It is exhausting and takes a lot of time, isn’t it? You can’t watch a series like on a treadmill, you can’t hear the birds chirping like on a walk, you can’t see beautiful landscapes like on a bike ride, you won’t lose weight and you won’t get fitter. Or is it? At least the laces are usually easier to tie.

And that is a good motivation.

Flexibility is a promise that yoga makes. Another is to attain enlightenment, which is also included in the yogic offer. However, most people who do yoga can do the first and don’t want to do the second.

So what drives them onto the mat?

The reasons may be different, but there is something for everyone. We humans never do anything if we would not benefit from it. We even help other people because it benefits us personally; the helper is also closest to himself.

Anyway, the benefits of yoga are superpowers.

Didn’t you know that? Even several superpowers! One of these is serenity. If we really could no longer tie our own shoelaces, we would be so relaxed that it wouldn’t bother us.

If that’s not a superpower!

But of course serenity also has a great effect on much more important things in life: changes, crises, illnesses, unexpected events, …

This serenity comes from something I call single-focusing.

It is the antithesis of multitasking, the seemingly efficient functioning through simultaneous action, which actually does not exist. Single-focusing because when practicing yoga your attention is completely focused on one activity.

A good yoga teacher knows how to keep your focus while performing the asana.

He guides you slowly into the pose, then directs your focus to the muscles most involved, inviting you to relax them and direct your breath there.

If he leaves you in the asana for longer than 30 seconds, this makes a lot of sense.  Only then do the muscles begin to relax and a stretching effect can set in. Then your yoga teacher will keep you on your toes by chanting a mantra or explaining the energetic effect of the pose and assigning a chakra to the asana.

He may even ask you to chant a mantra yourself in your mind. You see, you are kept fully occupied. 

D here is no time to worry about everyday things. 

No chance to go round and round in your mind, because you’re already moving on from shoulder stand to Halasana and even learning Sanskrit in the process.

And just when things start to get strenuous, you can relax completely in Shavasana, take mental excursions to beautiful places, listen to the sonorous voice of the yoga teacher and doze off a little. 

With a gentle Oooommmmm you are then let back into reality, relaxed like a baby, serene like a Buddha. 

And if you still can’t tie your shoelaces, just wear loafers.

Namastè 
Harald