Life has no explanations to give you...

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I don't have old photos. I destroyed all paper photos during a period of my spiritual search. I have done a complete recapitulation of my life and as part of that technique I burned my old photographs so I have no attachment to my past.

It’s been nearly sixteen years since I started out on the spiritual journey of self-discovery. Since then I've changed so much, I come so far, it’s hard to remember exactly who I once was. I know I was very ambitious, eager to make something of myself, to get the best of life. I was pushy, loud, confident, I had no idea what really matters in life.

At age of 29, I arrived in Canada with my eight months old daughter, my wife and $10K cash. I was learning English and I worked hard as a dishwasher to support family. My wife did not work. After a year of making salads and washing dishes I got my job as a computer programmer. I bought our first condo in 1999 which I paid off ten years later, and just couple of years later I got divorced.

The best photo of 2018 

I hear people of my age talking about retirement, pension plans, and future in general. They are very much afraid of what will happen to them. They are afraid of getting old. I do not worry about such things. What is the future after all? An imagination. The future does not exist, it is just in the mind. People lose present moment worrying about the future, worrying about something that does not exist.

I am free to say that I have discovered the truth - nothing has value in this life. Events arouse desire, fear, anger, and you think it is "you". You get stuck talking to yourself, explaining, hoping, trying to find any meaning in all this.

Life has no explanations to give. It is an empty, meaningless flow of events that just go on and on. Whatever happens has little or no importance. People are born, they live their pity lives... they eat, shit, fuck, work and work and work more until they die.

This year, in May, I made my last will. Upon my death my body is to be cremated and ashes spread in water and earth. No reminder of my existence should be left. That's my last will.

I have only a few people in my life that I really care for... I love my daughter the most and I try to help her as much as I can.

In my last will I left everything that I have to my daughter.

To find the truth, to see what is real and to lead a genuine life is a goal of everyone. Life is rarely straightforward as we may wish. Life is both profound and simple, yet process of understanding it tends to be very difficult, if not downright complicated.

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary. - Cecil Beaton

A great secret of life is that we exists not in order to achieve something but actually to simplify things. We are here to cut through our crowded thoughts and paranoia, to cut through our confusions and doubts.

 I try so hard to give her the advice about life. 

Two huge mistakes we make!

The heart of all confusions is that we have a sense of self which seems to us to be continuous and solid. When a thought or feelings or event occurs, there is a sense of someone being conscious of what is happening.

The sense of self is actually imagination, transitory and discontinuous "thing". So we end up with this confused view as being real, we struggle to maintain it and do everything possible to enhance this "solid" sense of self. We try to feed it with pleasures and shield it from pain.

So our life became endless pursuit of physical comfort, security and pleasure. We've organized society in this way - we try to control the nature, we fear change, we try to avoid irritations at all costs.

We always search for the "reason", why things happen the way they happen. We try to rationalize, justify, find set of rules, find interpretation of how and why things happen as they do. And doing that we actually do not see things as they are.

Our interpretation of reality is taken too seriously, so our world looks very much static and rigid place to live in. Such a solid world reassures us that we are a solid, "something", continuous as well. The world exists so therefore we, the seers of the world, exist.

 

 We are not progressing anywhere, instead we are just getting older. 

Hopes and expectations are our main enemies!

Get rid of our hopes and expectations as well as our fears. Drop altogether the idea of security and see the irony of our attempts to secure yourself.

Accept yourself as you are, instead of what you would like to be. Fear, hope, loss, gain, good, bad - these are on-going actions of our current life, the self-maintaining structure of our own self-deception

The truth is... we exists only in the NOW. When we face things as they are we have no hope of something better to come. We are actually living.

Give up the memories and imagination and be nothing, understand nothing, do nothing. No one is coming to save you, to the extent that no one is going magically to enlighten you. The life is a lonely road and you travel alone. You may have a companion or not but you must know, no one will take care of you at the end.

The life experiences are your product and living is nothing else but the process of dismantling, undoing, opening, giving up, of everything. It is the end of struggle to be "something". Once you give up the struggle there is no one left to conquire it.

We have to give up trying to defend and improve ourselves.

The world is reflection of ourselves!

All fears come from uncertainty of who we are, from the panic of forgetfulness. We distrust ourselves, feeling that we are inadequate to deal with that mysterious life that is threatening us. What will happen to us?

