Iyengar says that, in order to become a good yogi or aspirant to yogi, you need:

• Discipline
• Faith
• Tenacity
• Perseverance

That´s all you need.

You don´t need to be flexible, you don´t need to be able to meditate for one hour, you don´t need to keep your mind blank…

Just discipline to keep showing up regularly, with interruptions and faith in that, if you keep showing up, results will come, your mind will be calmer, your body willl become stronger and more flexible and you willl see things clearer.

I personally would add that you need:

• Humility

At least in my case, my mind tells me that I don´t need to practice yoga, that we are doing fine without it, that we can be happy on our own, without the help of any kind of sports, movement or philosophy.

That´s why, in my case, humility is needed.

Humility to accept that asanas or meditate my mind is calmer, I feel more relaxed and problems become smaller.

It is said that you need to be repeating a habit for 21 days and then it becomes a habit.

Not true.

If you don´t have the right mindset, you will fall back into your old habits, even if you repeat it for 42 days.

You know that a habit becomes a ingrained habit in you,

When you PREFER to do it instead of your old habit, because you know that the new one is better for you than the old one.

I have 2 examples to share.

A couple weeks ago I woke up earlier than my daughter.

That happens rarely and I started to think wether I should work or practice yoga.

Immediately I thought: «Half an hour of work is not gonna give me much, but half an hour of yoga can change all my mood and the whole day».

That´s was the first symptom that practicing yoga in the morning is becoming a habit, because it does better to me than what I used to do, which was working.

Once you are in that point, keep showing up,

Keep up with the new habit.

And it will become part of you.

Yesterday I had dinner with family as usual:

A bit late and a bit abundant.

When we arrived at home I decided to practice some yoga.

I felt that the stomach was full and practicing yoga was unconfortable.

That´s was the first symptom that eating less is becoming a habit, because I am aware that it is doing better for me than the old habit.

Having empty stomach makes you more free, more energetic.

Work is your privilege, not the fruits thereof. Never cease to work.

The Illustrated Light on Yoga

Coming from a capitalistic country,

Work is what you need to do in order to receive money, which pays for shelter, food and clothes.

For us, work is not our privilege.

It is our obligation.

And if we can cease to work sooner (retirement), better than later.

1. Work is your privilege, not the fruits thereof

This quote has completely changed the way I see work.

You shoudn´t work just because you have to, in order to get money.

You should work because it´s what you have to do, it´s your duty, it does good to you and it´s your service to the Lord.

Let´s say that you are like me and have doubts about the existence of God. Then your work is your service to the Universe, to Nature, to the universal Consciousness. And if you don´t believe in such a thing, then work is your service to your family, to your spouse, to your community, to your ancestors who gave their lives so that you are here now, to your kids or to your possible future kids.

Whatever you believe in,

Try to get yourself out of the equation.

You are not that important,

You are just doing your work and are happy because of that.

You feel productive and it is the right thing to do.

Just do your work, and do it the best way you can.

* I admit that the idea of getting detached from the fruits of work is one of the hardest parts of the philosophy of yoga that I have read until now; I will speak about it in future posts. My mindset as a citizen of a developed country says that money is necessary and I should get paid for my work.

2. Never cease to work

This second part of the quote connects with the mindset of abundance.

We believe that work is something that you do temporarily, for some years. And when you have worked enough, then the Estate has to pay a pension to you because you deserve it and because, due to your age, you don´t have the capacities anymore to work.

But if you believe this quote,

Then you will always be able to work.

Then work work is a pleasure, something that you will happily do for the rest of your life.

And therefore you will keep being paid for the rest of your life, simply as a consequence of the energy that you are constantly putting in. Then you don´t have to save money.

I myself have been for long time trying to skip work, trying to get the biggest results possible with the least amount of effort and time. As smart as that is, it can also lead to a spiral of wanting to work each time less and less, making you fall into the trap of lazyness.

I have also entered the mindset of FIRE (Finantial Independent, Retire Early).

But again, it can easily lead to a mindset of scarcity. The idea of Never cease to work puts you in a position of being able to work forever, of having energy forever, of being able forever. That´s abundant.

Love your work and do it happily.

Even if you don´t love your work, just do it happily. It´s your privilege.

When you don´t speak, you can listen.

I speak too much.

• When you don´t speak, you can listen to what others say
• When you don´t speak, you can listen to others and look at them with attention, trying to deeply understand them, their desires, what moves them
• When you don´t speak, you can listen to yourself, to what is going on inside yourself
• When you don´t speak, you can listen around, hear what is happening around you

When I don´t speak I feel energized, I feel empowered.

Speaking involves throwing energy away (after an intense class of Bikram I don´t want to speak, actually voice hardly comes from me).

But it´s not just about energy, it´s about continence, about controlling yourself.

