and to surf. A couple of months later I left Sweden for a six month employment in Sri Lanka. I was going to work as Sales & Marketing Manager for Sunshinestories and Ceylon Sliders, a surf and yoga retreat and a boutique hotel, founded by two fellow Swedes, Linn and Petter. I had met the couple on a surf trip to Sri Lanka a few years back and found their lifestyle so inspiring. They seemed to live the ultimate life, combining entrepreneurship, surf and yoga. And what was more, it took place on the beach underneath the palm trees.

Let go of the excuses
Today I laugh about how difficult the decision to leave Stockholm felt at the time, and yet how easy it was to make the actual move. I understand I was in a fortunate position to get an amazing job in Sri Lanka, but still booking a flight ticket and find someone who could take care of my apartment wasn’t that difficult at all. It was just a bunch of ideas and excuses in my head that had stopped me before. Going to Sri Lanka and working with Sunshinestories and Ceylon Sliders, is probably one of the best decision I’ve made in my life. Working with two things I love, surf and yoga was of course amazing. But most importantly, I learned things about my self, that I would not have done if I had stayed in Stockholm.

When arriving in Sri Lanka I promised myself two things. First, to skip all the ”extras”, and secondly not to make any decisions about what to do when the six months came to an end. Let me explain the ”extras”. This was my endless list of to-dos and side projects, that I of course had with me to Sri Lanka. Start a travel blog, learn how to edit videos for Youtube, learn Sinhalese, start company X, start company Y, read this book, watch more surf videos, learn handstands, take an ayurvedic course. All this I'd planned to do besides my full-time job as a Sales and Marketing Manager. I realized if I were to do all this, I wouldn’t have time to enjoy life and to surf, which I had been dreaming about. So I decided my daily activities were going to be surf or yoga, work, eating curry and enjoying the sunset. Nothing more. Also, since I lived in accommodation provided by my employer, I didn’t have to worry about paying bills or thinking about how to decorate the house. I mean, how much time do Swedes spend decorating their homes? It’s ridiculous!

Basically my life was very simple. I didn’t cook and since there were no shops in the fishing village where I lived, I didn’t spend much time shopping, besides buying beer and food. Adding to that it took me two minutes to get to work and to the yoga shala, and five minutes to the local surf break. Having decided not to plan my next step in life, also meant I didn’t spend time working on my CV, contacting companies and applying for jobs. As a result I had time to just think and my mind wandered without any specific direction. It was like I had a playground to explore the ideas and I had the time to do it. I had so much time, and I felt so free.

Trust me, I’m the queen of planning and being one step ahead. When coming home to Sweden after the six months in Sri Lanka, it was the first time since leaving highschool 15 years ago that I didn’t have a plan and a next step already figured out.

Letting go of the extras and taking a break from planning my life was that big deep clean I really needed. Without really trying to find myself (I just worked and surfed) I gained insight into how I want to live my life. I think I also defined what happiness means to me. It is being perfectly content with where you are without wanting to be anywhere else than in a smelly little fishing village called Weligama right by the Indian Ocean.

Let yourself just be
I can truly recommend everyone to give yourself a gap year. I mean, really give your self a year of NOT thinking so much about who you are, the meaning of life, maybe not digging so much. Just be. Do things you like together with people you like. And it will come to you.

If you feel like going abroad for work, I can definitely recommend Sunshinestories and Ceylon Sliders as a employer, and Sri Lanka as your playground. Sunshinestories has recently opened up for the opportunity to host your own yoga retreat at their venue, a beautiful Dutch colonial villa in a buddhist little village in South Sri Lanka. The villa has a newly build lush yoga shala feeling like you’re in the jungle and has high quality props and mats. The delicious home cooked food is made with organic veggies and fruits from the local market. If you fancy a Sri Lanka yoga adventure for your retreat or teacher training program, send a message at [email protected] .

Hope reading this has given you some food for thoughts, I you want to follow my next adventure or ask any questions, you’ll find me on Instagram @mariaelvirapr.

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Read more about yoga and health

• On the Pursuit of Slackness, by Frida Boström
• What is my path cultivating?, by Luke Bache
• Going outside, being lost, and staying found, by Frida Boström

More about Maria

Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck is a yogi and entrepreneur. Maria found yoga when she was working in India. She immediately realized what a powerful tool it is was for increased well-being in a stressful everyday life.  After this first trip to India Maria has been to a number of yoga retreat around the world, often combining yoga with surf, which is her other great passion in life. Her passion brought her to Sri Lanka in 2017 where she lived and worked to grow local companies and started a technology project for Sri Lankan children, Lankan Tech Kids.