The world reflects our uncertainty and our fears. The world is a mirror projection of ourselves! Our uncertainty is haunting us. To know this, it is wisdom.

Enjoy the world and stop being afraid of ourselves by cultivating the good sense of humor. Understand and accept our insignificance, stop all seriousness and enjoy life as it comes, from moment to moment.

Laugh at people making a big deals about small things. Closely observe our own behavior and laugh about it too. Once we are completely familiar with negative aspects of the state of our being, then we know the "way out"... that's it.

The fear of life is generated from uncertainty of who we are.

Courage and optimism diminish with time.

As you grow older, as time is passing by, you are becoming more and more a coward. With age you lack the courage to do or endure unpleasant things. Some of you appear as cynics but actually you are just timid, easily intimidated person.

The house that you own, the money in retirement fund etc. do not really protect you. It fools you. There is no security or any rest in this world, the picture of old people on the beach is not realistic. It does not show, the pills for high blood pressure, diapers, the lack of sleep, rheumatism etc...

With the age, you start remembering the most embarrassing crap you did in your life with perfect clarity. The kind things you did will be pushed away, you will forget them. The bad things come out from the dirt of subconsciousness. Instead to correct yourself, you start correcting other people in your life, your kids, spouse, neighbors, co workers. With age you have a fleeting sense of superiority over younger people so they start to resent you.

Believe me, nothing worthwhile comes with age.

There’s no meaning to your life, no reward for achieving all the things you've achieved. And please, stop saying that things were better back then in your youth. When you were young, the life was cheaper, happier and people were nicer. Oh well.

You are on your life journey. Many of you are on completely different routes than I am, so the answers to questions Is There Truth in Life? is not applicable. Truth is relative. In my 54 years I have concluded that there is not such thing as truth. Everything that you know is false, there are only lies. You may have concluded something else... Does it really matter?

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Why People Don't Like Ashtanga Yoga?

Yoga is very popular and it is the top choice on the fitness market today. However, we witness decrease of popularity of Ashtanga yoga. You may see cancellations of Ashtanga classes in yoga studios more often than some other type of yoga be it classic Hatha poses, Hot Yoga's sweaty sessions in a heated studios or any hybrid of Vinyasa yoga. Ashtanga yoga retreats are among the most unpopular and are often cancelled or changed to some other yoga styles.

Lack of Good Ashtanga Yoga Teachers?

The orthopaedic surgeons, physical therapists and chiropractors in North America are increasingly dealing with the ashtanga yoga practitioners which practice has gone awry.

The increase of injuries in ashtanga yoga practice are blamed on the lack of good teachers. Almost everyone with 200 hours teachers training program can and certainly teach ashtanga yoga with poor understanding of the practice itself. Such teachers are badly trained, inexperienced and overzealous and that cause a lot of problems for the students.

A yoga student from England observed it well: "I was at an Ashtanga yoga class and in a posture where you really twist your spine. My teacher came to adjust me in the pose and really pushed me into it. It felt really uncomfortable at the time and it got worse afterwards. It was so painful that I went to the doctor and he told me that I'd bruised a rib."

Very often the students are uncertain about questioning yoga teacher. When you're in the middle of a class it's really difficult to say that something hurts. Ashtanga yoga teachers are known to be quite forceful characters and they assume they know what they are doing.

Let me digress a bit, not all ashtanga yoga teachers are forceful, inexperienced and overzealous. But in general, there is no legislation that dictates standards for teaching ashtanga yoga. It is loyalty of visiting Mysore, being in good terms with Sharath and the practice itself that, seems to me, determine certified ashtanga yoga teacher. They are extremely rare and students are left with 200 hours teacher trainees devoid from the understanding of student psychology, anatomy and most of all the humility as a human being that make up the right credentials for anyone wanted to be a yoga teacher.

Is Ashtanga Really Bad Practice?

Arddha Baddha Padmottanasana, Janu sirsansana C, Mukha Eka Pada Paschimottonasana just to name some of the knee-dangerous asanas that have been injuring students due to stubborn attempts to get into the pose with a no-pain-no-gain attitude.

I’ve heard from and worked with a number of physical therapy (physiotherapy) patients who suffered MCL, LCL or other knee injuries that began in their Ashtanga practice. Usually, this was from a Mysore-style practice, sometimes from teacher adjustments. I’ve also fielded many email inquiries from students about Ashtanga and knee pain. - Dr. Ariele Foster, Yoga Anatomy Academy

Ashtanga Yoga practice is very hard, physically demanding and so dangerous for anyone who cannot do lotus properly. It is so often connected with things like knee-pain and inflammation. The knee is most vulnerable when it is bent with an external rotation of the hip when the front of the thigh moves to the outside of the hip.

