“No special practice is necessary for God Realization, I see God everywhere. If God is not there, how do so many things happen?” “My contention is that sickness is sin… Don’t kill other animals, don’t make the belly as a burial ground. I teach hatha yoga, but I don’t subscribe to the idea that hatha yoga is a physical gymnastic exercise. ‘Restraint of the modifications of the mind’ [according to Patanjali] is yoga. Altogether there are eight limbs. Yama, moral restraints, is a step. When are you going to perfect your Yama? How many lives is it going to take? When are you going to perfect your Niyama, spiritual observances? When are you going to perfect your Pratyahara, drawing in the forces of the mind? It takes time.” – Swami Bua
Swami Bua was my first teacher and my first yoga class ever back in 2000.
Thank you, Swami Bua, for planting the seed of life into my heart and showing me my calling in life. Although I only took two classes from you and you were quite the drill sergeant, I felt you, without knowing that I felt you.
This is how powerful yoga truly is. We never know how one person might influence you or how you might influence one person just by meeting them once. Meeting new people is never casual and meaningless. Everyone has something to share, something to teach… the question is, are you willing and open enough to learn something new from someone who may seem like a “stranger”?
Keep your eyes, ears, arms and heart open…
