September Gītā: 12.10

abhyāse ’py asamartho ’
si mat-karma-paramo bhava
mad-artham api karmāṇi
kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi 

’If you cannot practise remembering Me with devotion, then just try to work for Me. Thus performing devotional service to Me, you shall achieve the stage of perfection.’
Bhagavad Gītā 12.10

In this Sloka Krishna’s kindness and patience is evident. He’s acknowledging the difficulty of maintaining devotion to him, and the mind’s ability to wander as we get absorbed in other activities. Instead of demanding constant devotion, Krishna understands that work, life and family demands can hold our attention, so he offers an alternative more accessible path. This path allows us to continue our regular householder duties while shifting our consciousness to  complete our duties as an offering to him. This is similar to the sentiment of Sloka 9.27 & 9.28 which offer liberation through the path of renunciation. This shift in thought can act as a purifier of the mind because it loosens the pull of the ego, we’re less held down by what we do or don’t want to do, and as a result we begin to feel lighter and more centred.  

We can apply this learning to our asana practice. At times we may feel reluctant to practise, we might prefer an extra hour in bed or we might become disheartened if practice isn’t going the way we’d hoped. However,  if we remind ourselves that our practice is an offering we become less caught up in how well we do it and become more able to connect with our breath, cultivating our inner awareness where knowledge of the Divine resides.