Cleaning My Closet
I was searching for a name for a blog on the practice of yoga. When I say yoga, I mean the eight limbs of yoga passed down by Pantajali. Although I first started yoga as a means of staying fit while in college, I soon discovered many additional benefits such as calmness and relief from the chronic asthma I had suffered from since early childhood.
At the same time, the title for this blog comes from a dear guru, Swami Satchidananda. In the film Living Yoga about the life and work of this man, Felix Cavaliere, from the 60's group the Rascals, asked Swami Satchidananda about the ills of the world and how can we just practice yoga and forget those problems. The wise Gurudev, as he was affectionately called, answered with his characteristic chuckle, "I gave you a broom and told you to clean your closet, and you want to clean the whole house! Finish your closet and then come back and talk to me."
Similarly, the great yoga master, B.K.S. Iyengar, told his student Patricia Walden when she came to him seeking enlightenment, said to her and his other students, "You want enlightenment, but you don't even know your big toe."
So this blog is the beginning of me "cleaning my closet" and "getting to know my big toe" through the teachings of yoga. If any of this helps anyone in their journey to clean their closet, then I am pleased. If it doesn't, well it won't hurt anyone. :)
Peace,
Deby
At the same time, the title for this blog comes from a dear guru, Swami Satchidananda. In the film Living Yoga about the life and work of this man, Felix Cavaliere, from the 60's group the Rascals, asked Swami Satchidananda about the ills of the world and how can we just practice yoga and forget those problems. The wise Gurudev, as he was affectionately called, answered with his characteristic chuckle, "I gave you a broom and told you to clean your closet, and you want to clean the whole house! Finish your closet and then come back and talk to me."
Similarly, the great yoga master, B.K.S. Iyengar, told his student Patricia Walden when she came to him seeking enlightenment, said to her and his other students, "You want enlightenment, but you don't even know your big toe."
So this blog is the beginning of me "cleaning my closet" and "getting to know my big toe" through the teachings of yoga. If any of this helps anyone in their journey to clean their closet, then I am pleased. If it doesn't, well it won't hurt anyone. :)
Peace,
Deby
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