Response to Mishra's "Rules for Practice of Yoga"

In his book Fundamental or Yoga, Rammurti Mishra offers the following “Rules for Practice of Yoga”:

"Keep before the mind the fact that you have firmly decided to reform your life and to transform your conscious and subconscious mind into superconscious mind" (Rule #1).

A few months back, I wondered: How does the caterpillar turn into the butterfly? Yes, I know the part about the cocoon -- but what happens inside the cocoon. The answer (after a quick google search): the caterpillar digests itself and turns into liquid, caterpillar soup. Then the dormant butterfly discs

eat the soup to grow into the butterfly. Okay, so they should probably not let me teach science -- but my point is that change is messy. Transformation is not a graceful process -- and digesting yourself probably hurts. I accept that in turning down the yogi path -- I am starting the transformation “process” and I have faith that in this gooey mess I’m making are a pair of wings.

"Enrich yourself with every possible truth and renounce untruth and prejudice as soon as possible" (Rule #2).

The Dali Lama gave a speech about the difference between “happiness” and “pleasure.” In essence happiness is sustainable through “right” action and devotion to a higher cause whereas pleasure may be just the temporary relief of suffering. It might temporarily feel better to hold on to untruths; however, biting the bullet and voicing a hard truth will lead to a more sustainable form of happiness and peace.

"An unhappy and restless mind cannot concentrate. Make every possible effort to make your mind happy and peaceful. The standard admission in Yoga is a peaceful and happy mind" (Rule #4).

Your happiness, your mood, like the breath, is a measuring stick. Are you on the right path? Presently, I am stressed and overloaded. For a long time now I have agreed to different roles/ and responsibilities to the point where not only am I stretched too thin… I have down-right snapped. My unhappiness and suffering is a sign that I need to change my actions. On my path to being a yoga teacher, I need to learn the lesson to be kind to myself and listen to my heart: Will this next step bring joy and peace? If not, I need to be wise enough to stand still.

"Remember, you can do anything and everything that has been done by any great Yogi or Saint in human history. By your performance you can become a son of God, and by the highest performance you can become one with God. Nothing is impossible to the mind" (Rule #13).

I’m not scared of being a yoga teacher -- maybe I should be. I scared of not being a writer. The only way to “not be a writer” is to “not write.” So it’s all very much in my control which is more or less the meaning of the above quote. Part of my path through yoga is creating that space and balance in my life to hear what my own heart is saying -- which is where the words come from.