Contact or read more about Maria on Instagram.

Do you long for a more natural skin care? With the ancient wisdom of ayurveda as a pillar stone, Dr. Venu Sasikumar, skin specialist, here shares with you some of his best remedies and tips for a healthy skin. 

How to get a healthy skin according to ayurveda

• Go early to bed and rise up early
• Do not mix incompatible foods (read more below)
• Consume vegetables with high water content as they can be digested more easily
• Vegetables such as carrots, radishes, lettuce, asparagus, fennel tips and cucumber are all beneficial fo the skin
• Exercise
• Do breathing exercises
• Meditate
• Moisturize your skin
• Consume seeds and nuts
• Cut down on your sugar and salt intake
• Protect your skin from excessive sun exposure

These incompatible foods can cause skin disease

In ayurveda there is a belief that some foods can cause skin diseases and that there are some foods that don't go well together when it comes to your skin health.

• Milk And Fruit: Yes. Even if you love your bowl of yogurt mixed with fruits, avoid it. Fruits are digested quickly, and milk takes time to digest. So, during the processing time, the fruit curdles the milk and creates acidity.

• Milk And Meat: Avoid consuming milk products (including desserts) if you have fish and meat. Fish heats up your body while milk cools it down. Combining these contrasting foods obstructs the vital body channels.

• Cold Drinks After A Meal: Avoid having iced or cold drinks after meals. This is because cold suppresses the digestive juices and causes stomach issues. This is also applicable for frozen yogurt and ice cream after (or before) meals.

• Ghee And Honey: Both produce opposite reactions in your body. While ghee cools down your body, honey heats it up, and this can cause imbalance.

Here are some tips on ayurvedic facial treatment that you can do at home:

Orange peel for enhancing Complexion

The peel of orange contains vitamin C and antioxidants that keep the skin clear and bright. It helps with oil control and minimizes acne outbreaks. Dry orange peels (preferably in the sun) and then mix to a powder.

What you need

• 1 tablespoon orange peel powder
• 1 tablespoon yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey

Method

• Mix the powder, honey and yogurt
• Apply it evenly on your face and neck
• Keep it on for 20 minutes
• Wash it off

Sandalwood, Turmeric and neem For Controlling Acne

Both sandalwood, turmeric, neem and honey have antibacterial properties according to ayurveda.

What you need

• 1 tablespoon sandalwood powder
• ½ tablespoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon neem powder
• 2-3 tablespoons honey (adjust as per the consistency)

Method

• Mix all the ingredients to a paste in a glass bowl
• Apply all over your face and keep it on until it dries
• Wash off with cold water

Raw Potato and curd For Pigmentation

Potato contains starch and has mild bleaching properties that help in fading pigmentation, dark spots, and scars naturally. Moreover, it also contains helpful enzymes that prevent premature aging.

What you need

• 1 potato
• 1 tablespoon curd*
• Some honey

Method

• Make potato paste
• Mix with honey and apply it to the affected area
• Keep it for 30 minutes
• Wash it with cold water

*Curd is a dairy product obtained by coagulating milk in a process called curdling.

Videos about ayurveda

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More about Dr. Venu Sasikumar

Dr. Venu Sasikumar is a much appreciated skin specialists in India. He has made intensive studies and researches in the sphere of skin diseases and their treatment. He relies upon medicines extracted from pristine nature and precise treatment modalities to get skin diseases like eczema and psoriasis under control. Read more about Dr. Venu Sasikumar on his web site. You can also contact him via e-mail at [email protected].

Time for fika? Check these raw carrot cake bliss balls from GreenStreet out! They're based on nuts, dates and carrots and are quick and easy to make. Perfect for some afternoon snacking! 

What you'll need

Makes about 28 bliss balls. 

• 360g  pecans
• 130g almonds
• 20 fresh pitted dates
• 2 carrots
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground ginger

How to do it

1. Place 120g of the pecans in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Place in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Place the dates, carrot, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, almonds and remaining pecans in the food processor and process for 1–2 minutes or until the mixture comes together.
3. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and roll in the chopped pecan to coat.

