I know I know last posts have had nothing to do with Yoga, Mindfulness and Spiritual growth … as I traveled to Southern California and then to Boston …and just being out of my comfort zone to figure out what is that ZONE. I have also completed my Mindfulness Foundation course upon returning so not wanting to be flooded with words – just the visuals… but now here I go:
“Like a wild animal, the soul is tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, and self-sufficient: it knows how to survive in hard places. I learned about these qualities during my bouts with depression. In that deadly darkness, the faculties I had always depended on collapsed. My intellect was useless; my emotions were dead; my will was impotent; my ego was shattered. But from time to time, deep in the thickets of my inner wilderness, I could sense the presence of something that knew how to stay alive even when the rest of me wanted to die. That something was my tough and tenacious soul.”
― Parker J. Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life
There’s been one too many young adults terminating their lives prematurely – before really living – it’s like they did not recognize all the extraordinary in the ordinary. I hope yoga gives them the tool to find what’s inside, beyond one’s moods, beyond any roadblocks. Beyond that monkey mind of swinging emotions or dull numbness or that unsettled body – in present moment, there’s clarity, alertness and joy. In this breath, there’s ENERGY. It’s fully wired and connected circuitry that emits that soft luminous light. We all have it. That light. Once we remember to plug it in.
Sub teaching Beginner Yoga and it’s all been about NOTE TO SELF for me; as much of a learning experience for me to realize many are unable to do the asanas/poses you took for granted: Let us shower ourselves with loving kindness for what our body can do; not berate it for what our body cannot do. With practice and encouragements and persistence, it’s amazing how we can progress one breath at a time.
