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It is the misconception of flexibility I would

like to address. <br><br>Yoga is not about the

external façade and Yoga is not flexibility and strength,

those are merely side effects to be ignored like

siddhis.<br><br><br> Yes we want to open the nadis and granthis and we

work our bodies in that direction but where does

contortion start and Yoga end? I have seen Sharath in

Hanumanasana reaching back with his hand to his straight leg,

grabbing it and planting his head near the back of his

knee. And I also saw a performer in Cirque Du Soleil do

the exact same thing. Only she was doing a one armed

handstand at the time.(The show was Quidam, on DVD and

VHS).She was graceful under the pressure of a huge

audience, steady , relaxed and concentrated, she held the

pose more than 8 breaths. If she sat and meditated,

would she reach a faster or better Samadhi than Sharath

or any other advanced practitioners, because she is

more open? Is she happier in her everyday life, is she

a better person because she can do that than if she

could only do a good paschimottanasana? All the people

in gymnastics, who do things even more difficult

than we do in Yoga, are they anywhere near stillness

and peace, cause I’m sure their shushumna is pretty

open by now? People on this Club are discussing

how to get more flexible, what to eat in order to be

more flexible and when to practice (in the morning or

evening) so they can get into those difficult asanas. Yes

flexibility and opening are a good thing up to a point but

after that, it seems irrelevant to Yoga. How “flexible”

do you think you have to be, how technically adept

before you start doing Yoga? What about those Vipassana

meditators and Zen monks and the compassionate Dalai Lama

with his Tibetan exiles? Are we all doomed to fail in

the quest for enlightenment if we can’t do

Skandasana?

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Thank you for this wonderful reminder that yoga

isn't just about flexibility of limb. I too have seen

Cirque and have a couple friends that were top college

gymnasts. And, like many others, I get caught up in trying

to be more flexible. Excited when a joint gives a

little more.But, we need to remember to be equally as

excited when our minds open a little more as

well.<br><br>Namaste,<br><br>ishogun

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