All of us have thoughts or beliefs that have been ingrained in our very core being, in our muscles, in our mind, and even in the way that we move.
These beliefs, these thoughts,
they haunt us.
They influence the way we move through life.
And in many cases, these thoughts, this thought pattern, these beliefs have a history.
They’ve come to us through lifelong messaging, whether it be from the people around us, the culture around us, or maybe
messages we tell ourselves.
And while some people are able to thrive, they use these negative messages, these beliefs,
to fuel themselves towards a sense of purpose.
There are far too many people, myself included, that have gotten lost, who’ve
almost felt drowned by
what they believe to be true.
And one of the most important lessons yoga has taught me
was how to discern between the lies that my mind has created based on my lived experience
versus what my true heart, self wants me to believe.
And what that means,
is what is at the core of what I believe. And yes, it is true that your faith, your beliefs, your core values are learned.
Yet
there is an opportunity as you begin to turn inward, which yoga facilitates,
that
you begin to examine what your mind is telling you. You begin to
want, have a craving to learn as much as you can. I’ve always been a lifelong learner, and that’s not the conversation for this particular blog post.
Yet
there is this yearning, yearning to understand.
And yoga has an opportunity to give you a space
to
sit. I know they always say sit with the discomfort, but
what it is is
an opportunity to be in a place where you can watch your thoughts, you can be an observer. And the reason that’s so important is
when you slow down. And that’s what yoga does, especially the more therapeutic, the more restorative type practices like yin and relax and restore. The classes I teach, chair yoga, we really slow down. And when you slow down, you have the opportunity to be quiet.
And it’s when you’re quiet that the mind starts to talk.
It’s when the demons begin to show their face.
the brave souls that face those demons, who acknowledge those demons,
both on the yoga mat and with the support of those around them, including medical professionals,
have a beautiful opportunity and blessing to
work through and ultimately
become and befriend these demons. Because for some people, they don’t ever go away.
So the offering to you today is to ask yourself, are you ready to confront those demons?
To be brave, to brave enough, and I hate using that phrase, brave enough, but to be brave,
to sit
in the silence
to reacquaint yourself with who you are truly deep and down underneath all the layers, all the demons.
And to know that in love and support,
you can
grow,
become one with your entire experience.
And that these experiences don’t have to define you.
They simply are a guidepost for you to use to create the life and experience you want.