Skip to main content

Dream self, yoga self, authentic self

In this dream I had the other night I was teaching an unusually large yoga class, discussing how to come into a yoga state of mind to start our practice. One person spoke up and said "Oh, so we should put on our yoga personas?"

I gave it a thought, and then with much gesticulation energetically responded "Actually, think of it like peeling off the persona(s) you put ON everyday, to get back down TO your yoga self.  Take off all that outer shit, the stress of your job, the thick shell of negative interactions and defensiveness and sarcasm. Let the heaviness of responsibilities and obligations for the outer world, just for now, fall away. Shed that overprotective skin and allow the real, authentic you to be presented, to be present. Yoga is what is essential, at the heart of you, what is always there, what is true.

So, no, don't put on your yoga face, take off what obscures it. Get back to the authentic YOU.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Solidarity and Kaivalya

I just read my son a book called  The Yellow Star  - recommended to me by a friend at his school, who read it to their children. I think for me this sums up everything my parents ever taught me about "good" and "right" and being strong, and being a community member. It's how I always felt in my heart and how I want to teach my son to be. It's not just about "standing up for the little guy;" it's about being willing to put yourself out there to make a statement about justice. It's about knowing in your heart that you are part of a bigger community and you must act to support it even if you are not personally needing the direct support. The story was the legend of King Christian X of Denmark. The book acknowledges that the story in it's oral and written history, nor the version in this book, were fully true, but adapted version of an allegory for solidarity and support for ones brethren.  The author writes in the end notes: And what if we...
(separate leg [straddle] stretch)

Try New Things

So you woke up in a mood, and really wanted to get to your usual active vinyasa class to work out some stress, but the class was cancelled. Or had a sub. Or, you always decompress at that Tuesday night candlelit restorative class but it's full. Or, it's raining and you wanted to take a run. Or it's cold and you wanted to swim. The universe doesn't always cooperate to "allow" us to do what we want in terms of our self-care rituals. And there the lies the rub - the RITUAL. When ritual becomes compulsive, compulsory, obsessive, or unbending, it has shifted into HABitual and (should be) a sign to us that perhaps our kapha dosha is out of balance, or simply, we have gotten into a rut and need to switch things up. So today, drop into a yoga class you've never tried before. Or take a walk instead of a run on a new trail. Or just sit for 10 minutes and meditate if you don't have time for a full class. Observe the differences in your posture, your attitude just...