Most yoga that is now popular in the United States is done for the purpose of toning the body, becoming healthier and reducing stress. Although there is nothing wrong with these things, they are not Yoga. Not even close. The sages taught that physically, Yoga purifies the body and clears energetic blocks. Exercise is a byproduct of this. When I did my yoga teacher training, my guru said to my group, “you came here to learn how to teach yoga but I tricked you”. He meant that he brought us there to learn how to live life on life‘s terms, how to be happy, let go and just be- despite all the chaos in the world. The lessons I learned at this training were during my second time at a 200-hour teacher training. My first was a full month In Fort Lauderdale and I was never taught these principles. It was later I realized that while I valued the experience in Ft. Lauderdale and the knowledge I gained at this training; it fell short of an authentic yoga teacher training. Now I pass the principles contained in Patanjali’s 8 Limbs on to student teachers in my studio’s training and also to practitioners in my classes. Even if they come just for a “workout“, they leave with a sense of peace that is hard to find anywhere else. I’ve has student say after class that they had an experience that left them with a feeling of spaciousness and peace, even though they came only to workout.
