I've been thinking again this past week about the concept of practice. It's been prompted by the passing of two people important to me in my own practice, my karate teacher when I was a kid in Kentucky, Bill Leonard, whose title was "Eldest Master" in his particular system, and Karina Sauro, a dear friend and fellow teaching companion from our teacher-training days in yoga. 

I found myself questioning what it meant to practice and what it mattered. Why practice? 

There are nearly countless ways to practice and things to practice, of course, and likely just as many reasons to practice. No doubt there are benefits to be gained. But in the end, what have you gotten?

I turned to some of the many books I have on practice. How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Believe it or not, Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law, by Kenney Hegland. Integral Life Practice, by Terry Patten et al. Beautiful Practice, by Frank Forencich. 

The last one, Beautiful Practice, is one I've been drawing upon lately. We used one of its lessons in class the other day: "Widen Your Circle." It begins with this epigraph, a Bantu description of Ubuntu: “We are people through other people." 

I like this quote describing a practice: "Above all, a beautiful practice is authentic. It is sincere, engaging and risk-taking. Teachers and students have a shared sense that the art is something worth doing and worth doing well. This is no mere pastime or hobby. We are engaged in practice, not simply to secure a credential or a position, but to transform our lives and the lives of others." 

Another clue I've gleaned from this book is the phrase "attention density." I like that. A practice is conscious and gathers our awareness and attention into a more concentrated and focused vessel. It directs our life force in a purposeful way. All the vision, balance, and mobility drills we do are meant to develop your attention density and expand your capacity.

Forencich also writes about the concept of a master as "an experienced practitioner." Doing your reps, whatever it is that you find worth repeating.

And this: "Those who are engaged in a beautiful practice believe that, in some very real sense, 'this is something worth dying for.' This is not hyperbole. After all, when we commit to a sustained engagement with any art, sport, skill or discipline, we are in fact spending a substantial portion of our lives training, practicing and performing. We are literally giving our lives to what we do. Anything else is just dabbling." 

So that's where I have come to now with the idea of practice. Yes, it will surely have its benefits for your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. But nothing is guaranteed. In the end, though, what it will have been is a way to live your life more consciously and intentionally. 

You will have transformed your life into a life of practice. And to paraphrase Douglas Brooks, practice is an invitation, not an obligation. Many will not have that choice or will choose not to practice. And that, too, is a way to live a human life. 

I believe that both Eldest Master Bill Leonard and Karina Sauro lived a life of beautiful practice that transformed the lives of others. I bow to their path and example with the deepest respect and love.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
– Annie Dillard