Yoga is not a destination, it’s a journey. Mastery of the asanas is not the goal of the practice; it is the result of it. Yoga is one percent theory, the rest is practice. The sage Patanjali did not prescribe a period of time required to achieve mastery. He taught that through abhyasa- constant and determined effort and vairagya-non-attachment and freedom from desire, we can establish a firm foundation in our practice. That is contrary to the way many of us live our lives of instant gratification. Yoga is a lifetime practice and way of enriched living. You don’t live healthy for one day, you wish to live healthy life long, so is yoga.

 

We must practice vairagya and let go of our attachment to the goal. We must approach our practice with tapas—the zeal and willpower—to sustain a practice over a lifetime. Along that journey, we see yoga reflecting back on our lives. We learn that what we do on the mat is what we do off the mat. Our attitude as we approach a challenging pose is a reflection of how we live our lives.