The coolest discovery about yoga, for me, came when I finally started to catch on to the idea that it's not something to "do" or "achieve" but it's what already is. It's the already-existing fact of interconnection. The practice of yoga is an exquisite means of, over and over again, being reminded of this simple fact so we can move the obstacles to joy out of the way. Yoga is not about self-improvement. It's about being conscious of what this awesome life event we're participating in is about. There's nothing to improve on. There's only waking up to what's already perfect. This is the art of living.

That's very good news.

If I wrote a book about yoga, it might be titled, "Shut Up Already." Because the practice, over and over, is just a matter of getting quiet enough - often enough - to clear out the cobwebs and see the exquisite perfection of what's already there, waiting patiently in trust for us. You wake up by getting quiet. You wake up by being willing to not know. You wake up by shutting up.

Big waves of gratitude go out to all the teachers, students, friends, strangers, and creatures who remind me to remember the wisdom of shutting up, but give me enough wiggle-room to write it all down now and again.

So? Welcome to Yoga Set Free - my cyberspace means of reconciling a love of writing with being far too lazy to write an actual book.