Lila (lee-lah): creative play; sport; revelry.

When we ask our six-year-old daughter to name her favorite part of Kids' Yoga class, her reply is inevitably the same: The Yes and No Game. One studio wall becomes the "yes" wall, and another the "no" wall, and then the kids run wild through the room to declare their answers to life's essential questions: "Do you like ice cream?" "Would you hold a snake?" "Have you ever seen a shooting star?"

Your first (and decidedly grown-up) take on Zoe's favorite yoga game might echo ours-why, that doesn't sound like yoga at all. And yet, as we put on a wider lens and consider more carefully, we see that yoga as we practice and teach it is very much a Yes and No game. As we use Muscular and Organic Energies to cultivate more optimal balance in our bodies, the super-solid folks among us say Yes to softening, and the flexible say Yes to greater stability. Each time we challenge ourselves-to stand on one leg, or on our hands, or more fully on our own two feet-we say Yes to a fuller experience of this amazing body, and No to self-limiting beliefs. According to the yoga tradition we Anusara yogis follow, our truest state is pure joy, the enchanted, merry rapture that comes from play, or lila.

We can even go so far as to say that lila is The Meaning of Life; in our Tantric philosophy, the answer to Why does the One become the Many? is To Play! For the fun, and the wonder, of experiencing new dimensions of ourselves.

At its root, the Yes and No Game is about self-expression, about discovering and declaring and delighting in Who You Are. As we play on our mats, our practice inspires us to become more conscious in our choices, to say Yes to that which enhances our joy and to use No to create boundaries that stimulate new expression. We tap into a boisterous, glowing spirit that twirls us around, helps us to re-discover the dancing light that is our truest nature.

So, won't you come play with us this Summer? Take a workshop in Handstanding or Hooping to say Yes to some new moves. Do a class on Forgiveness or Sore Wrists to say No to that which ruins your fun. Sign up for a weekly playdate (or two) with your Willow Street friends-the game is always most fun when we revel together.

by Joe and Natalie Miller