Perhaps it’s his knack for story-telling, or his immeasurable warmth when he makes your acquaintance, or even his genuine love and devotion to his Guruji, Sri K Pattabhi Jois. It could be his first-hand knowledge and experience of the Ashtanga practice, or conveying esoteric theory into the most simple and practical terms; maybe it’s the way one leaves his presence feeling deeply moved and humbled.
I could go on trying to pinpoint exactly what it is about David Swenson; for the 200 plus people who were fortunate enough to spend the weekend or week with him, we will all have our very own reasons as to why we feel inspired to continue wanting to be the very best of ourselves.
This may be through the application of yoga or something totally unrelated for David’s true contentment with himself and life is palpable regardless of whether we’re on the yoga path or not. And that’s probably that ‘something’.
If yoga is universal and is union, then David is truly an embodiment of this as he graciously shares his knowledge, but above all, his remarkable energy to leave us feeling that we are one and the same and have as much to give as the next person to enrich ours and others’ lives.
“A yogi is someone that leaves a place a little better than they found it”, says Swenson, and without meeting him we could be forgiven for thinking this is a cutesey ideal but is not always possible in ‘real’ life.
But upon meeting David, his presence permeates all and leaves each of us that little bit better than before, but above all, with the conviction that true yogis don’t reside in the forests but are within us all.
Thank you David for your inspiring devotion and love to yoga, and therefore, all of us, we feel that bit better since making your acquaintance.