The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, an ancient and seminal text on yoga, states that we should practice according to the complimentary principles of Abhyasa (this is a Sanskrit word that means to practice regularly with consistency over time) and Vairagym (non attachment to an immediate particular outcome).

At Yoga Home Sligo, we translate this into a style of practice that means the discipline of showing up consistently but a devotion to showing up without the drama of demands!

We have the Grit to show up on the mat regularly BUT once we are there we have the Grace to meet ourselves where we are on any given day. This means we practice without forcing ourselves to feel a certain way or “perform”. We get real and we commit to staying real. Once we meet reality, all kinds of interesting things become possible!

This kind of authenticity is a fierce practice, but in the long run, it saves a lot of energy because pretending to be other than who and how you truly are is exhausting and deeply depleting. Once we free up this energy, we can restore, rebuild and revitalise on multiple levels.

Meeting yourself where you are does not mean “slacking off” or mean that you don’t grow in strength, endurance, flexibility and skilfulness, but it does mean that these capacities evolve gradually in authentic and therefore sustainable ways. By inviting ourselves into a GRIT&Grace practice we are stepping into a dedicated, curious and fundamentally friendly and appreciative relationship with our bodies, minds and hearts. As as my teacher Judith Hanson Lasater puts it, we

“embrace challenge but drop struggle!”

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, probably the most prominent civil rights activist of the 20th Century, was not a yoga teacher, but he certainly knew something about meeting reality with discipline and devotion. He was deeply inspired by the Indian leader Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement (means staying grounded in Truth). To me. MLK sums up the essence of Grit and Grace when he wrote this;

“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic.”

In GRIT&Grace classes, we embrace the challenge of tapping into the power of our bodies and minds in a way that is fully informed by a loving and appreciative relationship with the life force itself—in yoga we call this Prana—so that we channel the power of Prana in ways support our own flourishing as well as the flourishing of our families, our communities and whole tapestry of life.