I studied Sanskrit for many years, and I've got all the coursework for my Ph. D. And a lot of what's going on in American Yoga is just made-up stuff. Smart people, even good people, Western therapists, Yoga therapists and other things, Western healthcare practitioners who love Asana and say, "Let's make up yoga therapy. "
Why I wake up in the morning is that I'm still alive, and I want to figure out whatever I can before it's over.
I have a son, and I was married for twenty years, and I got divorced, and there's a new woman in my life, and my son is 18, and I'm interested to see how he's growing.
There's the kind of people like me, who spent years in India, have learned Sanskrit, have done this work deeply - they probably say for lifetimes - now interfacing [with the mainstream].
My life hasn't been static - I spent a lot of time in Europe, a lot of time in India. So I traveled around a lot, and I kept moving.
I know what the teaching is, but to realize the teaching in a life experience, the sh*t really is an opportunity to find out who we truly are. To really learn and to awaken to our potential.
I'm very happy when I have time to just be.
It's going to be over fairly soon; it goes by quick. Even if I live till I'm one hundred, it's quick.
I'm in a body, and when my sleep ends, I'm awake. I don't really understand the. . . that's not really a choice. I mean unless I chose to stay in bed, but I'd still be awake.
My degree was in Depth Psychology and Religion, so I can really speak directly about pop American psychology masquerading as Yoga.
Waking up in the morning isn't a choice, you know.
Even before I knew Yoga in this life, I was into that kind of thing.
I think I've always had a pretty good time in life. I mean, I've had major trouble, and major brain surgeries, and challenges in relationships - like anyone else - but overall, when I wake up in the morning, and I'm aware, I'm like, "Ok. What's happening today? What's next?"
For me, life has been interesting and entertaining, and I'm interested and curious about what's going to happen each day.
What I like the best is when I can be still and not move.
I just think that the reality of life is impermanence. That's the foundation of understanding what Yoga is, and we're here for however long we're here, and then it's over. And I've known this since I was a kid.
When I was twenty, and my family were business people, and I had disappeared to India and they were like, "What are you doing?" I had a good relationship with them, and it wasn't like a rejection or anything, but they couldn't understand why I was going to India.
There must be something here for me to get or to share or to do. So I have the duty that I do, the dharma that I do - which I love - with my teaching, with my family, my son, my students, my girlfriend.
We all have a dark side, and we have to confront our dark side. That's pop American psychology.