doing yoga

I believe yoga is a commitment to our inner happiness.  

Our inner happiness is not necessarily cultivated in today’s society, given media bombardment of  messages of what happiness should look. But happiness is something which is not  dependent on what is portrayed: possessions, status or power. 

Consciousness

Similarly, yoga helps us to reach consciousness in gaining insights into our eulogy-self .

I believe yoga is about enlightening  ourselves about the constant internal battles we possess and provides us with the freedom and  self-awareness to explore our subconscious beliefs through a reflexive practice.  

In Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton,  Ottawa, Montreal, Hamilton, Toronto, Halifax, St Johns,  London, Greece,  Bali, Thailand, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, New Zealand, Hawaii, during periods of inner turmoil, yoga brings me back to the present and reminds me to be mindful.  

This is hard given my default has been to constantly think about my future. It has been more  difficult having settled into a new city. Especially with few social networks and experiencing an existential  crisis surrounding what it is that I want to be doing in life.

Truly

With yoga, I am reminded of temporality – that all things will eventually come to an end in time, and that by  only aligning my life with my values can I be truly happy.  

Yoga provides me with a movement journal where I am constantly re-aligning my life towards the  values of being connected to others through compassion and demonstrating the courage to do  what it is that I feel is a happy life.  

I originally practiced yoga for more superficial reasons: flexibility, the yoga  ‘bod’ and because of its trendiness.

Now I practice yoga because it helps me to address the  suffering of my PTSD, and to regain my sense of self. Yoga helps me to get out of my teleological  reasoning that my trauma needs to affect me going forward. Through yoga, I can reimagine myself  without fear or anxiety.  

Learning

I am learning to practice integrity and humility so that I can develop my personal leadership skills. And address my fears of intimate relationships.

Yoga helps me to think about opening up myself  through the different poses. And therefore more comfortable being vulnerable to try new things and to become a new person.  

Through yoga, I am learning how to connect to others by better connecting and checking in with  myself.  

In Sum

It is the asana’s which allow us over time with consistent practice to go further into our bodies. 

Another aspect of yoga’s humbling gift is to allow us to be  grateful for the health of our bodies. And the ability to allow ourselves time on the mat. This entails  that our basic needs are met, and therefore I am always grateful when practicing. 

Yoga is an answer to my anxiety over the still-ness as a result of COVID-19 and in being  comfortable and grateful for my every day in just having a healthy body which allows me to move.

Tagged on: