DRAGON POSE VARIATIONThe first thing I gave up when I started doing
yoga was junk food. I was in law school, living off
of frozen corn dogs and macaroni and cheese
out of a box, so the natural first change was to
stop eating those things. I started to crave fruits
and vegetables instead.
Next to go was the hard partying. By then, I
was in a corporate-law job. This might surprise
people who know me now, but I would stay out
Friday nights until 6 a.m., drinking and doing
lines of coke. I’d come home, take cold medicine
to knock myself out for a couple of hours, and
then get up and take a noon yoga class. That’s a
really unhealthy lifestyle. I knew it was unsustain-
able, so it was an easy one to let go of.
I also smoked tons of weed. I use to love to
get high and then do yoga; I could get into deep
stretches, and my balance was better.
But then I started attending Buddhist medita-
tion retreats, and one day I opened up this box I
had with a huge bag of weed in it and thought, “I
don’t even know how long I’ve had this.” I asked
my roommate, “Do you want my bong?” I didn’t
feel like smoking anymore. It killed my mental
clarity.
I stopped eating mammals, and then chicken,
for ethical reasons. Finally I stopped eating fish. I
was at the grocery store one day and this Indian
guy started talking to me. He said, “You take fish
out of the water and they suffocate, so their last
minute of life is complete anxiety. All of that
nervous energy is released into their flesh, and
then you eat it.”
Eventually, I left my corporate job. On some
days I do three hours of asana and other prac-
tices. I can’t work a traditional office job, because
I need that time. And I don’t stay out late. If I do,
I can’t get up early to meditate.
Years ago, I read a teaching that said, “You’ll
know you’re going deeper and deeper into yoga
when it permeates all of your life.” I’ve become
more and more sure that yoga is one thing I’m
committed to in this life. It dominates every part
of my existence.