Judith Hanson Lasater > Quotes

“[Let] go of your attachments: your attachment to being right, to having total control, or to living forever. This process of letting go is integral to the process of becoming whole.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“What we learned about love and relationships from our childhood feels normal. But just because something feels familiar doesn't mean it is healthy. Spend five minutes today quietly reflecting on one of your relationships. Does it enrich your life? If you find that it doesn't, consider what changes you need to make so the relationship feeds you.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“When carving stone, the sculptor removes everything that is not the statue. […] The art of revealing beauty lies in removing what conceals it. So, too, Patanjali [in the Yoga Sutras] tells us that wholeness exists within us. Our work is to chisel away at everything that is not essence, not Self.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“I believe that perception does not shape your life; it is your life.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“We accept responsibility for ourselves when we acknowledge that ultimately there are no answers outside of ourselves, and no gurus, no teachers, and no philisophies that can solve the problems of our lives. They can only suggest, guide, and inspire. It is our dedication to living with open hearts and our commitment to the day-to-day details of our lives that will transform us.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“If you expect more from yourself than from others, you are saying that you are better than others and, therefore, must perform at a superior level. I do not mean that you should not set goals for yourself. Rather, the question is, how do you react if you cannot meet these goals? Honestly admitting that you may have not done your best is not judgement. It is judgement when you draw a conclusion about yourself based on your ideas about failure.

Honesty involves taking responsibility; judgment has to do with blame. To view yourself as bad or a failure because you did not accomplish what you set out to do is judgment. To state clearly and simply that you did not accomplish your plan is taking responsibility.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“Beliefs are rigid thoughts. Beliefs are thoughts that get repeated enough to take on a kind of internal structure. No belief is the truth; it is only a belief.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“To cultivate empathy means to see the world through the eyes of another without judgement, without trying to "fix" it, without needing it to be different. It is acceptance independent of agreement, understanding without any implied coercion for oneself or the other to change. There is also no sense of wanting to "educate" the other person about how their perspective is wrong and ours is right.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“Integrity is what you do when no one is looking.   LIVING YOUR YOGA: To practice yoga, telling the truth is not enough. We need to practice not lying. Today live with integrity by not lying to yourself about one important thing in your life.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, A Year of Living Your Yoga: Daily Practices to Shape Your Life

“I came to understand that belief is a preconception about the way reality should be; faith is the willingness to experience reality as it is, including the acceptance of the unknown. An interesting way to understand the difference is to use the words interchangeably in the same sentence: I believe in Santa Claus. I have faith in Santa Claus. Belief can impede spiritual unfoldment; faith is supremely necessary for it.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“For something to be funny, it has to have an element of truth: lies are not funny. So”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“Choice is at the heart of service.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“I suggest that, before speaking or taking some other action, you first ask yourself these questions: Is it necessary? Is it true? Is it nonharming? If you can answer yes to all these questions, it may be okay to proceed. If not, you must weigh what is the right action in the situation.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“Now, well beyond my teens, I feel that there is no such thing as wasted love. Any love that we experience holds great power - the power to transform both us and those we love. In fact, without love we cannot be transformed.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“Physical, emotional, and mental pain are inevitable in life. Suffering is another matter. Suffering is the personalization we bring to our difficulties. [We have no control over the actions of another, but we do have control over our own reactions to them.]”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“to practice is to pay attention to your whole life: your thoughts, your bodily sensations, and your speech and other actions.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“the answers are within me. ​Life is practice, practice is life. ​I commit to living my life fully in this moment.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“I realized that the antidote to impatience was allowing myself to reenter the flow of things, that is, to be in sync with the speed with which things were happening. ... All of these times - waiting, sitting, and understanding- are valuable. I can choose not to experience them as wasted time by choosing to be present and actually live these precious moments. After all, to reject them is to reject life itself.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“... the only thing I was to do while living was to love everyone. That, she let me know, is the purpose of life.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“Practice is not about what you get, it is about what you give. Whether you are driven or resistant, the medicine is the same: do what is truly possible with unwavering commitment to giving yourself to the moment. Without this intention, practice becomes another task to be completed, and it loses its ability to transform. And, transformation, or freedom, is the reason for all discipline.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater

“If you notice that you have a strong desire to be right, try not venturing an opinion the next time someone else expresses one.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“consider that you can commit to little as five minutes a day. The highest form of discipline is consistency: powerful transformation can come from regularity.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, 30 Essential Yoga Poses: For Beginning Students and Their Teachers

“Am I suggesting that we no longer try to achieve our goals? Absolutely not. It is not accomplishment that is the problem. The problem is the belief that accomplishments are the solution to an aching soul. When my children were young, I asked them for lists of what they wanted for Christmas. ... I tried to buy the exact gifts that my children requested. I strove to give my children what they longed for because I wanted them to realize that they could have the material things that seemed so important and still be unhappy. If they never got what they wanted, it would be easy to blame their unhappiness on that. I reasoned that if my kids received the gifts they wanted (again, within limits), they would have a better chance of learning to find satisfaction other than in material goods. As my children matured, they began to ask for gifts that could not be found in a store.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“Posture reflects and can greatly influence our mood, how others see and judge us, and simply how we feel about ourselves and about being alive.2”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Yoga Myths: What You Need to Learn and Unlearn for a Safe and Healthy Yoga Practice

“It is our dedication to living with open hearts and our commitment to the day-to-day details of our lives that will transform us.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“When I hear     , I feel     , because I need     ; would you be willing to     ?”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, What We Say Matters: Practicing Nonviolent Communication

“mantra is something that helps you to transcend ordinary ways of thinking. These are meant to be your life-affirming companions throughout the day. You might say that each is a modern-day sutra.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“When you react, you are not in a state of love. When you can love without expectation, you are in a state of pure love. What is usually declared to be love is not. Rather, it is need, or fear, or desire for power over another person. Love in its purest sense is not based upon what you get from the relationship, but on what the relationship allows you to give. The depth of your love is not reflected in what the other makes you feel, but in your willingness to give of yourself. Love's job is to lead you to intimacy with what is enduring in yourself and in others. Whether this connection lasts for seconds or for decades, love is not wasted. Through it, you have been transformed. ...
I am not recommending that you accept the actions of others, even those you love, without discrimination. ... let only those things pass through the net that are life affirming. ... never discard the net. It is a reminder of your obligation to yourself to be discriminating. Without it, you may miss the opportunity to love yourself.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“Sometimes I notice my yoga students practicing their less-than favorite poses with a ho-hum attitude. At the moments, I remind them that although yoga is powerful, it cannot transform us unless we love it. When we love, we are receptive to the other. When we love, we are vulnerable. Although being vulnerable can be frightening, it is also the doorway to the ultimate freedom.”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

“The basic distinctions that are so important to Nonviolent Communication:

• requests and demands,
• feelings and evaluations,
• observations and judgments,
• needs and strategies [to meet needs].”
― Judith Hanson Lasater, What We Say Matters: Practicing Nonviolent Communication