Feel Free to Laugh

I read a discussion online the other day regarding whether or not we take ourselves too seriously in yoga classes. Should we take ourselves seriously with yoga? Do we need to?

I think that this question is not the correct question - we can take ourselves seriously and still smile and even laugh. We are supposed to approach our practice with loving kindness, and I feel that laughter comes from love, it comes from kindness. So, I would suggest that the question is this: when does your practice make you smile? What about your practice brings you to a state of laughter?

I often find myself laughing when I find something new in a pose for the first time, as it creates a certain amount of immediate joy. We live in a world of "I can't do this, I can't do that" so when a discovery is made and I break through a barrier of I can't - walls come down and I marvel at the open world that exists outside of the limitations of my mind. And that is funny! A cosmic joke.