In an era of images, what does an "advanced" practice means?

☀️🤙🏽👊🏿✌️☀️

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In an era of images and appearances, we can easily get lost, confused and probably a bit fooled by the externalities of experiences…(as sublime as they can be).

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When we only focus on the outer «doing», which could become a bit of a disguised «performance» or "pretending", we could possibly miss some interesting aspects of Yoga in authentic Movement. I so often contemplate around this theme...When am I able to be fully myself? When am I a bit less in a space to express the full spectrum of my being (lots of examples to give you there!)?....Of course, at times, we do have to somehow "perform" for professional, cultural or collective reasons, etc...But when we are in situations where we don't have to "comply" or "pretend" or "perform", why would I/we?? - I often ask myself that question.

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How about all these natural sensations and feelings of ours? Our inner sensing? Can I finally give space for these?

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Let’s face it, the image culture we are all in can cage us into the dogmas of «outer» looks…and give us the (rather illusioned) impression that a (yoga) practitioner has an « advanced » practice just by the level of outer looks or acrobatics performed. And that's my face often: 😳

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The truth is, and mind you, I think I am also a rabat-joie: your body will change, your own shape will change, YOU will change….and the outer practice will also change in the irreconcilable truth that is the impermanence in all things.

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What will likely NOT change however is our access points to sensations.

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And THAT is magic to me. ✨

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Space to feel and sense, that’s what Yoga has become over time for me, regardless of the style of movement explored.

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True freedom (jivamukti) is not to dissociate from oneself for some unattainable concept of awakening but instead is to meet and awaken every aspect of You in YOU, in your body (and not in some esoteric cyberspace). It is embodied & sensed.

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So let’s be mindful about the so called yoga "advanced" practice regardless of how sexy and glamorous it looks on instagram. 😜✌️.

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It is never either or in most things in any case, as we can always be and move with both: the courage to move/expand/explore (unmesha style) with the sensing and feeling (nimesha style).

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I love the idea of EMBODY-ing shapes and forms….filling shapes with full presence, with Life.

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I often invite my beloved yoga students, who are kind enough to explore all this material with me, to practice and explore outside the linear space of the body, outside the habits of asanas, to move beyond the limits of a yoga rectangular mat, and I observe how hard it can be for us to surrender to a state of Being that is miles away from a stature of performing or even habits...Even in a yoga practice, it can be hard to drop the veil of all kinds of conditioning or what I call the "world of the should".

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Are we running away from feeling our feelings?

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At times, we do, it is true.

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And at times, we don't have to.

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The practice of yoga is a practice of Humanity.

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Therefore, this is rarely about how it looks, and more about how it feels.

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All these yoga acrobatics and outer looks we often see....are they truly "advanced"?

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I keep my response for myself.

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What does seem to be an advanced practice however is to enquire about the following: Is Yoga about how well you stand on your head (or arms!) or is it about what we actually stand ON and FOR? And that's probably, at least for me, an immensely useful self-enquiry to contemplate on, rather than when I will do a handstand. Is it all about choosing our « stand »?

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Lovingly yours, in contemplation. 🌬🤍🌷