There are many inspirational sayings in yoga circles. One of these well-known aphorisms comes from Ashtanga guru Pattahbi Jois: Practice and all is coming.
The simple idea is that if you keep showing up—keep practicing consistently—all will fall into place.
It’s a lovely idea, but what does it actually mean? What “all” is coming to you?
Whether you’re applying this philosophy in your physical yoga practice or to aspects of your life off of your mat, it’s easy to become focused on a very specific goal.
If you keep showing up, and practice consistently, are you guaranteed to reach that specific goal? Well… maybe or maybe not.
What if Lotus Pose is Your Goal?
Let’s consider an example. Imagine your goal is to sit in full lotus pose. How might you reach that goal?
Maybe you would ask your yoga teacher for help. You might research online to find other poses that could help you prepare, such as reclined butterfly, half-pigeon, double pigeon, and half-lotus.
Maybe you would learn more about the underlying anatomy of lotus pose. You could explore external hip rotation and learn how to safely adjust your knees and ankles to protect these joints.
Through practice, you might get better at listening to the sensations in your body, learning where you need to release tension. You might become more comfortable with finding a safe edge where you can release tension without pushing in an unhealthy or painful way.
These are all things that you may learn about your body on your way to your goal. You are strengthening your mind-body connection. You are practicing patience. You are learning how steady breathing can help you stay focused during these challenging preparation poses.
Is Lotus Pose the Goal?
What if you practice for weeks or months, and somewhere along the way, you realize that lotus pose may not be an ideal shape for your body? Maybe you have knee issues that make it unsafe for you to practice full lotus. Maybe the anatomy of your hip bones makes it too difficult to safely find the external rotation you need for this shape.
If your practice did not get you to that specific goal, achieving that specific goal may not have been the “all” that was coming to you.
When we become intently focused on a specific outcome, we often fail to see the other important things we have learned on our way toward that goal.
What is a Better Goal?
What if we practice non-attachment and set goals that are less specific? Instead of “I will sit in full lotus pose,” say, “I will work toward sitting in full lotus and see what happens.”
If we reach the goal we initially set, we have found success.
If we do not reach the goal we initially set—but learned things along the way that helped us refine a new, better goal for ourselves—we have found success.
Practice and all is coming. Even when the “all” is not exactly what we expected.
Note: this post was originally published on my old yoga blog, Dancing Frog Yoga, on 11/26/2018.