Exercise has always been a point of contention in my life. I was the girl who would conviently forget her PE clothes and have to sit out for that period. As I watched my peers excel at physical education I would get frustrated and I resigned myself to the fact that I just wasn't athletic. As I have gotten older I now realize that the reason I loathed exercise was because I had never found something that I truly loved. That made me feel alive. I discovered that running did that for me. I am a firm believer that every thing we do in our life holds invaluable lessons for us to learn. Running taught me the power of being present, and to put one foot in front of the other. It taught me to be in tune to my body and to allow the rhythm of my heartbeat to guide me. Those lessons allowed me to approach daily life in a whole new way. Specifically the rough days. Instead of frantically moving from one minute to the next I found myself trusting that if I put one foot in front of the other I would naturally and gently find my stride. And I did every time. Some days I would literally count my steps as I walked. It became a mantra of sorts. I was ever mindful of my thoughts and how my body reacted to those thoughts. Running opened my heart to the idea that exercise could be fun and if running was so invigorating there had to be other ways to move my body that would make my heart sing.
I recently have taken up yoga. Yoga. I must be honest and tell you that when I heard that word I didn't think the practice could teach me anything. I mean what I would I learn from downward facing dog anyways. It sounded like a kinky sexual position. Which, if you know me you know I am all about that sort of thing. I just didn't see the spiritual relevance or if yoga had the ability to even teach me anything about life. I mean what is a Shavasana and why is it also called "Corpse Pose"? No, yoga certainly couldn't teach me anything about life. The first yoga video I did was one I found on YouTube. The teacher was Travis Eliot and he was leading everyone through what I learned was Yin Yoga. I was hooked. I was amazed at how open I felt after. Open to receiving all the love and abundance life has to offer me. I started researching about the practice and in my studying I found that Travis offered an Ultimate Yogi DVD set. I purchased it and thus began my practice. My spiritual practice. I knew after one YouTube video that this practice would change my life. I have been practicing yoga for a couple months now and the lessons I been gifted with are beautiful. I have learned to breathe through each pose with grace and focus. I have learned that if I keep breathing through the discomfort it will completely move through me and vanish. I think as humans we often times forget to breathe. When stress arises we tend to hold our breath and in holding our breath we hold onto the very stress that is causing us so much discomfort. Yoga has taught me that breathing through discomfort is like a reset button. I have the ability to start over every time.
I have a burning desire to learn and to apply my lessons to my life. Yoga once again did that for me just today. I moved through an intense cardio vinyasa flow and as each class does we ended in Shavasana. Corpse pose. Travis Eliot is so eloquent with his words. I have done this particular video a handful of times and today I really absorbed something he said. He said, "let the floor ground you." I had a thought. I grew up with the idea that when we fail or are broken open through tragedy we fall. We fall hard and it hurts. Just as if you literally tripped and the ground broke your fall. It hurts. But what if instead of the ground breaking your fall it caught you? What if it held you? What if life caught you? What if we trusted that life would be there to hold us up when we couldn't possibly imagine standing on our own two feet? What if life held us and kept us safe? I have learned that life does just that. Life is happening for us not to us. The Universe delights in our happiness and it weeps when our heart aches. If I can impart any wisdom it is this fact. We are so loved and so Divinely held and protected. I have learned most of my lessons while in Corpse Pose. It's as if each time I get on my mat apart of me dies and a new part of my soul is being born. Old patterns and limiting beliefs fade away and new wisdom and grace take their place. Physically I may not be an all star athlete, but my soul? Oh my darlings, my soul? My soul is a badass and is being conditioned and stretched beyond imagination. It is strong and vitalty courses through my veins. Words cannot express how strong I feel. In body, mind and soul. And to this I owe all my gratitude to the Shavasana pose. Who would have thought the "Corpse Pose" could teach me what it means to live. Really live! Namaste my loves.
xo,
M
