Did you ever know it was wrong to do something, but did it anyway?

Ahimsa or “non-violence” is the ‘first principle’ of yoga practice. If you throw a pebble in a pond there will be ripples all the way to the opposite side.  All actions have consequences.

Many years ago I was showing off to my mother how I could do a lotus pose. Oops and ouch! Something snapped in my outer left knee. Poor me!  Years later, at the Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Institute in Pune India I heard Geeta Iyengar say, “Everyone has hurt their knee trying to learn lotus pose.  So, learn from it!”  

There are two sides to this ahimsa coin. You can learn from your mistakes. Or not, and repeat them. Even the best intentions can’t insure you against carelessness.  Sooner or later you will do something you wish you hadn’t.  Or something will happen to you over which you had no control.

This summer I was trimming my toenails when I was in a bad mood and in a hurry.  I knew I was going to do it and I did it anyway.  Oops and ouch! My knee protested, but it was too late.  It hurt and was clearly injured.

I practiced, and it felt better.  I stopped, it felt worse.  I practiced, it felt better.  My knee is much better now, but have I learned the other lesson?  Not doing yoga is violence, too. 

See http://www.matthewsanford.com/content/book for an example of someone who was in an automobile accident as a child and turned his disabilities into a yoga practice and became yoga teacher. 

by Sally Rutzky

Each week one of the teachers at the Yoga Space shares her thoughts and experiences in this blog. Sally Rutzky is a certified beginning Iyengar yoga teacher, who teaches classes directed to people 50 and older on Saturday mornings.  (All are welcome to come who wish to learn from the slower paced classes.) The Intermediate class is at 9:30 a.m. and the Beginning is at 11:45 a.m.   The Yoga Space is a studio just east of Dexter serving Dexter, Saline, Chelsea, Manchester and Ann Arbor.  We have been helping people with their flexibility, strength, focus and stress management for over 14 years. We offer a free class the last Friday of each month from 6-7 pm. 180 Little Lake Dr #1 Ann Arbor, MI, 48103. 734-622-9600 

http://yogaspaceannarbor.com/