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The Purpose of Yoga - Inspiration and Goals

By Paul Jerard

Have you ever wondered how some Yoga students manage to immediately take action, with just a tiny bit of encouragement; while others depend on each Yoga class to lift their spirits? What causes some Yoga practitioners to raise their vision, so easily? Let’s look at the secret and formula of inspiration.

Firstly, everyone needs goals of some kind. Goals serve us as measured bench marks of our personal progress in life. If our life is to have meaning, and purpose, we have to pursue a goal that has worth and go after it.

Does this mean that we should embrace competition and stress? To be honest, everyone needs competition and stress - to a point. Challenges build character, but this does not mean that we should push our bodies and minds to the point of an anxiety attack. Therefore, keep competition and stress in moderation.

To progress on a holistic path, still requires organizational skills. You should take the time to write down your goals and memorize them. If you want, you can carry them around with you, on a piece of paper, until you know them by heart.

This is the miracle of Karma: When you create a vision and take focused action, with ethical purpose, you turn optimism into reality.

People often say, “Yoga is not about goals.” “Yogis should sit on a mountain top and meditate.” “Yoga is not about competition.” In each of these statements - there is some truth, but not the whole truth.

Patanjali must have had goals to write and complete the Yoga Sutras. Gandhiji must have had goals and vision to see that peaceful protest would result in the independence of India. Gandhiji also said, “What is faith worth if it is not translated into action?” So, now you see, goals are not bad.

However, goals should be ethical, helpful to others, and be meaningful. This formula creates passion within the devotee. If the purpose of a goal is for the common good, it is only limited by our imaginations.

Unlimited thought is an extremely powerful concept. So far, humankind has taken “baby steps” in technology, and this is within the past few thousand years.

What would happen if more people thought, spoke, and acted in a positive way toward social change, world peace, and global warming? Think of all the good ideas, in the past, which people gave up on. Imagine the possibilities.

Many people do not feel they deserve to progress, so they procrastinate, quit, or “give in” to negative thought. If we want to live a purposeful life, we must take risks. Otherwise, we will regret the whole journey.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA, just 20 minutes north of Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995.

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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 3:48 PM