Generally speaking, one of the most vulnerable components of Ashtanga yoga is repeated pressure on the lateral knee ligaments since the practice sequence repeats almost daily. For the students who are not so flexible, the practice can cause the repetitive stress syndrome.

Regarding Astanga being a balanced practice, the first series (primary) has a lot of forwarding folding in it. The vinyasas become the counterpose and are peppered through the practice. But this works solely in the Sagittal plane. Some dedicated and skilled Astanga teachers are increasingly questioning the balance of the series in light of growing scientific knowledge, and encouraging variations, making up their own sequences sometimes. – Ruth H., yoga therapy practitioner, trained in Ashtanga Yoga

What About Ashtanga Yoga Students? 

Can they help themselves by taking responsibility for their own practice?

Over the years, I have learned that Ashtanga Yoga is not defined as the mastery of asanas although for many, many practitioners the goal of Ashtanga is binding the hands in Marichyasana D in order to progress through primary series or standing up from a backbend in order to move to intermediate series.

Frankly speaking, goals like this are very harmful. I just like many other practitioners will never be able to bind in Marichyasana D. People will compromise their knees in order to get into the posture. So Marichyasana D becomes the source of a medial meniscus tear.

As Pattabhi Jois used to say, “Health will result from good yoga, ill-health will result from bad yoga.” Clearly, the goal-oriented Ashtanga practice is bad yoga.

Ashtanga yoga is not like getting on a treadmill and start running with constant acceleration. It requires mindfulness and understanding of it's flexibility and strength. Recognize pain that isn't good and continue or stop if you need to. Ashtanga is not a competitive practice and there is no reason to force yourself into a painful pose.

No doubt about it, there is a high level of risk for injury in ashtanga yoga and the practitioners so often forget that yoga is a lifetime practice. More than that, it's a spiritual practice. The physical benefits come with it, but if you're only interested in getting fit, then go to the gym.

It’s Lonely Being An Ashtangi.

There is this “lonely” feeling of ashtanga yoga. The practice definitely calls for lifestyle changes, an inwardness look and life-introspection. The ashtanga eight limbs are so close to self-inquiry.

The loneliest part of ashtanga is being the one of few who early in the morning roll out the mat each day. In such practice there is no teacher telling you what to do and what are you left to focus on. The breath is all that you have and of course your thoughts...

You feel sad and lonely and perhaps romantic at the same time.  That is the first tip of fearlessness, and the first sign of real warrior ship. ~ Chogyam Trungpa

Ashtanga is not about strength so much as it is about keeping attention on breath and strong core... mula bandha. Only daily practice and endless repetition builds the strength very slowly. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts.

...Perhaps it is just the type of people whom Ashtanga attracts. Slightly lonerish Type As? Of course there is the ultimate “lonely” part of Ashtanga: the home practice. I assume other yogis practice at home, but I don’t feel like there is quite the same  emphasis on such a practice... Even Mysore practice is “lonely.” Sure, you are in a room with a bunch of people, but you are all doing your own thing... - Steve, The Confluence Countdown

Ashtanga Yoga Is a Spiritual Practice!

Can you practice yoga without spiritual goal on your mind? I don't know.

Ronald said that some people do yoga and are "solely interested in asana...". I believe this might be true but on another hand what is the life about? Is the main goal in life to gain self-actualization or so popularly called, enlightenment?

What you actually do when you step on the yoga mat, knowing that or not, is that you search for Your Natural State. It is a state of great sensitivity of being awake, not some kind of emotional compassion or tenderness for others. I digress, yes, there is compassion only in the sense that there are no 'others' for you, and so there is no separation.

Whenever you step on the mat, you are actually interested in Moksha, Liberation, Freedom, Transformation, you name it, and you are interested in happiness without one moment of unhappiness, pleasure without pain, it is the same thing.

The Ashtanga yoga practice creates the experience, and the experience strengthens practice. The practitioner is nothing but the practice. That is really what's going on.

Practicing Ashtanga yoga, which is boring, dull and hard, does not allow you creativity and wishful thinking. It calls for a complete and total surrender. It is the practice of hopelessness which says that there is no way out... Asana, breath, drishti and vynasas are taking you away from yourself...