Give your shoulders some love this weekend

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GreenStreet

GreenStreet is a Finnish company that produces and sells healthy and tasty raw cakes to grocery stores and cafes. GreenStreet also has a café at Sveavägen, Stockholm, which serves fresh and good vegetarian food. At GreenStreet it is considered that everyone should have the opportunity to eat good food and enjoy life while living healthy. When you eat well, you have the energy to work towards your goals and dreams! Read more: www.greenstreet.cafe

Kello tikittää eteenpäin ja yö käy pimeämmäksi, mutta uni ei vain tahdo tulla. Olemme varmasti kaikki joskus olleet tässä tilanteessa, kun stressi vain kasvaa mitä pidemmälle yöhön mennään. Jooga, hengitysharjoitukset, rentoutuminen ja meditaatio voivat auttaa unensaantiin yleisesti, mutta myös hätätilanteisiin löytyy hyviä harjoituksia. Seuraavaksi annan muutaman vinkin.

Kello on kaksi yöllä ja olet maannut sängyssä jo monta tuntia saamatta unta. Ajatukset pyörivät päässä ja ärsyttävät koko kehoa. Hyörit ja pyörit peiton alla, nouset ylös ja yrität tehdä jotain muuta. Huominen päivä on täynnä tärkeitä asioita, joihin tarvitset kaiken energiasi. Alat panikoida.

Me kaikki tiedämme varmasti tuon turhauttavan tunteen. Jotkut näyttävät pärjäävän ongelmitta muutaman tunnin yöunilla (hienoa heidän kannaltaan), mutta itse ainakin tarvitsen vähintään 8 tuntia unta, jotta pystyn toimimaan normaalisti. Jos nukun liian vähän, kehoni reagoi heti ihottuman, vatsakipujen ja päänsäryn muodossa. Siksi sängyssä valveilla makaaminen ilman tietoakaan unesta, kun seuraavana päivänä pitäisi olla skarppina, on ehkä kamalinta mitä tiedän. Aikoinaan panikoin, kun näin kävi (esimerkiksi ennen tenttiä) mutta joogan ja meditaation avulla olen oppinut tekniikoita, jotka auttavat nukkumaanmenon aikana harhaileviin ajatuksiin ja levottomaan oloon.

Alta löydät kaksi lempiharjoitustani jotka toimivat silloin, kun on vaikeaa saada unta.

Viparita Karani

Viparita Karanin sanotaan olevan yksi vanhimmista jooga-asennoista (heti istuvien meditaatioasentojen jälkeen) ja sitä käytetään melkeinpä kaikissa joogamuodoissa. Koska se on kulkenut mukanamme niin kauan ja on niin pitkälle levinnyt, on sen pakko toimia. Sen lisäksi, että viparita karani on äärimmäisen palauttava asento, se myös rauhoittaa hermostoa ja tasapainottaa verenpainetta. Itse käyn joka ilta tässä asennossa ennen nukkumaanmenoa.

Tee näin:

1. Käy selinmakuulle ja nosta jalat kohti kattoa, 90 asteen kulmaan ylävartalosta. Jalkojen rentouttamiseksi vie huivi, vyö tai muu vastaava jalkapohjiesi yli (kts. kuva), jolloin ylävartalosi kannattelee jalkojen painoa.
2. Toinen vaihtoehto on nostaa jalat seinälle. Pääset asentoon helpoiten makaamalla kyljelläsi kohtisuoraan seinää vasten ja nostamalla jalat ylös samalla, kun kierähdät selällesi. Vie takapuolesi mahdollisimman lähelle seinää niin, että se tuntuu edelleen mukavalta.
3. Levitä kätesi rennoksi sivuille tai pään yläpuolelle.
4. Rentouta koko keho ja anna hengityksen kulkea luonnollisesti.
5. Pysy asennossa niin kauan kuin se tuntuu mukavalta, noin 10-20 minuuttia.

Hengitys vasemman sieraimen kautta

Joogatraditioissa on hyvin tiedossa, että hengityksen rytmillä on suuri vaikutus omaan olotilaan, mutta paljon kertoo myös se kummalla sieraimella on helpompi hengittää. Tietyn ajan päivästä toinen puoli on selkeästi virtaavampi, mutta muutaman tunnin kuluttua dominointi siirtyy toiselle puolelle. Vasen puoli rauhoittaa ja oikea aktivoi. Harvoin huomaamme näitä siirtymiä päivän aikana, mutta huomioimalla ne voimme käyttää niitä hyödyksemme. Erilaisten hengitystekniikoiden avulla on mahdollista vaikuttaa siihen kumpi sierain on dominoiva - toisin sanoen voimme hengityksen avulla vaikuttaa omaan mielialaamme. Joten illalla, kun haluamme rauhoittua ennen nukkumaanmenoa, on hyödyllistä saada vasen sierain virtaamaan.

