Yoga For Life is a collection of essays focused on one regular life as seen through the lens of yoga. In them, yoga's deepest gifts are discovered in the mundane activities of daily life - laundry, grocery shopping, raising children, going to work, friendships, gardening - you name it! These personal, insightful meditations bring yoga's ancient spirituality, wisdom, and mindfulness sharply into modern focus.
Yoga is a practice designed to help us find contentment, happiness and faith in every aspect of our lives. Yoga For Life is written to help you as the reader – no matter the level of your practice – embrace the positive thinking, mental resilience, and transformation that develops by taking yoga beyond the mat and into your life.
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When you keep secret all the ways that you are a mess inside, you’re not protecting your friends. You’re preventing them from really knowing you. Share your stories – the sad ones and the mad ones and the super funny ones. Knowing you (warts and all) is, in the end, all that your true friends want.
A friend recently talked about expecting miracles. As I listened, I realized that I’ve gotten out of the habit of even hoping for miracles. Instead, I spend a lot of energy problem-solving problems that don’t yet exist to make sure I’ll be OK if things get messy. As much as I’d like to be brave enough to expect miracles, I don’t think I’m ready (yet). But I do think I could take a deep breath and ask myself, “What if everything works out?”
Over the last 29 years I’ve had to learn and relearn that my children are my teachers — and that they’re teaching me the most important lessons and challenging lessons of my life.
This summer, I have spent hours watering, feeding, pruning, harvesting fruit and simply enjoying my garden. It’s not surprising at all to realize that I’m tending to more than my plants out there. I am also taking gentle care of myself.
In Scotland, where the weather can be moody, you learn how relaxing it is to go with the flow. You learn the beauty of savoring what you get to do and not worrying at all about what you don’t. I am trying to bring a “wee bit” of this is a mindset home with me.
Did you know that delight is contagious? The delight we feel when we see someone being delighted can be even more delightful than our own delight. “Second hand” delight is free and easy. So pay attention – if you’re lucky, you’ll “catch” someone else’s happy moment.
It can be hard to know what to do for someone who is hurting. Mostly, the right answer is to look for ways to love them. What does compassion like this look like? There are as many answers to this question as there are friendships. Trust that you’ll know what to say or do because you love them.
Can you remember your first real friend? I recently found a picture of mine and the memories that had been tucked away with that lost photo filled with me joy. Friendship is one of the greatest gifts of life. If our friendships bring us so much joy, just imagine how good it could be to become our own friend! Plus when we figure out how to befriend ourselves, we’re able to be an even better friend to our friends. It’s a win-win!
We have a lot of experience living with adult kids. Though none of us would have chosen to be roommates, none of us would trade this time together either. I’ve learned through my practice that equanimity can not only get you through a lot of discomfort, but it can reveal glimmers of goodness as you do. Though living well with our kids again has taken some effort, we have shared treasured moments that we would never have had otherwise.