What is a Yogi?

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“A yogi is one who leaves a place just a little nicer than when they arrived!”

"I like this statement for its simplicity and down-to-earth recognition of yoga being something that benefits not only the one practicing it but also the world around them. We may hear someone refer to another person or themselves as a yogi. But what is this statement based upon? One may practice asanas beautifully or know many Sanskrit texts or do much chanting, but those things in and of themselves do not equate to being a yogi. 
The act of practicing or following a path of regulation requires discipline, but that is only part of the formula. The preferred practice system or method that we perform, is really nothing more than a gardener tilling the soil to create a fertile plot of earth. The more we practice the more fertile we become, but it does not mean that we are spiritual or a yogi. It just means we are fertile. The choices we make next are the seeds that we plant in this fertile ground. If we choose to plant an ego there, it will grow even larger than the average person’s due to our fertility. Practice itself does not determine whether one is a yogi or not. It is what that person does with the positive energy they gained from their dedication that will determine their maturity of understanding. When one applies the benefits they have gained in a positive manner, then the aforementioned definition comes to fruition and the world around them is benefitted.

If we wish to ask ourselves if we are a yogi, I think the question could be this one:
“Is the world a better place by our presence in it?” "

- David Swenson


Dana Wyss Healing Arts
Breathe deeply, practice often, be well.
http://www.danawyss.com/