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New Ashtanga Yoga Paradise Studio (has replaced old KPJAYI shala)

My dear friends KPJAYI is no more!

Click on KPJAYI (K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute) link kpjayi.org now directs to a new web site of big boss, the Paramaguru. (https://sharathyogacentre.com/) As a web designer I know the power of re-direct. It is not really so complicated... The king is dead, long live the king! I like the new logo. 😍

I am not going into reasons why this re-direct happened, what is Sharath's relationship with Sharaswati now, where is the list of certified teachers, who will be there when it appears etc.

Ashtanga pilgrims will now go to the Sharath Yoga Center. It just sounds like any other wellness center isn't it? The new location is a bit different so if you are used to go to Goculam here is the map for the new ashtanga yoga center so you don't get lost.

Unofficial sources tells me big boss the Paramaguru is building a private infrared saunas inside his new center. The infrared sauna "after shavasana" will be the safest and most powerful way to remove your toxic thoughts and chronic jealousy from the body. It will support your daily ashtanga yoga practice and it will work as a natural detoxification process, increasing circulation, promoting rapid healing and increasing flexibility and mobility.

Once a week, on Thursdays, a chanting class will be held in sauna itself. This acoustic place with an increased heat will give you a unique experience of your own being.

Besides offering saunas to ashtanga yoga customers, one of my favorite change is a new outdoor pool with a place for ashtanga barbecue parties. Believe me, nothing beats experience of being a western ashtanga yoga customer in Mysore. The new pool, beach and aquarium will be finished and open for Christmas.

I am all for changes. I like to see positive, healthy lifestyle changes and they are incredibly rewarding. If you are probably feeling anxious to get started with ashtanga yoga I heartily suggest new sharath yoga center lead by big boss, the Paramaguru.

You have to go through extensive ashtanga training and to go to Mysore at least three times, to get to conclusion that you really didn't needed it. I know, you can't wait to start teaching ashtanga yoga yourself. There aren't necessarily any rules to follow when you can start teaching, but your trip to Mysore is definitely an essentials thing you absolutely must have in your yoga resume.

I recommend this new center to all  ashtanga yoga customers. Please have your own mat, primarily for sanitary purposes. In mean time I will practice at home missing the old days.

 Bon Voyage.

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I am an emotionally unavailable person 😏

The last peace of puzzle is completed. Tomorrow on December 7, 2019 ecommerce application going live. https://zmark.online will be in production mode.

I have just completed PayPal payment integration into my web application and we are ready for the world. My daughter checked English grammar on all pages and she approved it.

I am going out tonight to meet my friends and tomorrow I am doing yoga and after that I will deploy eccomerce application into production. I started development on November 5, 2019 and it will be exactly 33 days since then... wish me luck.

Nothing else is happening in my life. I am alone and I am very much satisfied with the situation I am in. I like it and I am surprised why I did not do this before. I mean to be without girlfriend and all the bullshit she used to bring into my life.

While I was reading this article on Elephant Journal: 7 Warning Signs You Could Be Dating an Emotionally Unavailable Man (or Woman)! I got goosebumps.

I'm a simple, straightforward guy and I don't like complications and anything that creates over thinking. The trust is not in my nature. I have a very hard time settling down, and it will take really remarkable woman to keep me around. Does that makes me an emotionally unavailable person?

The article starts so innocently...

These days, it’s easy to have a relationship with someone who you think you have a future with—only to find out that it is really a dead-end romance. Quite often the discovery you make is that the other person is emotionally unavailable or just commitment-phobic.

The author describes reasons of the emotional unavailability...

People can be unavailable for serious love relationships for both healthy and unhealthy reasons. They may have suffered through a troubled childhood experience that has wounded them or they now have higher priorities such as their career or taking care of a sick parent. Perhaps, they are recently divorced or widowed, and legitimately not ready to get involved in an intimate relationship. Then, there are those who are too afraid of taking the risk of falling in love because they have been hurt too much in their previous relationships.

The article then starts to enumerate the signs of an emotionally unavailable person...

1. A Real Charmer. Look out for the person who is quick to flatter and compliment you without really knowing you. Often these people “do” charming (as opposed to “being” charming) and are adept at communicating and appearing enthusiastic and enthralled. It’s a well-rehearsed act. Their focus is on short-term intimacy, appearing to be open, revealing and vulnerable. In reality they prefer the chase to the catch.

