Take Frank Reagan. He’s the Police Commissioner in New York City on Blue Bloods each Friday night on CBS. Tom Selleck plays this “un-caped” crusader. While he can’t jump buildings or run like a speeding bullet, he can calmly and serenely run the police department in America’s biggest city, while also setting the example on how to be the best dad and grandpa to his kids……kids that also happen to have careers in New York’s justice system: attorney, detective, and street cop. He sets aside time each Sunday to have a meal with his entire family, and manages to listen, laugh, and occasionally bring a mention of faith (God) to the dinner table.

Yes, I realize that this is a TV show, and that Selleck’s Reagan is a fictional character. Nevertheless, I enjoy observing the finesse and love which he gives to every task. He is not a man of many words, but when words are required his are worthy of a universal audience……they take on a special sound: “It’s not so much what you did as it is what you do next,” “I will never have my career get in the way of my children’s ambitions,” “As the Police Commissioner, I can’t help you; as a cop, I can’t help you; but as your dad, how can I help?,” “You know me, I don’t like to share my thoughts when I haven’t got an answer,” “No, I am not going to do anything. I am going to let the process take care of it.” These are but a few of the monumental morsels that I have recalled and pondered.

Frank Reagan is not the focus of this piece – you are. For me, Frank is an inspiration. It’s this character that creates a moving spirit in me. Inspire means “in spirit.” It also is defined as those moments that bring illumination on a creative or spiritual level. I love that! When we are inspired, we are not interested in the mundane or sometimes challenging consequences that separate us from this divine connection. We are only moved and motivated by something greater that sparked a feeling of resonance within us. I suspect if Frank were real he would look something like this: wakes up with lower back pain from all those years of carrying a heavy police belt, finds it hard to eat a low cholesterol diet as he loves meat, and maybe like all of us, gets headaches, stomach aches, and heartaches. But the show doesn’t tell us that, thankfully. For me, I am left with aspirations to “see” or “behave” like Selleck’s character.

Bikram is a genius really. Day after day we practice the same postures twice. We hear the same phrases from each teacher, give or take some varying character comments. Why? Several reasons, but for purposes of this essay the one I want to allude to here is the ability to transcend the words. Over time, eventually, the words become sound. Sound for the mind to soak up, and as you progress more and more, sound for the mind to sink into. The busyness of the dialog throughout the entire 90 minutes becomes a respite for the busyness of the mind. It could be the very first time that your mind shuts off. You could say that your mind is actually still. And here’s the result: a nagging issue shows some resolution; a creative idea comes through; you are more clear and decisive; sleep is more efficient; there’s more energy to tackle a challenging project.

But there’s more and, it’s how I see Frank Reagan.

Etiquette-Yoga Etiquette. It’s another layer of your practice, another layer of your meditation. Making the choice to stay quiet in the room, to leave your belongings outside the room, to refrain from wiping the sweat or fixing your costume, to hold off on having any water in the class, to choose to move with the other students in the class, to stay in the room all 90 minutes and participate in final savasana, are all rules of the road much like road signs on the highway. Without road signs can you imagine the chaos? Our focus would remain stuck on safety and concern about where we are and where we are going. However, with signs (or road etiquette) we can broaden the focus and enjoy listening to the music on the radio and even enjoy the view outside the window as we drive. Yoga etiquette too allows us to deepen our focus as we’ve made the conscious choice to eliminate these impulsive distractions that we ourselves produce and that can disrupt our direct connection between you and you.

There are so many great authors, sages, philosophers, scientists, and spiritual teachers that tell us that we each have our own Inner Teacher and that we each have our own wise InTuition that knows what’s in our best interests, that knows our very heart’s desires. It’s the same “voice” that brought you into the hot room in the first place. Gosh, if we cultivate that connection, if we can enhance that relationship, if we practiced silencing the monkey mind more with frequent yoga practice, good yoga etiquette and daily meditation, and enriched this channel to hear and welcome the knowledge from our inner essence that “knows”, we’d detach from drama, resist resisting, and move with the flow of life, like Frank Reagan. The boundaries around what our limits are in anything become more easily interpreted. We serve a greater interest other than ourselves knowing that we are taken care of. There is complete poise in all our interactions, responding with clarity, thoughtfulness, and quickness. We are more balanced mentally and physically, never losing composure in any situation. We have the recognition to get out of the way, knowing that there is a beautiful universal process at work guiding our best interests, and making the best decisions that are good for all. Like Frank Reagan.

These are not made up. Seriously. These are only some of the real quotes given from wonderful members that came to recognize the feat they accomplished in completing 60 consecutive days of yoga. It is what makes this one of the most meaningful events that we host at Bikram Yoga San Jose. It’s your stories about the power of this practice. Proof that miracles happen in that room every day.

