12 Yoga things I learned in 2009

1 Trusting in God works.  When I returned from Thailand in March and was inmediatelly laid off, still having to pay a $2000/month mortgage,  I looked up at the sky and talked to God directly. I said: "Dear God, I will continue to put one foot in front of the other, but you will have to take care of the big picture, my friend, because this is a BIT MUCH!".  And He/She did, I am actually quite alright.  Picture credit

2 In order to change the body, the mind must be very quiet.  This was courtesy of my teacher at the shala, E, whom I respect inmensely.  Since I heard this I have put it in practice always and realize how powerful a statement it is.  It is only in the NOW that I can change anything.

3 Renouncing the fruits of actions and becoming an instrument to the Divine, is what Krishna tells me to do in the Gita, and I want to.

4 The Course in Miracles has a lot to do with yoga.  Just to give you a taste, one of the workbook tasks invites you to consider that "Infinite patience delivers inmediate results",  try it and see for yourself, next time someone is going way too slow for your taste tell them to "take their time" and mean it, say it with love, watch the immediate results manifest. (www.acim.org)

5 I am grateful to all yoga teachers. I've been exposed to over 100 of them over the years.  I can pretty much name who gave me what tip for what asana, pranayama, chant, meditation.  All of them, teachers, assistants, thank you!

6 Yoga is about being nice to the cashier at the supermarket, the woman in front of me who will not walk faster as I want to get out of the subway, every doorman, and even to the people who annoy me.  Essentially it turns out, they are also God.   And by the way, that also goes for myself, being nice to ME too, yes.

7 Having a network of close friends is life insurance.   As I come out of my shell through yoga I realize how valuable it is to have the opinion and thoughts of others whom I trust in life. It turns out that in some areas they are also much smarter than me, and I thought I knew it all, not!  

8 Allowing true love to come into my life, this year, has been the most amazing, beautiful, rewarding experience EVER. I highly recommend it.

9 Maybe I will never get Pashasana. It was given to me, then taken away, then I got it again! then it went away again... its like a wave. And is all good.

10 The Gayatri Mantra is incredibly powerful.  It is said that it brings to you the things that you desire more deeply, even the ones you are not aware you desire.  Highly recommended to get clear about what you want before chanting. More on it here.

11 Starting the day with 10 minutes of meditation purifies me.  I cannot quite put my finger on why my days are so much better when I meditate in the morning.  I guess its one of those things you just have to try and see for yourself.

12 The life of a monk is NOT for me.  After my 10 day free silent meditation retreat in the tradition of Vipassana (I did it in Chicago in the summer), I realized loud and clear that the life of a monk is not for me, I like people thank you very much.  That being said, nothing like silence for an extended period of time to put things in perspective.   For me it's a "once in a while" thing.

How about you?  what have you learned?