Yoga Gold

If you’ve taken my classes for a while, you know I love watching the Olympics. Even though the Tokyo games were “Covid-strange,” I was still amazed and inspired by the incredible feats of the athletes and impressed by the discipline and perseverance that must be a necessary part of getting to this level of competition. The yogi in me constantly tries to figure out, especially with the gymnasts, how they are doing what they are doing. I even occasionally get off the couch and try to approximate some skill or other—usually to absolutely no avail (except to acknowledge that core is key to many of their feats). I'm also impressed by the mental focus and self-awareness required of these athletes to be able to perform, and in some cases thrive, under the pressure of international competition. So, I see the yoga in the Olympics—the attuned physical fitness, mental focus and awareness. But I also acknowledge how yoga is so different from sport and other forms of physical fitness activities. As I often remind you (and myself), yoga is never a competition between anyone else or yourself, or even the picture-perfect posture you've seen in Yoga Journal. Instead, yoga requires us to be internally truthful—to accept where we are at a given moment in our bodies, minds, and hearts. On a particular day, we might be up for a significant challenge. On other days, it might be enough just to show up and do a gentle practice, even one without any asana. Accepting and acknowledging where we are without judgment or aggression is perhaps the greatest discipline, and one of the greatest benefits, of a yoga practice.