I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop with a teacher who had studied with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois since 1973. I met Nancy Gilgoff on my first trips to Mysore, but only practiced with her in that 2011 intensive in Portugal.

She passed away in 2024, but taught Ashtanga Yoga for over four decades at her school in Maui and in many workshops around the world. And it seemed to me throughout the workshop that her classes focused on the power of knowledge and breath control, not on physical performance.

I remember what she said in the lecture at that workshop: that a good practice was the one we did, and a good posture was the one where we were present. In other words, even the difficult practices were good because the bad ones are only those we don’t do. And all postures are good because what matters in Yoga is the present moment, the connection with ourselves, and not performance, appearance, or comparison.

In one of the classes at that workshop, she taught us Metta Bhavana Meditation, or Loving Kindness Meditation, which is a Buddhist meditation. It’s a meditation of goodwill that develops awareness, calmness, connection, joy, and stability. There are many versions of the phrases we repeat mentally during meditation; I have a particular fondness for these, which I’ve included below, because they create a harmonious rhythm in the repetition of the words, calmness, and serenity.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I be peaceful.

May I be free from suffering.

Freedom from suffering within the context of Yoga, and also in the Buddhist tradition, is freedom from ignorance and attachment. The path of Yoga, according to our tradition, is different from Buddhism, but both have many similar concepts, visions that intertwine and complement each other.

May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you be at peace. May you be free from all suffering.

This is a meditation I learned in 2011 from this wonderful Ashtanga Yoga teacher, but it remains so special even today. If you want to learn how to meditate and practice Ashtanga Yoga, write us to info@ashtangacascais.com .

BOAS PRÁTICAS