Yoga For Life
I knew that committing to this blog would be a challenge. With many roles and responsibilities my days are packed full! This month has whizzed by in a blur. Many of you know that we had a big event here at Shine with Sianna Sherman. The studio was abuzz with energy and community. I’m so grateful for all those who came to practice, learn, and for those who helped pull off the big event!
As is natural, the highs are often followed by some lows. I’ve wanted to get back here to offer some insight and inspiration on practice but was struggling to come up with a pertinent topic. The topic has surfaced and truth be told it’s a bit of a hard one.
One after another this past weekend I heard of the passing over of some sweet souls. Loved ones left behind, grateful for time shared, and saddened by the parting of ways. Loss has also touched close to home for one of our community members. Rosanna Juncos, who was one of the first teachers at Shine, lost her beloved husband over the weekend. I’ve set up a little memorial and some ways to offer support to Rosanna at the studio. If you can’t make it in and want to share your love, send an email to info@shineyoga.com and we will let you know what you can do to help.
This was the kind of situation that I couldn’t really just brush over at class. I felt the need to share the lessons I’ve learned from yoga in the face of loss. What I know about death is that in the end, the greatest pain is the memory of the times that we were unloving or felt unloved, and that the greatest treasure, is the love we shared. Having said that it’s hard to be loving all the time. Sometimes it’s really hard, and I’ve realized too that sometimes it’s pretty much impossible. In those times surrender and forgiveness are the only way to go. But, yoga can help.
The way that yoga helps us to be more loving is that it gives us a place to rest our mind. Yoga gives us a place to reconnect with our most vulnerable and essential self and allows us to process the unrefined emotions we all carry around with us. As we attune to our breath, we can truly feel our ability to let go of those undigested emotions and memories and make space for new breath and new life to enter and renew our hearts By practicing mindfulness and presence, we learn that we can more proactive and less reactive. We may come into postures on the mat or positions in life that challenge us, aggravate us, and maybe even deplete us. But when we make an intention to be more centered and graceful even in the face of challenge, we start to create a habit of living on purpose. As we practice being less judgmental and critical of ourselves, we learn how to be more accepting of others as well. As we practice loving ourselves better and more fully, we also increase our capacity to love each other.
In love, Kate