“there are times when suffering’s only open path is through an immersion in what is. The eighteenth-century Urdu poet Ghalib described the principle this way: “For the raindrop, joy is in entering the river — / Unbearable pain becomes its own cure.”

—Jane Hirschfield

Akarna Dhanurāsana - near the ear bow pose

Family is like a bow that launches the child into the world. In this pose and in Iyengar Yoga, the body is instrument: bow, archer and arrow are one. The yogi must keep sight and focus on the goal.

We grow in our willpower to face the really difficult in practice when we realize how much the practice is helping, how far we have come. Suffering and pain can motivate the practitioner to get free of it. The glimpses of relief grow hope and faith that freedom is possible.

The pains are in the past now and still I am working. I would not have my present loving family had I not stumbled my way into Iyengar Yoga, clinging with hope and desperation, (possibly driving my teacher nuts with my anxiety to progress.) I will always be indebted.

At times its seeing my own children that pushes me to keep going, keep improving, slip out of the grip and the shadows of past traumas, anxieties, pain and dis-ease. When I look at their sweetness, innocence, strength and confidence, sometimes my heart grieves for my childhood, but mostly I feel grateful and inspired. I learn from their state of being. I don’t always have the will to go further, to see that I should be more free—but I will do it for them, because that will impact their life. Practice is harnessing our efforts and energy to realize ourselves.