now, that's the yoga spirit!

so…here’s a challenge…find the spirituality in a yoga class…in los angeles.

i’ll wait…

waiting…

still waiting…

sort of hard to find, huh? lodged somewhere deep between the guy with the turban who molests women and the naked girl who does a really nice split…it’s there…i promise you.

and it’s there in every class.

preposterous, i know! but true nonetheless. because spirituality isn’t something that’s given to you, it’s something that you bring to the party.

not a very spiritual person yourself? well, let me posit this:

did you know that the words “spirit” and “respiration” come from the same latin root, spiritus? you don’t have to be the pope to decode that one (i don’t know latin either…).

you see, it’s very clear when you are practicing yoga what the “body” element is. it’s, well, all the stuff you do with your body, the asanas.

it’s also pretty clear what the “mind” element is. your mind must stay present to control the actions of the body. if your mind is all monkeying around, your postures will suck.

okay…so now that we have mind and body in place…let’s get back to our latin lesson.

the single greatest indicator of a “perfect practice” has nothing to do with whether you can stand on your hands or touch your toes, but rather whether you can get through an entire practice without a single breath passing through your body unnoticed.

of course, the deep, fluid, mindful breath is a function of the body, controlled by the mind. i might go so far as to say that it is the tie that actually binds body and mind together.

and…respiration = spirit. tell that to your high school latin teacher. she’ll be so superbus.