Yoga and Your Potential?

"Discover the secret to move beyond your earlier and deepest woundings and step into your true purpose and greatest joy." This was a sentence on an advertisement for a workshop by Tim Kelley and Jeff Van Dyk hosted by Brightstar Live Events. It caught my eye. Throughout my life, "bettering oneself" books, pamphlets and workshops have caught my attention (back when I used to peruse book stores in Washington DC, actually back when there were book stores :)). I have always been drawn to the idea of helping oneself to live to our fullest potential, or to find our pure potential. But man, that is a daunting task! How do I heal myself? How do I even find out what my fullest potential is? I know that this isn't a quick fix or an easy answer and as I get older and am able to let go of a lot of the bullshit I cared about in my 20s and early 30s, I feel closer to whole and to understanding who I am, what I believe in, and who I want to be. But sometimes the idea of having to heal myself and find out my deepest potential is just another thing on my endless To-Do list. I am not sure if other people ever feel this way, but I am going to assume yes :) Enter my yoga practice. People often tell me they'll start yoga when they become more flexible, or stronger, or in a better place mentally. No! One of the Yoga Sutras by Pantanjali (probably the only time i'll ever quote an esoteric text :)) says "Athka Yoga Nusa Shanam." "Now the discipline of yoga" or "Now, the present time is the time to begin,". It is always the right time, no excuses. Now is the right time to come back to yoga. If you had a practice and then life got in the way, begin again. 5 minutes, 10 minutes. Begin again. Now. Yoga has no expectations. People have expectations. Yoga has no judgment. People have judgment. Yoga has no ego. People have ego. Yoga just wants you to be present on your mat with your breath. The rest will fall into place. You can wear the most expensive lululemon clothing or your old T-shirt and shorts from ten years ago. You can do a slow, stretchy practice, or a powerful strengthening practice. IT IS ALL YOGA. Now, I am simplifying it a bit. Yoga won't cure cancer and it won't stop your significant other from straying but it will give you time and space to heal, and to help your body and mind figure out how to handle whatever comes up. Within the presence of the breath , hope to find your fullest potential, or at least know that you are headed in the right direction.