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By now I am sure most of us have heard of down-dog or maybe cat-cow, and no nothing to do with a possible living situation on a country farm. Although that would be the dream.
The concept of Yoga throughout the years has managed to permeate the zeitgeist and be so imbued into the current culture that it is now almost prescribed as a treatment for stress & anxiety.
My story with yoga started pre-pandemic, as a side note isn’t interesting that we now have a time stamp for pre or post a time that created global chaos. Tangent over. I don’t really know what it was but I always felt a call to yoga, a call to a lifestyle that seemed natural and more in tune with the natural rhythms of life. Possibly leaning into my inner hippie.
As a women who loves to express and feel deeply, dancing and letting loose, especially in my own company, dancing has always been a cathartic method for release. I feel this may be the experience of a lot of women, especially women who are creative or comfortable with outwardly expressing whether through singing, fashion, art or anything that moves emotions through the body and out. The ability to emote is a powerful thing.
One evening being in the vibe, solo dancing, I found myself not so smoothly getting into signature moves I had so easily been able to flow into before, and thinking wait when did my body become so stiff, how did I not notice this before. The slow but steady impact of modern life, working at a desk in a corporate job, the daily commute, the usual suspects of what we call modern life.
This simply was not acceptable to me, I had seen videos of grandmas with grey hair doing gymnastics on beams, I refuse to allow my body to lose abilities it once had. Being in my early 30’s I was too young to be feeling this uncomfortable in my body, with so much life ahead and not having had a family of my own yet. If I am not dancing with the confidence of Shakira at, at least 60 honestly what are we doing here, like she said hips don’t lie.
Yoga came to mind intuitively, I had known of the poses, movements and somehow intuitively knew that it would help restore some level of flexibility. As a young girl I didn’t do ballet or dance, however I always held a respect for that highly feminine frame, I also believe that yoga could get me there. In reality what I have learnt is that that frame comes from a holistic approach to body sculpting including Yoga, Pilates, weights training, a lot of walking and of course dancing.
As a Christian I did have reservations towards yoga, but as I did the deeper research looking for teachers that leaned less towards the spiritual side and more towards the mechanics, the movements my concerns were put to rest. The benefits for health, mobility and the tools to ground ones self were too much to overlook. After many years of practice on my own and in some wonderful classes with inspiring teachers. I took this rabbit hole a bit further and decided to become a yoga teacher myself, delving in deeper, to gain the ability to share this amazing thing, feeling I had found with others. Discovering that the bible can be used as the main and only religious text for deeper spiritual foundation and meditation, quietened my questions or reservations. My yoga practice was compatible with my Christian faith.
Throughout the years my yoga journey has been something that has brought me calm, focus, grounding and the ability to push my body further than I thought it could go. I still have a long way to go, as it is an endless journey we are the eternal student, however combined with delving deeper into the bible, for once, and actually learning the faith I protested to have, I feel as a spirit having a human experience, as quote by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, I feel a bit more complete.
The transformation through yoga is not just movement it is a way of life, with the core message of doing good and being good, which works in tandem with the Christian faith. To look after the body through movement, food, right thinking and doing the right thing in all scenario, keeping the heart clean, for me I see the teachings of Jesus within in this framework. I must admit that I have not delved into the Sanskrit’s or any of the Hindu religious texts, mostly because I wanted to stay true to my own faith, that is not to say that at some point I will not explore further. But what I have learnt points towards a belief system that demands balance, integrity and harmony. It teaches you to be a conscious human, to consider how you treat you body and the environment around you. This is holistic living at its core.
Yoga is an art & science that offers a way to overcome the body and the mind. Simply put it is a tool to help you gain self awareness, wisdom and calm in a chaotic world. Unlike what most people may think the practice of yoga is not a religion in its self, it is simply a tool you keep in your wheelhouse, with techniques that can be used wherever you take your mat. It challenges you to look at yourself and offers structure to work within. In the bible we have the 10 commandments and the 7 deadly sins, in Yoga we have the 8 limbs and subsequently the 5 Yamas for moral guidance. It asks you to cultivate a practice which becomes more of a lifestyle, a way of being, than simply routines. This resonated with me on a deeper level. The movement and the practice have a deeper meaning.
In modern life we women work, we are mothers, wives, have careers, build things, we grow things and we nurture things, all good things we naturally have in our DNA. We carry our emotions, others emotions, with hold space and we love unconditionally. But sometimes we forget to stop, to be still, to slow down and to simply breath. We have the ability to do so much, we are exceptional, the fact that we birth humans is a wonder of this world. But sometimes this overstretching can lead to mental exhaustion, overwhelm, burnout. Sometime you need to be able to pour back into yourself. This is why yoga is great for reducing stress & anxiety.
In the moments when I have felt the most challenged or beyond my limit, the simple act of coming back to the mat helps to put a stake in the ground, to draw a line and to allow me to come back to myself time and time again. For those 30mins or 1 hour the focus is on breath, movement, intentions, meditation, gratitude and the connection to the divine. It is a practice that asks you to challenge yourself to push past the last point of growth, to show up for yourself and to no matter what show up on the mat . It’s a constant in a ever changing journey. Over the days, weeks and years you see improvements, changes as you build strength, confidence, balance and you see your body and what it can do and how it can transform in ways that you didn’t know or think were possible. You truly are the clay, you are the sculptor and all of this starts on a simple mat. The question is if you can bend your body, if you can transform your mind, your thinking, at any age really, what else do you have the ability to transform in your life? The possibilities then become endless, you have just proven something to yourself, that it is never too late to change, to grow, to learn and to transform.
When you put the time in on the mat, Yoga not only gives you a moment for yourself but it give you a space to cultivate a sense of calm in your life. The practice of Yoga doesn’t demand perfection, the only thing it requires is presence and the willingness to embark on a journey that will transform your life. It requires patience, presence and the disciple to continue and push past what you know to be true. It ask you to be a better human. To be consistent. The only question now is whether you are willing to go on that journey… and will you do that with me.