Beginning, Again.
by Chrissy Lefavour
To begin again and again is the root of the philosophy behind “practice”. A lot of people think daily yoga and meditation requires a lot of discipline for daily practice, but my lineage of teachers believes otherwise. It doesn’t have to be about anything other than “practice”... No fancy intentions, no higher power, no science nor religion, the “practice” of Ashtanga Yoga as a complete 8 limbed system becomes really, really fun (and kind of challenging).
The first branch of 8 in Ashtanga Yoga leads with ahimsa or non-harming, non-violent. Upon first look it seems pretty straight forward. But what about harm caused to Planet Earth? What about unintentional harm caused to others? What about the choices you’re making daily for yourself? The inner dialogue? Self-talk? After ahimsa, a follow-up with satya, or truthfulness. Ok, sounds straightforward… Are you being true with deepest desires and daily commitments? Is truthfulness something that comes easy? Is it possible that your truth is different than someone else's? What is that??
Yoga and meditation practices not only allow us to show up, again and again, exactly as we are… This is actually encouraged!! At the foundation of practice is a sort of devotion towards the self. A daily investment if you will, in your real life, human potential, every s i n g l e day. And so for the Ashtanga yoga practitioner as I understand it, practice doesn’t always look like 90 minutes of prescribed + sweaty sequencing on a rubber mat, it often looks like daily care of self and others. It looks like creating community thru avenues of shared value and inclusivity. It looks like being kind to yourself, to others and to the planet at large.
I’ve been quoting the practice as “simple, not easy” for the past 2 years and it continues to ring true. It’s not easy to get up and love the choice for more practice, day after day. And so somedays I do it woefully, slowly, lazily, quietly, gently… but I still do it. I consider reading poetry practice, taking a nap with the cats = practice, writing, more practice, cooking and singing mantras to the ingredients, good practice! What if tomorrow we aren’t offered as many chances for practice?
I also think the word “practice” is important. Yes, sure there are postures and breaths and sequences of absolute mind blowing beauty and strength, but there are also individual minds + souls having unique and dynamic experiences on their mats. To know one person's practice could be the first and the person next to them might stop tomorrow is a wild part of this work. I see people who practice daily switch to zero daily practice, for any number of reasons, things happen! I see students dive into a solid routine, start to say things like “I’m finally really loving this practice” or “I FEEL AMAZING” and then a few months later go silent. I see students show up with a love/hate relationship to yoga, “my ex was a yoga teacher” or “I used to practice yoga” or “they made me come”.
Students show up because they are injured, divorcing, battling addictions, recently relocated, seeking daily practice, safe community, and a place to breathe. Being able to connect with my community online has seriously kept more doors open than it has closed. I am GRATEFUL everyday to call this practice my work. And I thank you for taking the chance to begin again, and again. May all beings be peaceful and at ease. Om shanti shanti shanti.
I am thankful to all my teachers and the ones who specifically came to mind as I was writing this are: Kathy McNames, David Williams, David Swenson, Beryl Bender Birch and Bill Barry. Eternal Gratitude. THANK YOU!
Written June 6, 2025.
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