During a conversation with some yoginis sitting on a lawn in the middle of Stockholm some reflections surfaced. During the summer there are many Yoga workshops taking place in Sweden and we were talking about the different messages and interpretations of Yoga. How one takes on the practice – do I Yoga to live or do I live to Yoga?

Is my practice serving me or do I get injured? Do I use the practice to become more aware of my body and energy level and can adapt my practice according to the received information? Or do I bring my competitive mind to the mat and race towards achieving the asanas no matter what?

There, on the lawn in the afternoon sun, one of the Yoginis spoke about doing the mountain pose (starting ones practice) with integrity, those words stayed with me during my own practice that evening. To stay soft, focused on my own needs and accomplishments rather than going into achieving and comparing with my status yesterday or my aspirations on tomorrows practice or comparing myself to someone else’s practice in the room.

So I am trying to stay in tune with my breath, here and now, what is needed in the moment and the community in the room.

Shanti shanti

Isabella