FM
It’s an obvious question but don’t you get frightened
in these places?
Terrified. I lived with a family in Palestine for a while. At one point
there was the sound of heavy gunfire close by. I obviously looked
scared. One of the family said, “What’s the matter, don’t you like
the humus?”
The thing is, fear is contagious. The last time I went into Palestine,
an Israeli friend said “You need to be careful. You know they shoot
people.” I said “That’s what you heard? I’ve been going to Palestine
since 2000.” But walking up to the border I felt fear for the first time.
Fear is contagious. Which is one of the reasons why the Palestinian
family weren’t going to let me feel afraid.
So, I’m walking up to the border and I see all these Palestinians
waving at me and it’s a love affair all over again. I adore these
people. They’re extraordinary.
We need to take risks. When we feel frightened, we also feel most
alive. If we do take risks, we become wise and very happy - most of
the time. And if we don’t, we end up doing crap jobs for 60 years and
wondering where our life went.How does your view of life shape the way you teach yoga?
I teach people to become yogis not yoga teachers. There are enough
of those on the planet. I tell them to love themselves. And if they
can’t do that, to love someone else.
Look, it’s not about the kind of mat you have or how you do
the positions. The Buddha never did an asana and he foundenlightenment under a tree. There’s a big difference between forcing
your body and loving it. True freedom is intrinsic, not controlling.
You know, it makes me laugh when I go into a yoga centre and use
the toilet. There’s always a Buddha at the back. I burst out laughing.
How come the Buddha reached the highest state of enlightenment
to end up in a toilet?
These things are just symbols of what people think spirituality is.
They have no idea.
It’s also not about yoga as a business. Sure, we need to beWorldmags.net