When I am joyful, I practice yoga. When I am sad, I practice yoga. When my heart feels like it is bursting and beating with love, I practice yoga. When my heart feels like it has been shattered into a million tiny pieces, I practice yoga. When I feel crazy with gratitude and beyond blessed, I practice yoga. When I just feel crazy, I practice yoga. When I feel deeply connected, I practice yoga. When I feel unbelievably alone, I practice yoga. When I feel full, I practice yoga. When I feel hollow, I practice yoga. I don’t practice yoga to be happy. I practice yoga to be real. I don’t practice yoga because I think it is going to take away all of the suffering in life. I know better than that, and I hope you do, too. I practice yoga because while it teaches me that suffering is as much a part of this human experience as is sweetness, it also reaffirms the impermanent nature of all of it, breath after breath. It shows me that all of it is fleeting. My practice teaches me how to show up in my life, for as many moments as possible. It teaches me how to show up for the really light and carefree moments and it also teaches me how to show up for the really heavy, gritty times of struggle and pain. I practice yoga not to run away from whatever emotion, feeling or state of being is here with me, whatever sorrow or gladness, whatever elation or devastation it may be. Instead, I practice yoga to know, to reaffirm, and to restore confidence that I can MOVE with it, I can MOVE and BE with all of it. I practice to remember that I am able, that I am capable, of being present, knowing that this moment will go by, never to return. I practice yoga so that I can move with my joy and so that I can move with my sorrow. I practice yoga so that I can be present with my elation and also with my devastation. Because the more I move with it, all of it, and the more I can actually be in it, the more real I feel and the more alive I truly am. This life is so short and so incredibly sweet, and I want to be here for as much of it as I can. This is why I practice yoga.

What I would prescribe for you is to get rid of all these silly, pathetic and disgusting notions of what you think a man should look like and start over. I’m going to give everyone a huge hint here: no one gives a shit what you look like. Now I’m not saying being a fat slob doesn’t raise some eyebrows in disgust, but if you kick as much ass as possible in the weight room and conditioning field AND start OWNING the fuck out of your given “sport” (you better start competing and making your training count), you will not only LOOK better but you will feel better. People are not attracted to vanity – they are attracted to confidence and passion. No one owns a room by the way they look; it’s how they carry themselves.