Since I started my journey as a yogi, I have been humbled by lots of questions from friends and family about what it is, how flexible you need to be to start yoga and how it has changed my life. First, let me start by saying... yoga is for EVERYONE. Seriously, I am not kidding. As a part of teacher training... we had to write a short paper answering the question "what is yoga?" At the time, I found this be an extremely overwhelming task... who am I to try and define this ancient philosophical way of life? But then again... who am I not to? In the worlds of Sharon Gannon
“You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.”
and so... my words came to me, and here they are. What is yoga?
As I sat down to gather my thoughts and begin writing this paper, I quickly realized that all I wanted to write was “Yoga is LIVING”. I figured this wouldn’t suffice for the task at hand, so I decided to start a running list of all the words, phrases, thoughts or quotes that came to my mind when I thought of this word… YOGA. After exhausting my limited vocabulary, I took a break. Several days later, I came back to this question “What is yoga”? This time, I decided to sit down and write more slowly, allowing my thoughts to sink in and notice where they were coming from. I compiled another, much shorter list.
So now, here I am, two lists… no blog. What is yoga? Here goes …
Yoga is a way of LIVING LIFE. It is a journey. It is a continuous process and practice of accepting our imperfections. Loving our imperfections, even embracing our imperfections. Yoga is acceptance.
Yoga is finding balance between comfort and challenge, sweetness and ease, struggle and triumph. Yoga is humbling.
Yoga calls us to let go of the identities we have built up with our minds and our bodies and simply listen, without judgment. Yoga is true embodiment of what lies within us.
Yoga is life expressed through the lens of the body. Yoga asks, “What does your body need”? … We reply “I want this for my body”. Yoga allows us to cultivate awareness around this and sit with it. Yoga does not force change, but creates room for organic transformation to happen over time in our minds, our bodies and our spirits.
Yoga is a teacher within each of our unique energy systems. Yoga teaches us to hold on to the confusion and suffering of our minds and hearts, while at the same time feeling the soft wind blow past our cheeks with contentment. Yoga is all encompassing and all knowing. Our challenge is to listen to this teacher within us.
Yoga sheds light on the support we have from the universe, the universe within us and the universe that surrounds us. Yoga is a practice that is never perfect, while at the same time being perfect in every moment.
“You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.”
and so... my words came to me, and here they are. What is yoga?
As I sat down to gather my thoughts and begin writing this paper, I quickly realized that all I wanted to write was “Yoga is LIVING”. I figured this wouldn’t suffice for the task at hand, so I decided to start a running list of all the words, phrases, thoughts or quotes that came to my mind when I thought of this word… YOGA. After exhausting my limited vocabulary, I took a break. Several days later, I came back to this question “What is yoga”? This time, I decided to sit down and write more slowly, allowing my thoughts to sink in and notice where they were coming from. I compiled another, much shorter list.
So now, here I am, two lists… no blog. What is yoga? Here goes …
Yoga is a way of LIVING LIFE. It is a journey. It is a continuous process and practice of accepting our imperfections. Loving our imperfections, even embracing our imperfections. Yoga is acceptance.
Yoga is finding balance between comfort and challenge, sweetness and ease, struggle and triumph. Yoga is humbling.
Yoga calls us to let go of the identities we have built up with our minds and our bodies and simply listen, without judgment. Yoga is true embodiment of what lies within us.
Yoga is life expressed through the lens of the body. Yoga asks, “What does your body need”? … We reply “I want this for my body”. Yoga allows us to cultivate awareness around this and sit with it. Yoga does not force change, but creates room for organic transformation to happen over time in our minds, our bodies and our spirits.
Yoga is a teacher within each of our unique energy systems. Yoga teaches us to hold on to the confusion and suffering of our minds and hearts, while at the same time feeling the soft wind blow past our cheeks with contentment. Yoga is all encompassing and all knowing. Our challenge is to listen to this teacher within us.
Yoga sheds light on the support we have from the universe, the universe within us and the universe that surrounds us. Yoga is a practice that is never perfect, while at the same time being perfect in every moment.