I do appear enthusiastic especially on the beginning of relationship. I always want to give a full trust that a new beginning will bring something different and that a new woman is the one right for me.

I've lost a lot of relationships in my life. It all started with divorce. I was "happily" married for 22 years. In last five years, after the divorce, I do have 14 relationship failures. Is there a trophy for that?

2. What They Say. Often emotionally unavailable people will say, “I’m just not good at having a relationship,” or, “I don’t think I’m ready for marriage.” Believe them! In this case, they are not lying. But don’t fall into their trap: there is something terribly seductive about trying to be “the one” who turns them around. Don’t try. Accept their negative pronouncements. This may be the first and only time you’ll hear them speak the truth (as they know it).

This hits me hard. I'm a mixture of fearless man who adores freedom and undisciplined child who make so many mistakes. I'm very easy to be understood. Being confident, spontaneous and independent, I want to be in charge.

I do things for myself, like writing this blog. I don't want to prove anything to anybody. As uncomplicated, bold, aggressive and impulsive, I'm perceived as selfish, insensitive, often so blunt and impatient. So be it.

3. Watch Out for Perfectionists. Emotionally unavailable people tend to be perfectionists, always looking for the fatal flaw or character defect that gives them permission to exit a relationship and move on. In reality, they are debilitated by their own self-criticism and fear of being rejected. They are so frightened of intimacy that eventually they’ll find an excuse for leaving a relationship. (The booby prize is thinking that you’ll ever be good enough to meet their impossible standards.)

Most divorced women over 40 have either spoiled personality or no personality at all. I paid so much physical and mental energy as well as financially, being in a relationship with these women. It makes me wonder, why is relationship so expensive?

Don't get me wrong, I think I am really naive and plane stupid. I don't want a family so I am not looking for a perfect woman. I hope things will magically change but I realized that I’ll never be good enough to meet her standards.

4. Self-Centered Behavior. Beware of someone who operates the relationship as if it should revolve around them. These individuals set the agenda for a relationship, control it, and won’t be inconvenienced by having to modify their routine or the plans they’ve made. This type of emotionally unavailable person is commitment-phobic, and not relationship-oriented. They are inflexible and loathe having to compromise.

Looking at the world purely from my own perspective I see that I am caring, compassionate, team player, and an overall good guy and here deep down in my heart there is a strong thirst for independence.

Every time any of my girlfriend hinted about spending more time with me I felt cold and sick to the heart. I don't wish to leave my freedom of being single for commitment of being with someone.

5. Sexually Fast. Beware of a person who wants to become sexually familiar quickly. Often they are seducers just looking for another conquest. Or, if they are over-focused on sex it may be because they don’t feel they have anything else to offer. Once the relationship becomes too intimate, they’ll cut and run.

I am 54 years old. What I need to wait for? For access to woman's pussy I have to listen over and over their boring and empty social observations, calm down their worries, manage their stress, deal with their whining of insecurity and fight with their craziness and menstrual problems.

The very moment the woman asks me to sit and listen to her, to have "the talk", to discuss her needs, desires and frustrations, wanting to know what I was really thinking and feeling, I felt uncomfortable...

6. Complains about Past Relationships. In a discussion about their past relationships, they will denigrate their former partners. Their relationship break-ups are never because of their behavior or the problems they created. The failures of their unsuccessful partnerships are always based on the faults of their exes. They lack the maturity to take responsibility for their mistakes in their past relationships.

This is so simple. A single woman, 45 and older ask for the extra effort. Simply they required more than they had to give.

Life's not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it's about seeing, acting, doing. It's neither about choices I've made in the past nor the ones I'm about to make in far away future, it's about the things I choose to do - now. It's about what I'm going to do after I finish writing this.

7. Elusive Conduct. They seem to be available only when it’s convenient for them. Your requests for more time with them are met with excuses about how hard they’re working or how tired they feel. Even after a seemingly intimate weekend, they can disappear for long periods with no regular contact. Their actions are incongruent with their words. It’s easy for them to utter an, “I love you,” and then act in a way that is unloving.

Definitely true. What I have to do? I have to deal with them like a hero, not voicing my frustrations and disappointment.

The author finishes with recommendation to the women who are going to date an emotionally unavailable guy...

