The reason I chose the name Maitri Yoga is because the word itself, “maitri” means
loving-kindness or compassion. Let your yoga mat be a place where you can go no matter what is going on in your life. This practice isn’t about having the perfect pose it’s about
the journey. This is your practice, and it’s up to you what you wish to receive.
I wanted to share with you where the name maitri came from. I read it in one of Pema
Chodron’s books and here’s what she says, “Loving-kindness, maitri, toward ourselves
doesn’t mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy, angry,
jealous or timid, or have feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change
ourselves. This practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become
something better. It’s about befriending who we already are. The ground of practice is
you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s the ground, that’s what
we study, that’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest,” …she
says, “Being with what we already have is a magical golden key to being alive in full,
unrestricted, and inspired. One of the major obstacles to what is traditionally called
enlightenment is resentment, feeling cheated and holding a grudge about who you are,
where you are and what you are. This is why we talk so much about making friends with ourselves. This is a process of lightening up, of trusting the basic goodness of what we
have and who we are, and of realizing that any wisdom that exists, exists in what we
already have. Our wisdom is all mixed up with what we call our neurosis. Our brilliance,
our juiciness, our spiciness, is all mixed up with our craziness and our confusion, and
therefore it doesn’t do any good to try to get rid of our basic wonderfulness. We can lead our life so as to become more awake to who we are and what we’re doing rather than
trying to change or get rid of who we are or what we’re doing. The key is to wake up, to
become more alert, more inquisitive and curious about ourselves. The ground of loving-
kindness is this sense of satisfaction with who we are and what we have. This path is a sense of wonder… We know we’re never really going to find all the answers, because
these kind of questions come from having a hunger and passion for life—they have
nothing to do with solving anything or tying it all up into one neat little package. This
kind of questioning is the journey itself… “
So that’s just it…
It isn’t about tying everything up into one neat and tidy bow. It’s about embracing all
the parts of you—the light and the dark, the happiness and the heartbreak, the fear and
the courage. It’s just about showing up and bringing all the parts of you to your mat…
breathing through it and letting go.
See you on the mat, friends. Namaste :)
the journey. This is your practice, and it’s up to you what you wish to receive.
I wanted to share with you where the name maitri came from. I read it in one of Pema
Chodron’s books and here’s what she says, “Loving-kindness, maitri, toward ourselves
doesn’t mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy, angry,
jealous or timid, or have feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change
ourselves. This practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become
something better. It’s about befriending who we already are. The ground of practice is
you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s the ground, that’s what
we study, that’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest,” …she
says, “Being with what we already have is a magical golden key to being alive in full,
unrestricted, and inspired. One of the major obstacles to what is traditionally called
enlightenment is resentment, feeling cheated and holding a grudge about who you are,
where you are and what you are. This is why we talk so much about making friends with ourselves. This is a process of lightening up, of trusting the basic goodness of what we
have and who we are, and of realizing that any wisdom that exists, exists in what we
already have. Our wisdom is all mixed up with what we call our neurosis. Our brilliance,
our juiciness, our spiciness, is all mixed up with our craziness and our confusion, and
therefore it doesn’t do any good to try to get rid of our basic wonderfulness. We can lead our life so as to become more awake to who we are and what we’re doing rather than
trying to change or get rid of who we are or what we’re doing. The key is to wake up, to
become more alert, more inquisitive and curious about ourselves. The ground of loving-
kindness is this sense of satisfaction with who we are and what we have. This path is a sense of wonder… We know we’re never really going to find all the answers, because
these kind of questions come from having a hunger and passion for life—they have
nothing to do with solving anything or tying it all up into one neat little package. This
kind of questioning is the journey itself… “
So that’s just it…
It isn’t about tying everything up into one neat and tidy bow. It’s about embracing all
the parts of you—the light and the dark, the happiness and the heartbreak, the fear and
the courage. It’s just about showing up and bringing all the parts of you to your mat…
breathing through it and letting go.
See you on the mat, friends. Namaste :)
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