I like to think of yoga as a moving mindfulness meditation on the body and breath.
Approached as a meditation, yoga allows us to enter a state of presence to ourselves, of self-awareness, to our thoughts, feelings and emotions, and engage in an awareness of our physical presence in space and time, as well as an awareness of how these interact. As such it offers the perfect terrain for cultivating self-awareness in our daily life.
presence
This presence to our body, breath, thoughts, emotions and feelings in real-time is the yoking, the coming together, of all parts of the self, in awareness. And this is precisely what yoga means in Sanskrit: to yoke or to unite. So yoga benefits us in that it allows us to re-connect to the whole of our being so we can be, live and make decisions in our life from a place of connection and alignment to all the different, integrated parts of ourselves. Allowing for a much better balanced, whole, and ultimately satisfying way of being.
My teacher, Corrie Ananda (https://corrieananda.co.uk/) reminds us that yoga is a meeting with our self each morning. What we find there may not always be pleasant, but having empathy for what we find, and the capacity to, without judgement, hold space for whatever comes up for us each day, is the practice. And I would also say that it is the healing. Because for me, my morning practice, during which I face myself and whatever is playing out for me physically, mentally, emotionally, is also the opportunity to heal, process and integrate these, using therapeutic awareness. And this self-healing capacity is also something I teach.
love yourself
So the question is, can you love yourself enough each day to show up for yourself, connect and commit to being and staying present to yourself, your thoughts, feelings, emotions and limitations without fear or judgement but with self-compassion and space? And what do you find when you meet with yourself in your practice; how do you relate to and process it? What you find there will show you how you relate to yourself. And this relationship to yourself, will be the most important relationship you will ever engage in, cultivate and nurture. Engage in it wisely, this relationship to yourself will determine the quality of ALL your other relationships.
Start practising with me Anne-Fabienne @AFCoaching, and cultivate a healthy and healing relationship to yourself, it’s really never too late. You can reserve your spot by clicking on the button below. The time is now.