The Art Of Discipline

Finding Ashtanga Yoga helped teacher Erika Halweil tap the power of tapas and a daily practice.

- Erika Halweil

THE GENERALLY EFFORTLESS RHYTHM of my life—and my yoga practice—began to shift in my late 20s. When I was 29 years old, going through a painful divorce, I was forced to make a new home for myself and my 18-month-old daughter (our home was in foreclosure, as I was one of the many affected by the big mortgage crisis of 2008). I no longer felt supported by my daily asana and pranayama practices. For the first time, my senses seemed clouded and dulled. Instead of coming to the mat care- and painfree, I found myself overwhelmed by the activity in my mind and the discouragement in my heart—and I was distracted by an unfamiliar fatigue and achiness.

Fortunately, fate guided me right back to my mat. I had already been teaching yoga for nearly a decade at this point, and I had been exposed to Ashtanga Yoga on several occasions. But after I had been strongly influenced against it by one of my most beloved teachers, I had reacted to it with aversion and judgment. Yet, at this particular moment in my life, this practice felt like home. I appreciated the quiet. I was soothed by the even rhythm. I felt supported by the detailed structure.