I subbed a Tuesday morning class at The Marsh last week. I’m not usually up and teaching at 6:45am, but another teacher needed a sub and I don’t have any “conflicts” at that time. Except, perhaps, my own yoga and meditation practice.
The class went well. Afterward, I wandered over to the restaurant area because I remembered seeing an announcement about coffee and pastries, and normally that part of The Marsh is closed when I’m there. Not only did they have coffee, but one of the (limited) number of baked goods was a gluten-free banana chocolate chip muffin. Yummy! That, combined with the view out of the window, and I couldn’t resist.
A lot of yoga teachers would tell you not to get attached to that muffin. And fair enough. But it wasn’t a reward for teaching. I wasn’t treating myself. I didn’t need the muffin. I wasn’t about to die of malnutrition. It just felt right, in that specific morning, with that specific view. Part of me just wanted to linger at The Marsh on a beautiful day.
Let’s face it: if a yoga practice doesn’t bring you any joy, you won’t keep doing it. The joy is not a side effect. It’s part of the point, and it’s meant to spill over into the rest of your life, not stay on the mat.
There’s no single technique that delivers that joy for everyone. Since it isn’t one-size-fits-all, it requires some effort figuring out what works for you, which takes trusting your own inner wisdom more than trusting a “rule” that someone else decided for you.
As I’ve been saying more recently, yoga is more than “letting go.” Yoga is an active process of creating balance. The Sanskrit word chitta usually gets translated as “mind” or “consciousness,” but it also carries a sense of interest, desire, intention. In Kripalu yoga, the practice is to build chitta and raise prana, energy, in balanced proportion. Having some interest in what you’re doing helps, whether you’re sitting in meditation, moving through a sequence, or eating breakfast. Everything you do in a day is a chance to practice. Ajahn Chah used to put it simply: “like and dislike are of equal value.”
That goes for the muffin, too. I can eat a gluten-free banana chocolate chip muffin, notice that I enjoy it, and let that be enough, without turning it into something I desperately need. The same awareness works in reverse. Eating a low-fiber diet the day before a colonoscopy makes me feel terrible, and I can notice that clearly, without making a huge fuss about it.
Interest is a kind of tether. It keeps the mind engaged instead of drifting off into autopilot. And there’s a word for what happens when that tether turns into a grip: raga, which means “attachment,” “craving,” wanting the good feeling to stay on repeat. Chitta (“mind”) is the tool that can stay present and pay attention. Raga is what happens when we start trying to hold on. They can look pretty similar from the outside: coffee and muffin in hand, sitting at the same table with the same view, and yet two different things could be happening inside you.
Now, I’m no saint. I’m just a dude who teaches yoga and happens to like muffins and coffee. Part of me hopes that class needs a sub again some day.
As for you, maybe the next time something small goes right, whether it involves pastries and a good view or not, see if you can notice the enjoyment and let it stay just that. No reward, no treat, no need. Just a good morning.
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