Perhaps the most meaningful yoga classes I have ever taught were for girls in middle school. It felt like a healing ministry to share yoga’s message of “you’re OK exactly as you are right now.” I felt as though I were slipping them a protective shield to deflect the debilitating messages of “No, you’re not.” that they were just starting to notice coming from the world around them.
This is a shield every one of us could use. If we all practiced self-acceptance, every single on of our relationships would improve. The better terms we are on with ourselves, the better terms we will be on with others.
If you are navigating a change in life, this one's for you! A trip to visit a beloved old home made clear to me the wealth of options for happiness that we each have in life. There is more than one path to fulfillment for each of us. I do not believe it is possible to miss out on the life that we’re meant to live. The spirit of life is just too creative and loving for that to happen.
As you move through your day, be on the lookout for moments of coming home – for example, when you come downstairs in the morning, when you come in from an errand, or when you sit down to dinner after a long day of work (even if you, like so many of us, have been working from home). Pause in these moments to savor or even create a deep sense of being welcomed. Really experience your comfort. Take a deep breath and feel a warm, welcoming hug from yourself. These quiet moments of coming home – to a place, but more importantly, to yourself – can fill you with love, happiness, peace, and the confidence to head back out into the big, wide world to live the life you’ve been given to live. Welcome home.
I saw something pretty special this week: a small, but exquisite murmuration of a flock of birds. This sight affirmed for me that the “work” you and I do – the way we love the people around us, the way we stick to our principles, the way we try to live our values, the way we can choose to make our faith a way of life rather than a way of thinking – all matters tremendously to the world around us. I can imagine, one day, getting such a perspective that we could see the great "murmuration" of which you and I are parts - the graceful artistry of the dance of Life. Each person doing their own small part to add to the magical harmony of the whole.
When life takes a twist or a turn, try to resist the impulse to grit your teeth, squinch your eyes, and white-knuckle life back onto its “proper” (a.k.a. planned by you) path. Instead, practice the willingness to change our plans at a moment’s notice. "We will not be upset if our plans are upset" if we are determined to stay open to what is.
From death springs an abundance of life. Death in a rainforest gives life more expansive and meaningful than one glorious life lived - a grand gesture of love. Life is patiently growing and changing and becoming – in the rainforest, in our backyards, and in us, too. Death is right here, too. Big, huge losses, yes. But more often the series of smaller “deaths” that are necessary to our growth in life. Jobs coming to an end. Relationships breaking down. Passions waning for hobbies and interests. Without death, there is no space for new life. The rainforest teaches that without death, we lack the “humus” we need to support our growth – the wisdom of experience, the flexibility to change course, the forgiveness for mistakes made, the humility to say “whoops!” and try again.
"How does an apple ripen? It sits in the sun." Patience and persistence can be far more effective agents of change than the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears. Keep showing up. Trust the process. But recognize that you don't need to be in control. Leave some space for unimaginable possibilities, surprising twists and turns, and miracles too great to even hope for. Life won't let you down.
One of the hardest aspects to grapple with within yoga philosophy and spirituality in general is the idea of the Authentic Self and the false self. It was a relationship with a student that finally demystified my intellectual understanding and brought it to life.
Did you know that “Be not afraid.” is in the Bible 365 times? There are enough “Be not afraids” that we could read a different one every day of the year. That is how important this message is to anyone seeking a full, spiritually deepened life experience. Interestingly, while yoga philosophy doesn’t phrase it quite the same way, “Be not afraid” is a central message to yoga seekers on and off the mat.
