Just Listen

yoga.jpg
 

“Yoga is not about touching your toes. It is about what you learn on the way down”

Yoga has become a passion of mine for so many reasons. It teaches me to be mindful, listen to my body, be still and connect to the quietness of the breath! When I am in the flow of my postures there are no must haves or to do’s. I am merely experiencing yoga as it moves through me -a simple dance of the breath and mind intertwined. As I experience yoga, each class can be quite humbling; postures are always a work in progress, no perfecting poses, always just a practice.

The universe always gives me what I you need and this day was no different.

It was mid-way through an early morning yoga class and I couldn’t help but overhear, the woman next to me. As the teacher assisted her postures, I kept hearing the woman’s words, “I can’t, my body won’t bend, I have a bad back.” At the end of class, she stated out loud, “it’s tough to get old!”

“Holy smokes,” I thought. “It’s no wonder her body won’t move. Her words are taking form and she hasn’t said one positive thing about herself this entire class.”

Louise Hay popped into my head. She was a mentor and teacher for me back in the day! A pioneer who believed that your mental chatter has a profound impact on your physical body. Louise eloquently stated, “The thoughts we the think, the words we speak, and the beliefs we hold, shape who we are and who we become in the world.” BINGO… BINGO

Instead of speaking loving, positive words to her body, every thought and word, my classmate was saying, was about what her body couldn’t do and it was adamantly responding. I thought, “what if she treated her body with loving kindness and compassion? What if she talked to her body with respect and dignity for what it could do? What if she changed the focus to I can, versus I can’t? Perhaps her knees and back would behave differently.”

What this brought up for me was how I used to talk to my body in the same fashion. Comparing myself to others, I chastised my gorgeous self for what I couldn’t do instead of how proud I was of what she could do. I berated and belittled my gorgeous body temple and she behaved accordingly. Whether off or on the mat, my focus was on lack, limit and what my body wasn’t doing. It wasn’t until my body slammed me with illness, that I woke up and began using Louise’s works. And when I did, my life changed, my body healed and I returned to wellness!! It was one of the greatest gifts life has every given me.

Today, my yoga practice is so different than it used to be. It’s not about pushing through for me anymore. It’s about intuitively knowing what is best for me and honoring that! I have no expectations on any given day, of how my body should be. If I listen up it will tell me and if I am wise I will oblige!

My body is my barometer and if I listen to, and love it, no matter what, I am bound to have amazing results. I have deep gratitude and reverence for this vehicle of mine. She has carried me through life and I am so blessed to live inside of her! “For us to become whole and healthy, we must balance the body, mind, and spirit. We choose to take good care of our bodies. We choose to have a positive mental attitude about ourselves and about life. And we can choose to have a strong spiritual connection. When these three things are balanced, we rejoice in living. No doctor or health practitioner can give us this unless we choose to take part in our healing process.” Louise Hay

AFFIRMATIONS FOR YOUR BODY

1. I am healthy and whole

2. My body is perfect, whole and complete

3. I respect and love my body

4. My body temple is amazing

5. My body is healed, all is well