Beauty of Beginner's Mind
A beautiful paradox of yoga is that it is always evolving. In my opinion, that is one of the only reasons why yoga has survived the thousands of years since it was created. Because of this continuous evolution, the practice itself becomes a dance – one that asks teachers and serious practitioners to stay on top of what is consistently changing in the yoga world.
For those who adopt the “Let’s get this over with” attitude, this can be extremely frustrating. I used to be one of those people, but this dance with yoga has taught me to let go. One of my teachers, Nicole Bordeleau from Yogamonde used to often say, “Yoga is an ocean of knowledge.” This cannot be more true. I’ll be lucky if I learn in this lifetime even a quarter of all that yoga has to offer.
Once I managed to let go, I fell in love with the practice. I mean, really in love. Deeply in love. Since yoga requires constant education, I also fell in love with learning. However, almost to a fault. I think one of the only reasons why I teach (other than to clothe, shelter, and feed myself) is to continue to take workshops. I’m positive it drives my friends crazy when my weekends, for months at a time, are booked with workshops, or how I make noise early in the morning to get to a 6am workshop (yes, even on weekends. Even on holidays).
But I see the benefits of this as three-fold. On a superficial level, my body and health are greatly benefitting from all this continuing education. Also, according to Science Daily, learning slows the physical progression of diseases like Alzheimer’s. Thirdly, what I think I know, I really know.
That last one was vague. Basically, even after hearing my teacher say something dozens of times, it may only sink in on the 89th time I hear it. When I mean sink in, I mean I finally understand it at a a physiological level. My body absorbs and understands it.
On a different note, the downside of all this learning is that it makes me feel like a Beginner almost every time I take a workshop. But then I realized that it is a truly humbling practice, for which I am grateful. Not only does it keep the ego in check, but this humility is important for a couple of reasons: 1) It’s great for a yoga teacher who tries to connect to his/her students, who may be Beginners in some way or another, and 2) It opens the heart. It’s like the wise anonymous person who said, “An open mind leads to an open heart.”
At the same time, this constant coming back from a Beginner’s mind represents the essence of any spiritual practice, much like following the breath in meditation. That is to allow there to be space to start over, and over, and over again, no matter how many times it takes. The important thing is that you start over.
