Reflections on 8 Years of Yoga Practice

I’ve practiced some sort of meditation or yoga for 8 years, since I was 20. This became a non-negotiable daily practice 6 years ago, when I was 22. I started teaching the following year at 23. The most beautiful thing is that I still have new discoveries about my body and mind every time I step onto the mat for yoga or find my seat for meditation.

The discoveries become more and more subtle with time, and that’s where the magic is. After a few years of practice with decent teachers, anybody can have solid alignment, steady breath, and an ability to sit in meditation for some time. When years become decades, deeper refining naturally takes place. We may more attention to the tiniest details that make our practice unique to us. Our blind spots become apparent, and we address those blind spots with awareness and presence.

It helps to have good teachers, and I’m quite lucky to have too many to list here.

When we first begin to practice yoga, we’re often focused on one thing at a time, like our hands or shoulders or toes. When we practice for many years, our bodies and minds adapt, and we learn to focus on many elements at the same time. A yoga practice is like any other discipline or creative art in this way.

I make this post because I want to convey that there’s value in repetition — with mindfulness, repetition becomes ritual. With devotion, ritual becomes spiritual. Mix in some good technique and time in the game, and there’s no telling where your practice can take you. The true value in life is when we remain committed to something without attachment to the results. It may seem monotonous until you look up and notice your whole life has changed.

Peace and blessings,

Ben