Move A Muscle Change A Feeling

Just for moment close your eyes. No, false alarm.

If you do that how can you read what I am sharing with you? 

Lets’ try this again.

Find a comfortable seat. Drop your shoulders. Relax your jaw. Take a deep inhale. Hold for a beat. Exhale. Did you notice something different? Maybe a shift in your posture, or an awareness you didn’t have before this very simple exercise? Do you feel more relaxed, perhaps more focused? 

I discovered the power of movement when I was ten years old. I would spend hour after hour in our living room dancing to an invisible crowd that seemed to appreciate my jumps, splits, pirouettes. I took up classical dance briefly, switching to ice-skating, because it was the cool thing to do at that time. And let me tell you, when your feet glide on the thin surface, you take speed and spread your arms like wings it feels you are flying. For real. 

I fell in love with yoga asana many years later. After reading the Bhagavad Gita I decided to explore this new way of taking different shapes with the body. The practice had me at the first sun salute. Something broke open in me, and I could see parts of myself that had been hidden for so long. I was hooked and still am, as not one day goes by that I don’t step on the mat to twist and turn and breathe and go deeper and deeper into what it means to be in this physical incarnation. Do you also practice? How does it feel for you?

I take this sacred practice as a form of self-love. A graceful way to reconnect with yourSelf and little by little, shedding one layer after the next, understand who you truly are. As you move from pose to pose, synchronizing your breathing to even the most minute movement you step into a place of inner silence where magic unfolds. Kinda of like opening a pandora box and coming face to face with what needs to be addressed. 

I find the asana journey a powerful way to remove the negative self-talk. A reminder that every single part of your being can be given as a form of devotion. Have you ever tried to offer your body as a prayer? I mean to move in such a way that every shape you take, every gesture you make is an offering to God? 

Of course the asana part of yoga is not just about the pose. Although this understanding doesn’t come easy to many. Ultimately it’s about opening the heart and finding your own way to keep it there even off the mat. Not so easy! 

When committing to a yoga physical practice every day, through every posture you experience and become aware of the spiritual energy within yourself. You come in touch with a driving force, a motivation, a profound sense of inner peace, a deeper reason behind everything you think and everything you do, even after rolling the mat and putting it away.

The asana journey offers the power and beauty to work through your emotional stress and psychological challenges. It encourages you to reach for a more profound spiritual connection with your higher Self and live in a deeper state of consciousness. This level of spiritual awareness is what offers you the opportunity to be lead by Divine Grace as a co-creator of your own reality. 

I found out that when you practice yoga not on auto-pilot you come to learn about your triggers, your reactions, and ultimately who you are. This self-awareness transforms all aspects of your mind, which then affect how you live your life and how you interact on planet earth. 

So, the ultimate question is, what is the true definition of yoga? 

Formally, it is a ‘spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.’ 

In other words, Yoga is everything.

It is the ultimate practice of spirituality, meditation, breath-work, mental health, and physical fitness all integrated into a powerful practice of movement and love. 

So, next time you step on your magic carpet, aka your yoga mat, know that it’s not just your body you are moving. 

I’m ending this post with a lovely poem by the talented Danna Faulds called “Yoga’s Reach”

“It is a wonder
how a simple stretch
deepens breath,
and an elegantly held pose
grows to touch the
whole of me.
Like sugar stirred into tea,
the potency
of yoga spreads
from body into mind
and heart, revealing
an ocean of energy
that heals and opens,
holds me close
and sets me free
all in the same moment.”

Thanks for reading. ❤️