On the other hand, if you realize you’ve been fooling yourself or ignoring the “red flags” that have been there all along—don’t waste time trying to convert or change them. Just accept that they are not a fit for you. This will take discipline on your part, but it will save you from great emotional disappointment and allow you to be free to meet someone for a healthier relationship that has a future. The choice is yours.

After reading this article I've concluded that I'm not good for relationship. After divorce, my goal is to be emotionally independent of other people. This points out that it is hard for me to love again. The author of this article has forgotten that our LOVE is merely hysteria. We are far from affectionate beings, we have become players wanting something else...

I can spend hours, days and weeks over-analyzing this article; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what I am or I am not... or I can just leave this internet page and move the fuck on...

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An interview with Sharath Jois

Ladies and Gents;

Today I have a special guest from the Ashtanga Yoga World. Here with us is Sharath Jois, Director of Ashtanga Yoga Institute, a grandson of Guruji Shri K. Patabhi Jois.

Sharath was born on September 29, 1971, in Mysore, India to Saraswathi Rangaswamy, daughter of the Guruji. Sharath learned his first asanas at age seven and experimented with postures from the primary and intermediate series until he turned fourteen.

Today, Sharath rise six days a week at 1:00 a.m. to do his own practice before the first students arrive at the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute...

Welcome to zmark.ca...

I have the left knee pain. What is your recommendation, should I do my daily yoga practice with modifications?

Sharath: Prayatna shaithilya ananta samapattibhyam - Yoga Sutra 2.47. Releasing the effort, not pushing so hard. You should practice, but you should be careful. Do not push too much until you feel better. You should go slowly, let the body change, and don’t rush it. Flexibility will come. When doing this practice, exercises and sports can make you stiffer and susceptible to injury. There is no need for other sports activity unless you really like it, and then, you can do that once in awhile. Injuries or pains that you get by asana, asana can heal.

How yoga should be practiced?

Yoga should be practiced as a spiritual practice. It’s not just like an exercise. If you do like that it has certain limitations. If you do it like spiritual practice, there's no limit for that. You can go higher dimensions and higher levels in this practice. So it's always good to practice thinking it's a spiritual practice and we should bring spirituality in our practice. That is very important. Instead of just doing it like exercise, aerobics, gymnastics. If you bring more spirituality in your practice, then I think it’s more effective. This whole practice will be more effective. So students have to bring that.

I have my weaknesses - I am lazy and weak... What are the best ways for me?

Whole practice is done to get rid of all these like I told you kama (lust), krodha (anger), moha (attraction), lobha (greed), madhya (pride), matsarya (jealosy) – these 6 enemies should be removed by practicing yoga. Once you get read of them which each and everyone has the light inside you, the liberation will happen. You get liberated from all these and nothing will affect you. The whole practice is based on that. That’s the main reason why we do the yoga practice.

So I have to practice 6 days a week. What happens when I practice for an entire year?

We become happier, we get peace of mind. We can get rid of lots of problems, both mental and physical. All over the world, there are people suffering from stress, Ashtanga Yoga gives us the strength to deal with it.

I eat meat drink beer and wine. Do you consider me as committed yoga practitioner?

To eat meat is to kill another being and that is the opposite of ahimsa, non-violence. When it occurs in nature it is a different thing - a tiger that eats meat does so without destroying the ecological system. Alcohol is against yoga because it will affect your inner peace and your practice.

Is there an age limit for practicing yoga?

A child should be eleven years old to start practice, but there is no upper limit. Yoga will keep happening within you until you die if you keep practicing. When we reach a certain point in our practice, yoga becomes part of ourselves, part of life, like one of your arms. It cannot be removed. It's not possible to say: tomorrow I don't want to do yoga. That would be like cutting off your arm.

Will every yoga practitioner eventually reach enlightenment?

If they develop themselves it can happen. But first, you must allow it to grow inside of you. It is like planting a tree; you must care for, and nurture it, for the tree to grow. Our nurture is the physical, asana, practice. If we keep doing our practice right, samadhi can happen at any time, but we never know when.

Sri K Pattabhi Jois said that "Ashtanga Yoga is for everyone, except lazy people"- But can some be too ambitious with their yoga?

Many people are too ambitious with their yoga. But the yoga process does not happen instantly, it is a slow process. Today everyone wants everything right away, but yoga is not like that. Yoga takes practice to understand. It is like the ocean - you have to dive into it to understand. Otherwise, it's just water.

Thank you, Mr. Jois.

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