Happy New Year!
Last year seemed to go by so fast, and this year is off to a quick start! January is almost over… and New Years resolutions… have they already gone out the window?
Every year people set resolutions to get in shape, quit smoking, and eat healthier. The yoga studio, gyms, and health clubs get flooded with people in January, but as time goes on the people seem to fade out.
Why is it so hard for us to stick with our goals?
You can never fix the problem by dealing with the problem! You must go to the cause. We have to be willing to not just change our behavior, but our thinking. In Bikram Yoga we practice Hatha yoga, the physical practice of the postures, as well as Raja yoga, mental concentration.
The mind is one of the most important and one of the most complicated subjects in our life. When you have control of your mind, anything is possible. With mental strength you can truly accomplish anything.
Bikram teaches us that there are 5 aspects of the mind we have to learn: faith, self-control, determination, concentration, and patience.
It always surprised me that faith is considered an aspect of the mind. But truly it is. In Bikram’s Orange book he says, “Faith is the essential ingredient in the practice of life, and supplies the foundation for controlling the mind. With faith, all things are possible—you just have to believe. In order to aspire to Self-Realization, you must first have faith in your Self. How can you ever realize anything in which you have no faith?”
We have to actually believe that we can do it! I am constantly taken back by the number of people I have talked to that have never tried Bikram Yoga that don’t believe they can do it. I hear things like, “I just can’t take the heat. I’m just not flexible. I can’t do that.” Really? How do you know? You haven’t even tried it yet!
Yoga helps you develop faith in you. As teachers, we already believe in you, and part of our job is to transfer that faith to you, so you believe in yourself as much as we do. Bikram says, “The purpose of my life is to make people realize the goodness buried in themselves—that they deserve to be happy, and they can be.”
If you want to accomplish your New Years resolutions this year, come to Bikram Yoga. We use the body to start to train the mind. We start to train the mind by developing faith – a belief that you actually can accomplish whatever you desire.
Next time we will take on the 2nd aspect of the mind, self-control. In the mean time, I’ll leave you with my new favorite quote: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -- Howard Thurman
Come Alive in 2013! Practice Bikram Yoga!