Deciding to do the 60 Day Challenge takes a spark of interest, but to keep doing it day after day, sometimes twice a day, takes courage to endure. In the years that we’ve had the Challenge, we’ve noticed a big drop around day 45 to day 50. It’s towards the end where it gets really tough. It’s easy at that point for the mind to say, ‘Wow, you did 45 days. That’s amazing. You can stop now.” No doubt, it is still a great accomplishment. But, that wasn’t the goal. The goal is 60! The last part, those last days, aren’t so much about the body and what it can or cannot give you, it’s about the mind, the determination, the willpower, the mastery, and the commitment to finish. BYSJ finishers: Congratulations. Over 70 of you finished! If you weren’t able to attend our fun party to pick up your hard earned trophy, be sure to see the front desk in the coming week to retrieve a meaningful token that honors your miracle story.

Bikram often asks this question. “What is the most important thing in your life?” If you haven’t heard this question before from Bikram, you might answer in various ways. But the answer is in the question, “your life.” Challengers, what you do next matters more. Stick with that frequent practice you’ve now established. Practice no less than 4-5 times a week. Do doubles sometimes. Practice with greater intensity as you are more equipped to make a correction or go a little deeper in the stretch with the stamina and flexibility you’ve acquired from the Challenge. This challenge was an opportunity to take control of your life. You did that. Now, keep “your life” the most important thing in your life and more miracles will unfold. In the process, inspire your family, the student next to you, and your friends at work to do the same. And continue the mission of what we continue to do at BYSJ: spread the yoga!

I’ve done so many challenges now, that I honestly don’t recall the number. Certainly every one we’ve held at BYSJ. In fact, once I completed the first one we scheduled, I just kept doing the yoga every day, sometimes twice a day. I do take days off but they are usually because I am out of town and there is no time to get to a yoga studio. Each challenge is a way to reunite me with my practice in a more profound way. I find my focus to be different and less disturbed because I am in a room filled with friends and a community that is working on this tall task much the same as I am. I have always benefited from the group energy we share especially during a challenge. This January challenge was particularly special. Yes, in big part due to the new studio, new surroundings, and the many new faces we’ve added to our BYSJ community. That really fires me up. But this one also grounded me in appreciation. Building a brand new studio in the way in which we did with such detail in all aspects of the space is wonderful but carries a flip side in wanting things to be perfect. Well, that is not possible. And, it’s also an ingredient to disappointment. When your mind is spinning in a direction of having things a certain way, it will certainly sound off when it doesn’t get it! Doing the yoga for so many years, I had the awareness to catch these damaging thoughts and detach, moving instead to a feeling of gratitude in what was here.

The practice with all of you day after day shuts out the sound of a “means-well-but-nagging” critical mind to a more serene calm state. After a few pranayamas, I was immediately immersed in the love from what was created. I let go of any and all control and soaked in the reason why we had worked so hard in the first place. Each day I was back on my spot and humbled by the appreciation I had for the windows, skylights, and natural lighting. I was in love with the big tall mirrors and the color of the bright paint. My eyes would float around the room from time to time and I could feel myself grinning at the real joy I felt seeing all of us in beautiful half-moon shapes. For the first time in a long time my final savasanas were 10 to 15 minutes long as I drifted to a different time and space as the meditative music played in the background. No doubt, I love the new studio as much as you all do. I am so appreciative to my practice and the footing it keeps me on.

Being in the face of numerous concerns could have kept me away from my practice and justifiably so, but I did what all you Challengers did, and that is to separate myself from what I am outside the yoga room to the limitless, nameless being that I am within that room. The world pushes up against us every day. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the heat of any situation. There are countless things to take care of craving our attention. We can lose touch with what is important in a matter of minutes. Our lives are more than the work we do, the bodies we have, and the mind we use. In my practice, I’m in touch with that reality. Retrieving my trophy was a statement to me about the importance of my life as Bikram says. It’s also the next step that I take that matters most. Continue. As long as we ponder the bigger questions, we are fully equipped to handle the minutia that shoves its way into our daily life. That’s when the miracles happen.

Recently ABC Channel 7 came to the studio to film and talk about yoga competition. If you’ve been interviewed by the media before, you know that they usually approach you last minute with a sense of immediacy: “we need this now.” I was super happy to show them our new studio and welcomed the chance to spread the word about yoga by answering any and all questions they had for me. The National Yoga Asana Championships took place this weekend in New York City. It was the first time that they were held outside of Los Angeles. It’s an important step, as getting in the face of a bigger audience with much larger media attention gives the championships more of a chance to become an Olympic event, which is the ultimate goal. Rajashree Choudhury, Bikram’s wife, has been working for years on making this vision a reality. It is not an easy road, as there are many rules to follow, on top of the continued controversy that surrounds the very idea of allowing yoga to become a “competitive sport.” I had a hunch that some of the reporter’s questions were related to the competition and my thoughts on this hot topic: “Doesn’t this go against the very nature of what yoga is supposed to be? Isn’t yoga about getting away from judgment, perfection, and competition?”

