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Life's synchronicities
Over the years, all kind of interesting little synchronicities have directed me along my path. I was born in Manhattan and went to school in the Northeast but then lived in California in the early 70s when it was a hotbed of the human existential movement and an exciting place to be. After that, I lived in Colorado for ten years before moving back to New York. I started to teach yoga at the New York Roadrunners Club in 1980 and ended up teaching there for 22 years to over 100,000 people.
I got to where I am now by trial and error, marching down a lot of dead-end roads, taking wrong turns, and learning to be grateful for them. Out of our dark nights of the soul come, really, our greatest growth and our greatest wisdom.
Learning to be in touch with what is
When I found out that I had osteoarthritis in my hips and that I might need a hip replacement in ten years, I was shocked. I said, "Wait a minute. I'm a yogi. I don't need hip replacements and I don't do osteoarthritis."
But what I've learned from practicing yoga for over 40 years is that the present moment is really all there is. Learning to just be in touch with that is the key. Life is not supposed to be one steady pleasurable experience - sometimes it's comfortable and sometimes it isn't - but the stuff that doesn't work out so well is how we grow, expand, and learn our lessons. The minute you start resisting what is, you're missing out.
Ask yourself: Are you going to live your whole life according to a lifestyle you carved out ten years ago, or are you going to be in touch with the present moment and say, "Well, this is what's happening today. Maybe it was sunny yesterday, but it's raining today. I need my umbrella and raincoat." I can spend the whole day depressed, wishing it were sunny again, but if I do that I miss out on this whole day.
Happiness in the second half of life
We all have goals and we all want to keep up with the social standards that our family or our world view has laid on us. In your 20s or 30s that may mean: fashion, professional success, getting married, having a big house, having kids. But as we enter the second half of life, we start to realize that nothing in the world of form (as yoga and Buddhism would say) can bring you lasting happiness.
I see this in yoga a lot. When we're younger we often define ourselves by our athletic ability or ability to do asanas and get both feet behind your head. But that's so ephemeral. Someday you won't be able to get both feet behind your head. If you define yourself by your ability to do asana, and you lose that ability, who are you then? The answer is to go deeper, to evolve our consciousness, to find the true self.
Over the years, all kind of interesting little synchronicities have directed me along my path. I was born in Manhattan and went to school in the Northeast but then lived in California in the early 70s when it was a hotbed of the human existential movement and an exciting place to be. After that, I lived in Colorado for ten years before moving back to New York. I started to teach yoga at the New York Roadrunners Club in 1980 and ended up teaching there for 22 years to over 100,000 people.
I got to where I am now by trial and error, marching down a lot of dead-end roads, taking wrong turns, and learning to be grateful for them. Out of our dark nights of the soul come, really, our greatest growth and our greatest wisdom.
Learning to be in touch with what is
When I found out that I had osteoarthritis in my hips and that I might need a hip replacement in ten years, I was shocked. I said, "Wait a minute. I'm a yogi. I don't need hip replacements and I don't do osteoarthritis."
But what I've learned from practicing yoga for over 40 years is that the present moment is really all there is. Learning to just be in touch with that is the key. Life is not supposed to be one steady pleasurable experience - sometimes it's comfortable and sometimes it isn't - but the stuff that doesn't work out so well is how we grow, expand, and learn our lessons. The minute you start resisting what is, you're missing out.
Ask yourself: Are you going to live your whole life according to a lifestyle you carved out ten years ago, or are you going to be in touch with the present moment and say, "Well, this is what's happening today. Maybe it was sunny yesterday, but it's raining today. I need my umbrella and raincoat." I can spend the whole day depressed, wishing it were sunny again, but if I do that I miss out on this whole day.
Happiness in the second half of lifeWe all have goals and we all want to keep up with the social standards that our family or our world view has laid on us. In your 20s or 30s that may mean: fashion, professional success, getting married, having a big house, having kids. But as we enter the second half of life, we start to realize that nothing in the world of form (as yoga and Buddhism would say) can bring you lasting happiness.
I see this in yoga a lot. When we're younger we often define ourselves by our athletic ability or ability to do asanas and get both feet behind your head. But that's so ephemeral. Someday you won't be able to get both feet behind your head. If you define yourself by your ability to do asana, and you lose that ability, who are you then? The answer is to go deeper, to evolve our consciousness, to find the true self.
What motivates you to practice yoga? Follow this link to share your response. The first 10 members who post will receive a FREE COPY of Beryl's new book, Boomer Yoga!
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