Scott Anderson Yoga

Frequently students will ask me, should I do the technique this way, or that way ? Quite often, the answer is yes . One of the gifts of a regular hatha yoga practice is helping us to grasp the rather elusive concepts of nondual philosophy. Rather than seeing truth, love and compassion as something to be attained, yoga demonstrates that our divinity is within. Our practice helps us shift this recognition from latency to potency. While these ideas are described by many texts in philosophical terms, it’s rare to explore these ideas in working with the body. Rather than the postures being this or that, can we expand our understanding to see that the postures are this and that? As we work with the body, can we recognize moment by moment our inherent goodness? As mentioned in previous blog entries, the yoga that’s risen to prominence in the West often imposes the poses on the body. Our mind carries a set of instructions for the proper execution of the pose, and imposes these ideas on the

Like surfing, I’ve found skiing an apt metaphor for the spiritual life. If you move in harmony with the vital forces, you’re rewarded with a deeply joyous experience. If you fight the vital forces, you get schooled in the error of your ways. This observation was pointedly brought to my attention during a ski trip with my good friend Steve many years ago. We were enjoying epic spring conditions at Loveland Basin. The snowpack was stable, the sun high in the sky and there was virtually no wind nor crowds. (For front-range Colorado, this is a rare and precious alignment!) Despite the near-perfect conditions, I was flailing on my skis. At the time, backcountry skis were skinny, stiff and arrow-straight. To turn with any poise, you had to align yourself with gravity, the snow and the contours of the mountain with little margin for misinterpretation. As the day progressed, my skiing fell from bad to worse. The worse I skied (grandiose spills that looked like hillside yard sales), the more c