“When the mind and body are weak, you don’t have the capacity to avoid bad habits. Cravings and desires will bother you. Never suppress any desire. Instead, develop a better desire. Then you won’t have time to respond to the original one.
“Don’t force yourself to get rid of a bad habit. Forcing yourself is something like beating the darkness with sticks. You can walk into a totally dark room with some friends and begin beating the darkness with sticks shouting at it to leave. Hundreds of people can beat the darkness for hours and it will still remain.
“The sensible man will just light a candle and bring it into the room. Yoga is that candle. Bring it into your life and all your unwanted habits will leave. You need not bother yourself about them. When the mind and body are strong, they will just drop away.”
~ Sri Swami Satchidananda, BEYOND WORDS
Yoga removes the darkness. Have you noticed, my friend? All the reasons we use to not love ourselves, all the reasons we use to not take care of our bodies, to not eat well, to not be good to ourselves, disappear when we do yoga.
And when we love ourselves, we love others, too. We just can’t help it. After all, love is our very essence.
Life is lovely with yoga.