Tee näin:

1. Laita kello soittamaan viiden minuutin kuluttua ja asetu mukavaan asentoon.
2. Aloita muutamalla uloshengityksellä, jotka tyhjentävät keuhkot kokonaan.
3. Sulje oikea sierain painamalla kevyesti sormella ja hengitä 4-5 kertaa syvään sisään ja ulos vasemmalla sieraimellasi.
4. Hengitä sen jälkeen 4-5 kertaa molemmilla sieraimillasi.
5. Jatka hengittämällä vuorotellen pelkästään vasemmalla ja molemmilla sieraimilla.
6. Jatka näin, tunnustelemalla samalla kehon tuntemuksia, kunnes kello soi.

Lukuvinkkejä

• Kuuntele kehoasi -teeman aikaisemmat postaukset: Herääminen, Keskittyminen & Parantuminen
• Viisi joogaliikettä omassa sängyssä
• Iltajoogaa rentoutumiseen
• 7 vinkkiä täydelliseen iltarutiiniin
• Nuku hyvin - tietoa unen tärkeydestä

With the coming of her second child, yoga teacher Anastasia Shevchenko had to re-think her work. Read her story about bringing a big project to life despite a very small budget and lack of investors – while taking care of two small kids!

When life with kids make you change your plans

This story began last summer when our family got the good news: we were expecting! My husband and I wanted to have a second child, our 2 year old just got out of diapers, so we let the nature take its course… As I got pregnant, I realized that my life would have to change.

Before having children, I was a new yoga teacher, very keen to take on any teaching opportunity I got, even if it wasn’t well-paid, or even if it wasn’t paid at all for that matter! I just wanted to learn, to gain experience, to build on my resume… I started out, like most others, subbing classes for more established teachers and teaching at weird times that nobody else wanted.

With Liam’s birth, I had to become more picky, and frankly speaking, we could afford it. My husband had a fruitful work period, and I established myself with a small number of dedicated students who were happy to follow me from one rented space to another. At this point, I still liked to take some time in the evening away from the family for my work.

Changes had to be made
With the coming of the second child however, I had to re-think my work. I wanted to establish a way in which I could work more during the day or in high-intensity time chunks, work less, and be more recognized for what I do and how I do it.

And so, in the end of the summer 2017, the idea of the Berlin Yoga Conference was born. In September I put together a temporary website and outlined my vision, then approached the yoga teachers to see if the ideas resonated with them. I also started looking for a venue, which was one of the biggest challenges so far: Berlin has become very expensive and the venue costs a substantial chunk of my budget. In the end, I found an amazing venue that could not have been more perfect for the occasion – Malzfabrik. The people working there were very happy and supportive about the idea of hosting the Berlin’s first ever Yoga Conference.

With the venue finalized, by October a list of presenters was ready as well, with some basic notions about the programming and the business plan. In November, I approached important service providers for the next steps - the designer and the programmer - as well as the possible sponsors and media partners. 

Creative ways of bringing a project to life
Why have I planned the Berlin Yoga Conference so much in advance? By now you know the first reason – because of my daughter who was born in the end of February. The second reason is simple – because I needed a lot of time to compensate for the lack of money. Planning in advance has provided me with enough time to come up with all kinds of creative ways of bringing this project to life despite a very small budget, lack of investors, connections, or a well-known name in the community.

So now, here I am, working full-time (without getting paid for this), while having a newborn baby, nursing her while doing emails, Skyping with people while she’s asleep, and taking her with me in a sling to business meetings – all of this before my 3-year old comes back from the day care and we spend some time as a family the four of us.

And the last thing: I manage to do my daily practice! At 20:00 when we put the two kids to sleep, I have that one hour to practice, well, usually while trying to catch up with my husband stretching next to me. Well, maybe it is not a traditional Ashtangi kind of way, but that’s what I can afford at this point!

Interested in the Berlin Yoga Conference? There is a chance to experience a little taste of it through the photos from the Pop Up#1:Meet the Berlin Yoga Conference or to come over (link to the program for the pop up#2) to the Pop Up#2: Berlin Summer Yoga Edition this August 18, 2018

Find out more about Anastasia Shevchenko 

Home page, Facebook and Instagram.

Photo Credits: Alessandro Sigismondi

A gluten-free and vegan recipe from GreenStreet -  for the chocolate lover!