More often than not, there is no real purpose in what I say.

It´s just speaking for not being quiet. Speaking too much is like eating too much, or like watching too much TV or checking social media too much, or like walking fast for no reason.

Continence is key to self control.

Therefore, speak less.

Or, better said, speak when necessary, when you have something to say.

Maybe it´s not as often as you might think.

(In that sense I still have a lot to learn from my wife)

Meditation doesn´t have to happen in a quiet room, sitting on a pillow with your palms pointing up to the sky.

That can help.

But meditation is about connecting with your true self.

It is about realizing that you are not your thoughts. That you are that higher being that can observe calmly those thoughts from above.

And you can do that anywhere.

Anytime.

Just close your eyes (or even keep them open). Look at all those messy thoughts from above. Look at how they are running around without any order.

And realize that that´s not you.

Notice how good it feels being up there, how peaceful it is. Notice that everything is fine, that things are not as messy as your thoughts might make you feel. Notice that everything around you is beautiful, how everything is just perfect the way it is. Notice that you are good and that you are doing fine.

Just one second like that is meditation.

And it feels good.

Quick tip: To me it helps closing the eyes and looking at the nose, not down at the nose tip but at the same height as the eyes, horizontal. Eyes get crossed inside and that helps me get aware of myself inside, of that big space inside my head.

Beauty is everywhere.

Sometimes it is right under the surface.

Not because it´s hidden, but because you can´t see it.

A little bit of sanding will bring it up for you.

Your inner peace.

Bring peace and understanding to others by staying peaceful in yourself.

And do your job.

You are going to be of little help to the world if you have to ask for food and shelter from others.

Therefore, live by your own means and keep your inner peace.

You might have some project (or some idea) in your mind that you have been wanting to do for long time.

Actually, I bet there is more than one. There might be half a dozen at least.

If you don´t do any of them,

Guess what?

They make you stuck.

They keep flying around your mind, coming back and forth from time to time, once and again… But in the end nothing happens, because you don´t make them.

Just pick one.

Start with one,

And do it.

You will feel the magic of putting an idea into action. You will see if it is what you thought, if it brings you what you had expected, and most importantly, it will leave space for new ideas to come.

If you don´t do any of your projects, any of your ideas, you stay thinking in the past.

Take one, do it and keep on with your creativity.

Act now.

Don´t get stuck out of inaction.

This might sound contradictory.

But it´s not.

It makes all the sense.

Stay until you want to stay.

When you finish the practice of Bikram Yoga, you are supossed to leave.

With our daily duties and time running behind us, it feels like you should leave as soon as possible, as soon as the practice is over and the teacher has left the room.

That´s when it makes sense.

You are laying there,

Doing nothing,

Eyes closed.

In silence.

And you feel like leaving.

You feel that rush inside of you, telling you that you are already wasting your time and that you have many things to do. And everybody starts to stand up and go.

But then is when it makes sense.

Stay until you want to stay.

Just stay.

Relax.

Wait.

Your mind probably goes here and there in thoughts.

Maybe again you feel the rush to go.

«What the hell am I doing here»

But stay.

Stay,

Stay,

Until you want to stay.

Don´t let your mind beat you.

Just stay, pleasefully.

And

After some time,

After enough time (different every time),

You will feel how your body relaxes, how good it feels to be there, how some tension in your mind is liberated. Literally it feels like the brain loosens.

And suddenly you are not anymore in a rush.

You are good there.

Then you are free to leave.

This is not only applicable to last Savasana at Bikram Yoga practice.

It´s applicable in daily life, also in daily practice of yoga.

• In an asana that brings disconfort,
• In a conversation,
• In silence with someone,
• In silence with yourself,
• In a job,
• Without a job,
• Waiting for the traffic light

In any case, stay until you want to stay.

Not before.

Stay until it´s pleasureful,

And then feel free to move on.

I learnt this sentence at Bikram Yoga clases in New Orleans and love it ever since.

There is a little difference between putting your baby to sleep and enjoying it.

In the first case you are trying to get a goal, have something accomplished. Shortly, you are living in the future.

In the second case you are simply commited to the present moment, without any expectation. Either you get your goal or not, you are already enjoying the process.

The difference appears to be small,

Very subtle,

But it makes all the world.

Enjoying the process right now instead of trying to get a goal later makes all your body relax.

Pay attention to it.

Instantly, all your little muscles leave their tension,

They leave all the expectations,

And finally they are here.

You are here.

The difference seems to be little:

• Instead of going somewhere, enjoy going there
• Instead of waiting for somone, enjoy waiting for that person
• Instead of working on the computer, enjoy working on the computer

The difference seems to be little,

But it´s huge.

Because suddenly you are always living now, enjoying now,

Instead of always running behind something that you want to have done.