“I do not want yoga widespread popularity to eclipse the depth of what it has to give to the practitioner,” BKS Iyengar in “Light on Life.”
And unfortunately this is exactly what has been happening ever since BKS Iyengar first came to the Western World and introduced yoga to the “type A personalities” around here. Yoga has become a commodity to all people with a bare minimum effort.
Yoga is not a path anymore, it is a destination. The sanctity of the ancient poses and the benefits that they bring about in the student’s body are no longer even of interest to people who are often just going for the hardest modification of an asana just to show off to the newest girl on the mat next to theirs. I have been that person. I have been the athlete who does yoga to improve her running pace. I have been the crazy girl who goes into handstands jumping up in the middle of the room, falls and then bruises her sternum. But then, along the way, I learned better. I learned that yoga is more than just physical exercises to stretch. Yoga is a strict discipline of self-respect.
So practice, practice, practice and everything will come, but do so with respect for your body, mind and spirit. Do not take yoga as your other aerobic class, take it as a chance to use body awareness to figure out why you have been depressed for months. It will surprise you, I promise you. It always does to me. Enjoy and do not overdue it too quickly. Burning the steps will burn you out too soon and you will miss out on the fun of discovering that your limits are much further than you think!