Today's Daily Tip

Feel Your Fish

Most of us who do yoga yearn for more from the practice than just physical benefitsâ€”indeed, for more than just benefit ... (continued)

Force vs. Feeling

Teaching students to feel rather than use force during their practice won't only make them better yogis—it will also make them better citizens of the world.

By Aadil Palkhivala

As teachers, everything we do propagates quickly because we influence so many other people. As we help our students to feel, as we influence individuals in a positive way, we start to change communities, countries, and the course of events. Our job, though apparently small, affects all that there is. Our bigger purpose is to cultivate world peace one student at a time. This begins with the development of sensitivity and feeling, and the ending of force. To truly make progress, to overcome the obstacles on the yoga path, our students must transform their habitual mannerisms of force and violence and discover the humanity of sensitivity, awareness, and feeling. Then, their practice will be more serene, their society more harmonious, and the world more at peace.

Recognized as one of the world's top yoga teachers, Aadil Palkhivala began studying yoga at the age of seven with B.K.S. Iyengar and was introduced to Sri Aurobindo's yoga three years later. He received the Advanced Yoga Teacher's Certificate at the age of 22 and is the founder-director of internationally renowned Yoga Centers™ in Bellevue, Washington. Aadil is also a federally certified Naturopath, a certified ayurveda">Ayurvedic Health Science Practitioner, a clinical hypnotherapist, a certified Shiatsu and Swedish bodywork therapist, a lawyer, and an internationally sponsored public speaker on the mind-body-energy connection.

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Reader Comments

donna	That was the best article I have ever read! I Don't teach yoga. I do teach many other types of fitness classes where some of my students are fiercely competitive. I am always trying to get them to understand the importance of heart, self and spirit. You have given me so many other ways to get the message out. Beautifully said and soon to be repeated!
Robin	Then in the Yin and Yang model what is the Middle way? It sounds as though the Yin way is the way to go, whereas in the example you gave above passivitiy is the opposite of aggresive, and was not the answer either. The Yin Yang model seems dualistic, but yet the beginning of your answer sounds as though the Middle Way is non-dualistic. Please clarify.
Gail Ricci	Nothing happens when I click on print. The print is larger on the "print" page and I can read it. Can't read it as is. Too small for my older eyes. Please think of us seniors.