“ The mind is the only level at which any lasting change can occur—it is the soil in which we plant our hopes and fears, habits, and patterns. What we plant in the mind will grow and bear fruit. Just as… Darren Main
“ Why do we call yoga a practice? The yoga poses of life—the grief, the fear,the uncertainty—rarely offer us the option of coming to child pose or modifying the posture. The yoga mat offers us a safe an… Darren Main
“ Once we understand cause and effect, we can stop complaining about the effects of our choices. We can start making more mindful decisions about the thoughts we entertain, the actions we perform, the p… Darren Main
“ What is it to succeed in yoga? Success in yoga means finding the smile buried deep beneath the pain and discomfort of any moment. Success in yoga is knowing that others were able to find a smile benea… Darren Main
“ Standing at the end of a diving board looking at the water never made the water warmer, but it will make taking the plunge unnecessarily hard. Darren Main
“ The windmill doesn’t try to control the wind or demand that it blow in another direction. It simply surrenders to the wind, and in so doing becomes a source of immense power. The water wheel doesn’t a… Darren Main
“ Instead of asking, “How can I ease my suffering?” yoga would have us ask,“How can I better serve my brothers and sisters?” Because only in answering the latter can we hope to answer the former. Darren Main
“ Non-attachment doesn’t mean you forgo possessions, pleasure, or comfort. It simply means you are at peace when those things fail to show up in your life. It means that while you can enjoy moments of e… Darren Main
“ Although you could open a can of soup with a hammer, a stone, or even your teeth if you didn’t mind making a mess or chipping a tooth, a much wiser approach would be to use a can opener. The breath is… Darren Main
“ People slip spontaneously into moments of concentration all the time—while reading a book, exercising, playing chess, or creating art. A yogi seeks to experience that same level of concentration inten… Darren Main
“ The law of karma is like the wind—blowing on all. Whether you are good or evil, bright or dim, kind or unkind, there is no escaping the effects of your thoughts and the actions that arise from those t… Darren Main
“ The narrow edge between comfort and discomfort is to a yogi what a grain of sand is to an oyster. Darren Main
“ In most forms of exercise one’s breath follows the movement—the faster and harder you work, the faster and harder you will breathe. In yoga, the exact opposite is true. Rather than changing the breath… Darren Main
“ When infused with compassion, even the most useless snake oils have the power to heal broken hearts and shattered souls. Darren Main
“ What I can tell you is that yoga is about removing the muck by shining the light of awareness on it. That is why yoga is so hard. None of us wants to look at the muck, but looking at it is the only wa… Darren Main
“ A teacher’s job is to see students’ potential before they can see it themselves; teachers need to have the faith and foresight to know they can actualize that potential and the wisdom to help students… Darren Main
“ Yoga and meditation help us to achieve physical health, emotional balance, more connected relationships, and a more satisfying life. But to measure spiritual practice by these benefits is to miss the… Darren Main
“ Evolution is messy. Oftentimes our brains evolve more quickly than our capacity to love. Science has unlocked many mysteries of the universe by harnessing the human capacity for critical thinking, log… Darren Main
“ It may seem humble to belittle yourself, but it is every bit as arrogant as grandiosity. Just as it is impossible to be more than you were created to be, it is also impossible to be less. When we pret… Darren Main
