I remember a yoga teacher jokingly saying to a student, "If you don't blah, blah, blah, I won't teach you the next posture." Her discerning reply was, "I don't want the next posture," which caused the class to chuckle. However, at that time I was the opposite of that. I wanted the next posture. I wanted to progress. It was what drove me-I was young in my yoga journey. I saw only the physical benefits of what I was learning.
In the Ashtanga sequence I wanted, the next posture it is part of the process. The postures get harder and more difficult as you progress. It's a sign that I'm getting better at this yoga thing. It's what I wanted. And as a person with Multiple Sclerosis it takes my mind believing I'm not so bad. MS is not defining me. I can do this.
But I learned yoga is much more than a way to get a healthier body. MS does its best to define what I can't do. Ashtanga showed me what I can do and improved me physically, mentally, and spiritually. I started as a skeptic, but now I live as an enthusiastic yoga ambassador.