What you'll need

Serves: 12

• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 6 tbsp water
• 2 cups gluten rice flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened Cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup Coconut sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup melted Coconut oil
• 1 3/4 cups of pureed bananas (5 bananas )
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (vegan)

How to do it

• Preheat oven to 165c.
• Prepare your "flax eggs" by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
• In a bowl, whip the flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
• In a bowl, mix the melted Coconut oil, pureed bananas, vanilla, and flax mixture together.
• Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Pour into a greased loaf pan.
• Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour
• Let it cool down and enjoy!

Why not try this class while your bread is in the oven?

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About GreenStreet

GreenStreet is a Finnish company that produces and sells healthy and tasty raw cakes to grocery stores and cafes. GreenStreet also has a café at Sveavägen, Stockholm, which serves fresh and good vegetarian food. At GreenStreet it is considered that everyone should have the opportunity to eat good food and enjoy life while living healthy. When you eat well, you have the energy to work towards your goals and dreams! Read more: www.greenstreet.cafe

Are you one of those who can't really handle the heat during summer? Who might feel overheated and irritated by this? You are not alone, and it's quite normal if you have a certain body constitution. The ancient seers of India had their own internal cooling system that comes from the traditional healing science known as ayurveda. Here I'll tell you some more about ayurveda and how you can balance your body to better handle the summer heat.  

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Let’s face it: summer in the city can be intense. The heat makes us irritable, impatient, and easily frustrated. There are many common ways to cool down such as blasting the aircon but that can be a great waste of energy, or weighing in at your nearest self-serve frozen yogurt shop but that can add up on the body and in the bank.

About Ayurveda
Ayurveda comes from two words: “Ayu” which means life and “veda” which means science so Ayurveda quite literally is the science of life. It is based on the premise that we each have a combination of elements that make us up, known as doshas. The three doshas are: Earth and water, or kapha, fire and water, or pitta, and air and space, or vata. From an ayurvedic perspective, we all have a certain combination of each of these elements. Too much of any of these elements takes us out of balance. It makes a certain amount of logic when you think about it: excess earth creates lethargy, depression, and additional mucous in the body. Too much air and space and we are easily distracted, flighty, and ungrounded. Too much fire, we are impatient, judgmental, and think that we are always right. Sound familiar? Luckily, there are many ways to keep these imbalances in check. Let’s take a look at some common pitta imbalances so you can check in yourself.

Fire manifests in the body as acid water, located in the stomach and in the digestive organs. Since pitta is responsible for metabolism, too much pitta can create acid indigestion, reflux, and diarrhea. It can also cause high blood pressure, acne and inflammation of joints. And just like a burning wire, excess pitta can shorten our fuse, leading to aggression in both our personal and professional relationships, as well as in the community at large. It’s no surprise that crime rate and violence increase during the summer, particularly as a result of heat waves.

Shift your yoga practice

Despite this, many yoga classes continue to offer a practice that is heat building, sweat-inducing and pitta-aggravating in the height of summer because that is what we are used to. As a culture, we tend to take the “no pain, no gain” approach onto our yoga mats. If savasana isn’t experienced in a pool of sweat it somehow means we didn’t do enough. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy a good sweat like the rest of them but that does not mean I need to go to extremes when the temperature takes me there already. The experience of yoga is not calibrated by the amount of perspiration you emit but by the depth of connection you have to the moment. That is what we can take back with us to our friends, our spouses, our children, and our co-workers. If you leave class feeling more imbalanced than you were when you arrived, something’s not working. Here’s a few tips on how to shift your yoga practice to create more equanimity both on the mat and off. If you’re new to yoga, fear not! These are tips that are available to anyone at any time.

1) Avoid practicing surya namaskar, the sun salutation, in excess. Rather practice moon salutes (I think we should have an asterisk here or link to a moon salute sequence).

2) Add a restorative pose to your practice or to your day. Legs up the wall is cooling, calming for the nervous system, lowers the heart rate, and slows down the breath. All of these things help counter a pitta imbalance.

3) Practice sitali breath: curl the end of your tongue up to the roof of your mouth. If you can’t do that (you’re not flawed: some people anatomically are unable to!) then simply open your mouth as if you are giving a fake smile. Breath in through the tongue or the teeth. Pause at the top of the inhalation and then exhale our through the nostrils. Try this about 6 times and notice the effects. It helps cure heartburn, acid indigestion, and creates an internal cooling system. Although it might look funny, this comes in very handy while you’re waiting on the subway platform in intense heat. Give it a try!

4) Avoid spicy or acidic foods like peppers and tomatoes and eat cooling ones such as coconut, cucumber, and melon.

