“Making love is like hitting a baseball: you just gotta relax and concentrate.” Annie Savoy, in the movie Bull Durham
It may be counter-intuitive that to focus one must let go. The popular
image of a yoga practitioner is one who has complete control of their body,
mind and emotions. This image can be furthered by the challenge of translating Sanskrit into English when we look at Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.15: As for non-reaction (Vairagya), one can recognize that it has been fully achieved when no attachment arises in regard to anything at all, whether perceived directly or learned. (Translation: Chip Hartranft)
“Vairagya is acompound word joining vai meaning "to dry, be dried" + rāga meaning "color, passion, feeling, emotion, interest". (Source: Wikipedia)
Why would we want to dry up our passions, our feelings? We came to yoga to feel better, and some of us found a passion for the practice. With study, practice and life experience, for me this is the suggestion to let go of my feeling of success or failure.My best practice comes when I surrender any goals, instead focusing on experience of here and now. I find myself in a steady balance of body, mind and emotion.
On and off the mat, take Annie’s observation: “You just gotta relax and concentrate”.
