What Is Both “Freeing” And Requires “Discipline?” Hot Yoga Of Course!

Having the yoga room be a safe place for all students is paramount to what we teach and what we strive to create.

Within this place of safety, the yoga room and our hot yoga practice simultaneously acts a powerful tool to teach ourselves what we like to call “good discipline” that will help us in all aspects of life.

What does this mean you ask?

Standing on your mat for the first time can be daunting. We totally get this. Good news is that the yoga room and your mat is the perfect place to study and embrace imperfection as we work to progress in our practice which helps us off the mat in our progression of life. Said a different way; if you’re new or just coming back after a long hiatus, be gentle and patient with yourself. This practice is a journey and you are not expected to learn or understand everything in one class. Keep coming back and trying the right way to the best of your ability.

As we journey in our practice, in order for this “embracing of imperfection” and “hope of progression” to occur one has to be willing to show up and be taught. “But I did come to class.” Yes, so wonderful and good on you! Making the decision to come to class when you could be doing so many other things is cause for hooray. The question is, “do we come to class ready to let go of what we think we know about ourself and our practice to be open to new learnings and understandings about ourself and our practice?"

Practicing Hot Yoga is the act of freeing the mind from the clutches of the mind. (One of the many gifts of the practice!) There are five types of modulations of the mind — wanting proof for everything, wrong understanding, imagination, sleep, and memory. At any given moment, your mind is in one these modulations. But, when there are moments when you are simply “being” or said in a different way, not sleeping, not looking for proof, not remembering old things (especially beliefs and habits!) then at that moment yoga has happened! And what a gift this is for the soul! Why? Because at the moment you are just by yourself in the journey of your own self, which is the source of joy or source of love or source of peace and knowledge. This happens whenever you are witnessing a beautiful sunset or earth’s beauty; this also happens after pranayama (breathing) or during meditation. The mind is then free from all these five modulations. That is why when you do yoga asanas you put the body, mind and breath, all in one rhythm. That is when real yoga is happening and you are with yourself!

To get here does require some level of “good discipline.” Good discipline means being willing to show up and practice and allowing ourselves the gift of detaching from our conditioned reality, limited beliefs, and stories that remain on replay in our minds. (The modulations of the mind.) Okay, you’re thinking “how do I do this in class?” Great question! We are in the clutches of the mind (and in one of those mind modulations!) every time we notice ourselves and our practice stuck in thinking “I have to be in this spot because it’s the hottest spot in class,” or, “I need to place my mat in this spot,” or “my body won’t ever be able to do this” etc, etc, etc!

When we do this, we’re willing, (just for a moment or during our time in class) to stop identifying with the limited and conditioned reality that we are living in. And when we do this, little by little, bit by bit, we begin to identify with another kind of consciousness, even a higher level of self, a more powerful experience of being.

Look at that! So you can discover more of the power within you! See you on your mat!