5) Last but not least: avoid alcoholic beverages if your pitta is up. It takes all of those imbalances into more imbalance! Although it might feel cooling at the time, it will only fan the fire in the end.

Stay cool and Namaste.

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Links

• Learn more about ayurveda here!
  • About ayurveda (in Swedish)
• Create pitta balance this summer (in Swedish), by Eva Forsberg Schinkler

It all started with philosophy. Yoga was developed as a practical way to break free from certain patterns and to reduce suffering. But yoga in itself is not important. What is important is the effect it might have on you. Dare to try Yoga Philosophy online!

How can yoga have transformational effects?

I turn everything I do into a project. This is one of the negative patterns in my life. When I do something, I have a hard time taking it lightly. I become ambitious and I want to become good at what I do. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, looking closely at this pattern I feel an underlying sense of unease. It is so familiar and subtle that I easily forget that it is there, but it is both powerful and poisonous. It whispers in my ear that I am not naturally OK, and gives me the uncomfortable feeling that I need to be successful to be good enough. If I just follow my usual impulses, then I will seek relief through ambitious behaviour, and sadly this strategy never gives me the relief that I am longing for.

Yoga is'nt something to be good at

The reason why I share my personal pattern is that it serves as a good entry towards an essential philosophical point regarding yoga. Think about the sentence: “Laura is good at yoga.” Most of us would not raise an eyebrow if we heard the sentence in a conversation, and we would immediately understand, what is meant. Laura is experienced in yoga, and she is probably both flexible, strong and able to do advanced yoga poses. Or she is good at meditating for long periods or breathing in intricate ways. However, from a traditional yoga point of view it does not matter so much, what you think it means to be good at yoga. The problem is the very notion that yoga is something to be good at. The point can be expressed very simply: Yoga is not important in itself. It is only important because of the effect it has on you. On the surface, this may sound trivial, but if you look closer it is both significant and important.

Originally, yoga was not developed as a training system. It started with philosophy. Yoga began with an acknowledgement that there are certain patterns that most of us seem to be trapped in, and that these patterns bring suffering to our lives. Yoga was developed as a practical way to break free from those patterns and to reduce suffering. From a traditional perspective, yoga can therefore be compared to a medical treatment. You take a painkiller to reduce your headache, and to say that someone is good at taking painkillers, would be weird. The same is the case with yoga, if you look at it this way.

How to make yoga a deeper practice

Yoga is a way to deal with the patterns that create suffering in your life. This is what yoga was developed for, and this is still in the DNA of yoga. However, to tap into this transformational potential of your practice, you need to keep your eyes on the ball. It is true that yoga can give you a better life, but it is equally true that your patterns are likely to sneak into your yoga practice, if you are not aware of it, and then your practice will not have a deeper effect. If you are a control freak, then you become a “yoga control freak”, and if you are a neurotic “achiever” (like me), then you can easily become a neurotic ”yoga achiever”. In fact, yoga can easily become yet another arena, where you act out your negative patterns.

I am not saying that it is wrong to set goals or achieve in yoga, and I am not saying that making yoga into a project is bad yoga. Honestly, I think it can be great fun to do so. All I am saying is that if you wish for yoga to touch you deeply, then you need to know, what you are dealing with, so you can distinguish, when your practice serves you well, and when it becomes harmful towards yourself. In other words, I am advocating a shift of perspective. Yoga is about you. Yoga is about life.

Let the practice suit the person

In my own practice, I daily observe ambitious impulses to get into better shape and push my practice to the next level. However, when I have the presence to observe these impulses clearly, I see how they arise out of my feeling that I am not good enough. When I follow these impulses, I feel a sense of numbness and disconnection. Because then my focus is on external ideals and because I naturally try to ignore, when my body’s signals tell me that I am overworked and tired and that I need rest rather than results. Your patterns are likely to be different from mine, but I imagine that most people practicing yoga can recognize the potential of letting the practice suit the person, rather than trying to be good at yoga.

Online Yoga Philosophy Course

Are you curious of learning more about yoga philosophy? If you are serious about letting yoga have a profound, positive effect in your life, you need to look honestly at your life and your patterns. Challenge yourself to actually try something new. In this Yoga Philosophy course Simon guides you through philosophy lectures and yoga classes. Read more about the course here!

Read more

• Prāṇa - does it really exist? by Simon Krohn.
• Yogis and yoginis – Let's get lost together, by Simon Krohn.
• Sankalpa - sätt din intention, av Veronica Jäderlund.

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