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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Friends, I am super P.O.’d. The worse part is that I’m not just P.O.’d at the person who upset me. I’m even more P.O.’d with myself for still being so P.O.’d. I would desperately like to stop this “extra,” self-inflicted pain and suffering. What am I to do?
Everything in this world is made for our growth and evolution. Spring is the perfect season to witness Life all around us and to feel it bursting within us. All you have to do is step outside!
The summer after my brother died, something deep within me learned the power of adjusting the aperture of my awareness. Keeping my metaphorical lens as small as possible helped me realize that – moment to moment – I was OK. This same strategy is helping me to feel more settled and calm in the wake of the national and global chaos of the last months.
I’ve always been in awe of people who can fix things and make things. Until this week IKEA shelves were the extent of my handy-ness. But now I know how to use an orbital sander and – it surprises me as I bet it will surprise you – I have brand new mindfulness practice to help keep me in the present moment.
Is it unfair that my husband feels in the prime of his life while I’m creaking around in an unfamiliar and ancient body? Heck yes. But upon reflection, I’ll take it. My body might at times feel like it’s 90, but inside I feel 35 – ready to learn, ready to share, ready to soak up the joys of life that are always sparkling within “the rest of it” – and that is really all that matters.
In the face of the hugeness and mystery of the Grand Canyon, I experienced the relief of surrendering to the unknown. Could I learn to receive my real-life moments “at the edge” with even a smidge of the wonder and awe that I felt on the edge of the Grand Canyon? I really hope so.
My first real trip was a sprint through Europe. I’ve learned over time that a more leisurely pace allows my travels to change me – which is all to say that the old adage might be right. It’s not the destination but the journey itself that matters.
At a dear friend’s funeral, listening to the remembrances made me realize how very many people she had impacted through her relatively quiet life. What if – on days when we’re feeling small and a little insignificant – we could remember this? That we matter? That the world is a better place because we’re in it? That would be a wonderful way to honor my friend’s life.
Sometimes, in the face of it all, it can seem kind of ridiculous to think that stepping on my yoga mat or sitting down to journal or pray is even worth it. But it is. It really is. Every time we nurture the good and hopeful in our own heart, we add to the good and hopeful in the world. And that is a very good and very meaningful and very important thing indeed.