After four days in Austin looking at mens' pink leotards, auras and convoluted yoga postures, I can think of one solid thing to extract---yoga contradicts itself. I was told to lock my knees before lunch and then after lunch instructed to never lock my knees. One instructor would smirk at another popular instructor's teaching style while showing us the "right way" to move into a posture. First, yoga asana, then pranayama, then meditation. No! Yoga asana is the meditation. No, wait! Yoga asana prepares the mind for meditation and pranayama during asana. Ahhhh!
My favorite part of the event was Mark Whitwell's workshops. His look was "European rock star" meets "wise, weathered sailor" but with intense, compassionate eyes. Stop struggling, he says. There is no place you need to go, there is nothing you need to attain, there is nothing to be realized because you are already a perfect expression of an unseen source. He was very direct about this. Yoga is the way to interact with this nurturing reality. Thank you, Mark. In the face of so much "spiritual materialism" your teachings resonated well.
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