A Young Yogi And An Old Yogi Were Sitting On A Hill

A young yogi and an old yogi were sitting on a hill.

Down in the valley were all the yoga poses in the whole universe.

"Quick", said the young yogi, voice full of excitement. "Let's run down there and try some of the poses".

"No", said the old yogi, voice full of wisdom. "Let's walk down there and try them all".

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The more time you spend with this practice, the more you'll realize it's a journey.

People often say things like "I can't wait until I can handstand".

"Oh", I say. "What kind of handstand do you want to do?", I ask.

"Huh?", they say.

"Well, do  you want to handstand using a wall or away from the wall?"
"Do you want to be able to hold the handstand or just kick up and fall over correctly?"
"Do you want to press to handstand or just kick into one?"
"How do you want to come out of it? Flopasana or lower through something like Koundinyasana or Eka Pada Bakasana?"

"Huh?", they say.

Know two things about this practice:

1) At the top of every yoga hill, you'll see a heap of other hills. Even if you can't see the other hills at the moment. There's never a final yoga hill.

2) Running up the hill to get to the top, just puffs you out. Just walk. Don't worry about the other yogis running up the hill, to be first to the top. Be the tortoise, not the rabbit.

Practice with patience, J.