Yoga: Dedication

Our yoga practice has to mean something and if ever there was a time to head for the mat then it is after seeing others’ suffering. Never was a mind more elevated and dignified than a mind that is thinking about easing the suffering of someone else. In that moment, you enter the parallel universe of the soul. When you step onto your mat and make the intention to dedicate your practice to another, you are helping to heal the world.

You have to train to develop that motivation, having a space in your home where your mat always lies will be a reminder every time you see it that you have the power to heal. The practice then becomes your way of connecting with, what is so often buried in the human soul, compassion for others - and by feeling that compassion something transformative happens inside you, curative of your own emotional anguishes and physical weaknesses. A fifteen-minute practice morning, early evening and before bed is all it takes, it can be asana, pranayama, meditation or relaxation, as long as the breath accompanies your whole practice and the dedication remains at the forefront of your mind, you will be able to heal.In time, it will become so normal to you that you may well extend it to, for example, standing in Tadasana on an escalator, dedicating this simple asana to someone or something for the time it takes for you to get to the top/bottom. And even further in time, you may find that in your waking day you're actually being more compassionate than neutral or dispassionate, as the time-span between each occasion you stop to think about others is narrower than the time you haven't.#benefitsofregularyoga