I have competed five times, twice on the National stage. Not once did I think about the 200 other competitors being better than me. I was more concerned each time with giving my personal best, which had more to do with how I felt about myself, my confidence level, my emotional state that day, and how my spine felt. Each time that I got up on stage, it was a visit with my true self. I found it to be fascinating, as no other three minutes I’ve ever spent on the planet gave me that kind of information about who I am. Can I control the adrenaline rush as I place my head on my knee? Can I concentrate enough to hold my thoughts on the moment and not on what I have to do next? Do I have the determination to push through my doubts? Am I enjoying what I can express? Did I walk off the stage knowing I gave it my best and I that didn’t give up? I know from experience that each competitor walking off stage doesn’t worry so much about the judges’ marks as they do about their own thoughts of how well they performed. Those three minutes go beyond what the audience and judges see. They tell a very raw and powerful story about the mental and spiritual shape we are in as individuals. The disappointment competitors can feel coming off the stage isn’t from someone doing better, but from the doubts that may have taken over and prevented them from performing what they knew they could do.

It’s ironic really, as it is in the class room amongst our peers each day, that we can feel pressure to do each pose right and start to judge ourselves, judge our yoga. If the media and a certain population is worried that yoga becoming an Olympic event will enhance this competitive point of view, then yes, the benefits that the yoga can bring will be lost…. if this is the sole perspective. But, as with anything, if you look a bit deeper, the perspectives shift. How many of us who practice the yoga really care about how well we look in a pose? How many of us have been inspired by who we are next to and now can’t wait to come back and try again? How many of us forget who is next to us in class an hour after class is over? How many of us focus more on our breath than we used to? And how many of us pay attention to the stretch the body is receiving and less on what we look like in the mirror? How many of you now feel empowered and healthy and connected to a community of like- minded individuals? With yoga, we give up the surface points of view for something of more value contained in the richness of higher levels of awareness. The repeated yoga day after day will do that. You lessen your grip on the initial perspective and create space for the more meaningful one to emerge.

Lisa, the reporter for ABC news asked me several questions on camera. I recall trying to direct my responses toward the excitement of having yoga being received by millions in all countries of the world, and away from the controversy over yoga becoming a results oriented sport. Rajashree said it best when she was quoted in the interview as saying that the Olympic stage is the highest platform there is to enable yoga to get the respect and recognition that it deserves. The Olympics draw people in. Even things like “curling” or “ski jumping” become interesting and popular. This is the same exposure the Olympics can generate for yoga, and it is huge. Like all sports that the Olympics promote, the yoga will show off individuals with high levels of artistry and strength. But that is okay. Like gymnastics and ice skating, I am certain it will also tell stories about these competitors and their individual journeys. As viewers, we may never get to those levels, but we will be inspired to try.

60 Day Challengers, you come to mind as I think about the Olympics raising the awareness of yoga. Many of you are brand new to Bikram Yoga and new to Bikram Yoga San Jose, having heard about the yoga and the studio from some type of medium. And all of you have your own reasons to walk in and try the yoga, each of you inspired by something powerful to attempt AND complete 60 consecutive days of yoga. I’ve had a chance to hear some stories already: cancer patients feeling the best they’ve felt in years; eliminating medication for Crone’s disease; and confidence improving with a new job. Saturday, March 31st at 6:30 pm is our 60 Day Challenge Party. It’s one of my most favorite events that we host at BYSJ as we hand out trophies to our members that worked so hard to complete 60 consecutive days of yoga. Each recipient tells a brief story about what this challenge has meant to them. It moves me every time and many who have gone to these events will tell you that you will bust up laughing and definitely shed a few tears. Be sure to join us on this night!
In my interview with ABC, I tried to emphasize what the yoga has done for countless people. It wasn’t as interesting as the comments that build controversy, but if the Olympics accept yoga as an event, then these stories will be heard and will have a more prominent place in the media. Then imagine the yoga in the mainstream of our lives, for everyone, old and young! That evening of the interview the cameraman put the spotlight on Amelia, our youngest member. She has been coming for more than a year now and has completed her first 60 Day Challenge. Amelia is so vibrant, and happily shared how much she loves the yoga. When asked why, she replied, “I feel more connected to myself.” She is 15!

I am proud of what BYSJ represents. Each day is a shining example that we come from a creative mind, not a competitive one, with a focal point of thriving and working on being the best we can be together as a large group. We understand that it’s okay to disagree, as long as long as we listen to one another with respect. The yoga has often helped us to see more connections than differences, as well as enabling us to become better thinkers as we inquire and allow ourselves to learn from one another. Many of you take serious action to articulate and cultivate these practices in the work that you do. Perhaps, by becoming part of the Olympics, the largest athletic venue in our world today, yoga can be revealed to millions as being —what you members already well know— a major contributor toward creating a more harmonious world.