When a 16-year-old girl asks Paramaguru Sharath Jois what the mind should focus on during the yoga practice, he responds with a smile: with consistent practice, he says, the body will learn how to direct the mind. “When we practice more and more, the body will get used to these postures, so automatically the postures will become easy.” But, says Jois, “it takes time”. Much of the practice of learning focus is reliant on patience and discipline, without which attaining the state of yoga is impossible. Sharath calls upon sutra 1.14—”Perfection in practice comes when one continues to practice with sincerity and respect for a long period of time without any interruption” (sa tu dirgha-kala-nairantarya-satkara-adara-asevitah-drdha-bhumih)—in order to explain the centrality of consistent dedication.

Related: Sharath Jois on the Nature of Effort and Surrender

Photo by Jill Richards Photography

Don’t miss your chance to attend class with Ashtanga yoga master Sharath Jois when he visits the U.S. in May 2017! Learn more here.

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