Why I do Yoga

When I read a yoga teacher's biography, there is often a part about why that person came to yoga: to mend an injury, to find peace, to de-stress, etc.

I am also often asked, "Why do you do so much yoga?", or "Why do you want to be a yoga teacher?", or "How did you get into yoga?"

The real honest answer is, "I don't know". I really don't know. I didn't have any ground-shaking reason to start yoga. I don't have any grandiose "save-the-world-now" reason to want to teach yoga. I do not necessarily *expect* anything from it when I do it.

All I know is, I feel most myself when I do yoga. That's all there is to that.

This fact used to bother me a little bit, "But, don't I need a fancy schmancy explanation to tell the world?", I'd think to myself. After all, when someone asked me why I do yoga, "I dunno" just doesn't seem to inspire confidence, does it?

After reading the quote below by Martha Graham, I can now say this, I do yoga because I am directly aware of the urges that motivate me.

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.

No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than others.
- Martha Graham to Agnes DeMille