I received the following question via michaelgannonyoga.com from someone I have never met.  Also included is my response (I answer most emails personally).

Hi! I’m 17-years old and I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on yoga and its benefits and have been quite impressed! Where do i begin to come close to where you are in your practice? I want to build strength, flexibility, and peace of mind.

thank you,

If you do, the strength and flexibility will come as a natural byproduct.

And don’t even think about peace of mind at this stage in your life. You will likely spend too many of your future years in life thinking, seeking, and pursuing such things. Only to find that it is unnecessary.

And that Peace of NO Mind will be much more useful.

Try everything, taste everything, do everything that you can NOW while you are young. Especially the things you wont/can’t do later.

Good luck,

Gannon

My response to Maya seemed very simple and obvious to me in this moment of my life. Although, it made me realize how difficult it was for me to process these questions when I was 17.  And when I was 27 and when I was 37 and even sometimes now, when I am almost 47!

I consider myself lucky that I was between 27 and 37 when I went through a similar thought process that she seems to be going through now. And I say lucky because I explored, experienced and adventured A LOT of stuff that I might not have “allowed” myself had I started searching for ‘peace of mind’ 10 years earlier.

During my hardcore satvic, holy, tapas, austere, disciplined, obsessed days I did miss my share of fun and adventure. And sometimes I find myself doing it now. I’m ok with this if it is because of something that I am truly committed to, believe in, gives me joy, helps me smile, makes me blissful, etc…

With this month’s Higher Practice,  I invite you to look deeply at your own Practices. Any of them or all of them. Yoga practice, fitness practice, spiritual practice, religious practice, eating practice, meditation practice, healthy practice, ritual practice or safety practices.

Because after all, if any of our practices are causing us to repress things in some areas of our life, are they really helping us, or are they hindering us in the end?

Michael Gannon