The first time when I knew Yoga, I was attracted by the beautiful poses that was demonstrated by a lovely woman by the seaside. It was like a kind of slow and beautiful exercise as far as I understood. Later on, when I began to meditate, I adopted some breathing techniques (Pranayama) from Yoga, which helps me relax and calm down. Now I look back to those time, I discovered how wrong it was. It was a very important lesson for me to learn later. I set barrier for myself by doing things without knowing its sense.
Yoga is not an exercise to lose weight or get fit. It is not only hard poses and increasing flexibility of our physical body. It is a journey that we experience ourself physically, mentally and emotionally. The poses and breathing techniques are bridges that guide us from one side to another.
When I regarded Yoga as an exercise, I gave it up very easily. I switched to aerobic fitness. Aerobic fitness showed quicker result than Yoga. I thought I found a life hack of weight lose and mental calmness: doing fitness during the day and meditate during night. I did got some kind of result but that is not what I want to share. What I want you know is that if you want to practice Yoga, you should first get a right mindset. Yoga is not an exercise. When you choose Yoga, you choose a path and journey, which will involve both physical and mental yourself.
Yoga philosophy could be applied to everything everywhere. I often think of my startup company. If the company is a person, what are the physicals and what is the mental? Do I split them when I make decisions or in the daily management? Yoga inspires me think more.
What do you guys think? What is your philosophy of life and work? Please add comments below. I would like to know more about different logics and mentalities : ))
------- Below is Chinese version.
我第一次接触到瑜伽，是因为一个瑜伽系列视频。视频里，在海边或者峭壁，一个女子头戴花环，随风而动。我当时认为，瑜伽就是一个优美的运动方式。之后的时间，我再次接触到瑜伽，是我开始打坐冥想的时候。那是，我借鉴了一些瑜伽的呼吸方法。这些呼吸方法，对我来说很奏效，使我身体感到放松，精神沉静。但现在，当我再回顾从前的时候，我发现自己犯了严重的错误。做事情，却不了解事情的意义，是这个过程中的最大障碍。
瑜伽不仅仅是减肥或塑身的运动。也不仅仅是用各种困难的姿势去增强身体柔韧性的练习。瑜伽是一种修行，通过这种修行，我们可以更好的经验我们的身体，情绪和精神。各种瑜伽体式和呼吸方法，是整个瑜伽修行的桥梁，让我们实现最终的跨越。
早些时候，我把瑜伽当做是一种运动，但不久就放弃了。我开始练习有氧健身操。对于塑性来说，有氧健身操比瑜伽效果更快。我感觉找到了一个塑身和保持情绪安静的窍门：白天练习有氧健身操，晚上打坐冥想。这的确在一定程度上取得了一些效果。但这并不是我想和大家分享的东西。我希望告诉你的是：如果你打算练习瑜伽，那么首先要建立一个正确的心态。瑜伽，并非运动，它是一种身心的修行。它需要身体和内心层次的共鸣，而非剥离两者的训练。
当我了解到这一点之后，我越发感觉到瑜伽的理念是可以应用到很多方面的。我经常考虑的就是我创业公司的运营问题。如果把公司当成一个人，哪些是“身”，哪些是“心”？我在管理和决策的时候，是否将公司的“身”“心”剥离了？这些都是很值得思索的。瑜伽，的确启发我更深层次地了解我的日常生活和工作。
大家是否也在生活和工作种收到另外一种文化的启发？欢迎分享。
