‘My greatest Mentor has always been Life.’

Daniel Rama is a travelling Yoga Teacher.

Daniel Rama is a travelling Yoga Teacher.

1. What style of yoga do you teach?

I have been formally trained in an ashram of traditional Hatha Yoga. However, currently I believe it is important for individuals to assess their strength and weaknesses, consider their personal goals, and include those techniques which will help them succeed. If you think about it, the masters of any lineage did not necessarily conform to any specific style. The masters created their own style based upon personal experience. 

2. What is your intention behind teaching?

My intention has always been to move from compulsive reaction to conscious response. I truly believe that we are responsible for every aspect of our life. Everything we are, and everything we are not is our own doing. If we are able to respond consciously to the situations of life, we will find that every single experience is beautiful beyond belief. My intention is to use certain techniques to help others understand this fact as truth.

3. Who are your mentors in yoga? 

There are a few physical figures who have helped accelerate my personal understanding, but my greatest mentor has always been Life itself - or rather, a powerful curiosity for all things within this Life. 

4. What have they taught you? 

Consider the greatest spiritual texts - the Gita, the bible, the koran, etc. All of these great scriptures use analogy and story to shed light on the mysteries of Creation. However, if you express complete curiosity towards all things - big or small - you will begin to gain first hand understanding of the essence of the Scriptures.

5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you? 

I have never been much of a reader. Books are second hand information at best - someone else interpretation of their own experience. Because they are second hand, books have always been a little confusing for me. I prefer to focus on first-hand experience.

6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice? 

My practice began with need for physical rehabilitation. I suffered an injury that doctors told me I would never recover from. But I have always been stubborn, and told myself that these physicians are idiots - they don’t see the complete picture. Within 12 months, through basic meditation, visualization and positive thinking I managed to make a full recovery. Once I had healed the body, I decided to see how far I could push it. Present day, I find almost no challenge within the realm of asana. The more my physical practice develops and evolves, the more I begin to realize how empty such activities are. Of course, maintaining health of the physical body is very important, and my daily practice certainly achieves that end, but in the grand scheme, I recognize that there are far more important dimensions of existence for me to explore. 

7. How often do you practice

24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana? 

Patanjali’s eight limbs are a system of simple guidelines. They are certainly helpful for many individuals, but at the same time, they the natural byproduct of experiencing life as it truly is. Yoga tells us that we are all One - a statement many will utter, but few will actually experience as truth. If you truly realize that we are one and the same, would you need to talk about Yamas and Niyamas? If you see Life the way it truly is, you would recognize and act upon the importance of proper exercise and proper breathing. 

Do you think Patanjali followed this system of ashtanga yoga? Of course not. Patanjali was able to experience the end goal, and reverse engineered the process so that others might experience that same outcome. If you walk into every situation with complete curiosity, you will be a natural master of all 8 limbs.

9. Why is being present so important to you

Being present is not important. If you are serious about Life, it is the only real option.

10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and/ FB name?

Follow me @danielrama_ on instagram and visit www.danielrama.com for information on upcoming workshops, retreats and yoga teacher trainings.