doing it all for you…and you…and you…
Stepping on to the mat is not a selfish act. It is, in fact, an act of extreme generosity. 
You are investing in your knowledge of yourself and how you relate to the world. You are taking time to be with your body and your breath; to get familiar with what challenges you and what you do when faced with those challenges. Each pose that is less-than blissful lets you practice how you’ll respond to that person in your life who evokes less-than blissful responses. Both circumstances can be met with receptivity and curiosity, but those skills take practice. We practice yoga not only for ourselves, but for all beings with whom we share this planet. If we are committed to caring for and understanding ourselves, we cannot help but learn a bit along the way about how to care for and more easefully relate to others.
This is the Dedication of Merit as taught to me by my teachers at OM Yoga Center in NYC. It was a prayer offered to Cyndi Lee by her guru, Gelek Rinpoche. It is meant to serve as a reminder of who we practicing for.
“May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness,
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering,
May all beings never be parted from freedom’s true joy,
May all beings dwell in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.”