STORY BY JESSIE LUCIER
TEACHING BY CHRISTEN BAKKEN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIA VANDENOEVERA playful practice
can bring you
more joy on and
off the mat.
P L A Y
ground
ONCE UPON A TIME, we all
viewed the world as a friendly,
lighthearted, and inviting place.
Then, somewhere in the process
of becoming an adult—perhaps
when we felt pressure to excel in
school, got passed over for that
perfect job, or felt the pain of a
broken heart—seriousness, self-
doubt, and fear may have replaced
our wonder and fun-loving atti-
tude. While we can still connect
with the idea of being playful at
times (say, on the dance fl oor
at our best friend’s wedding), for
many of us, playful moments have
become more and more fl eeting.
And, the sense of seriousness we
use to succeed at work or school
extends to many other areas of
our lives, including our yoga
mat. That’s not to say that taking
a thoughtful approach to asana
can’t come with benefi ts, especially
if you’re experiencing pain or
injury. But a constant laser focus
on perfecting alignment, toning
core, nailing a balancing pose, or
breathing away a tough day can
come at the expense of fosteringfl exibility of mind and spirit.
When Patanjali wrote the
Yoga Sutra, he explained asana
as the intersection and balance
of sthira-sukha. Translated from
Sanskrit, sthira means “compact,
strong, steadfast, resolute”—all
qualities we embody in our adult
lives. Sukha, conversely, trans-
lates to “good, joyful, happy,
light”—all qualities we often
associate with children. Most of
us adults have lost sukha. On or
off the mat, we may no longer be
willing to risk failure or to laugh
at those failures like we did when
we were kids, and, as a result, we
can suffer stress and imbalance.
But you can use your mat to
realign to the joy and lightness of
sukha and ultimately advance your
asanas. By cultivating sukha, you
can connect with your inner child
again, fi nding more creativity
and freedom within your practice.
Children, as you’ll see in the prac-
tice that follows, are the obvious
teachers to light and lead the way.
“Yoga can be a place to invite more
play into your life, and kids can