Come back to who you are

Yoga is often thought of as a way to change us. And it does. Our bodies feel better when we practice; we feel more fluid, more free in our bodies. It also helps us calm our minds, recognize unhealthy thought patterns, and replace them with calming mantras. We learn to use our breath to calm ourselves when stressful situations arise. While all these are amazing tools, and we strive to evolve to the highest level of our spiritual self we can imagine, what are we trying to become? And if we find ourselves reacting poorly to circumstances life brings us, are we falling at yoga?

Judith Hanson Lasater, in her book Living Your Yoga, refers to the image of a sculptor. In order to create the masterpiece, the sculptor doesn’t add anything at all to the piece, other than hard work. The artist simply removes that which conceals the beauty of the art within. As yogis, our work is to chisel away at everything that conceals our true self.

Our experiences cause us to see the world through a lens of those experiences. The mind’s job is to keep us safe, so the mind creates fear when we see a similar circumstance. Sometimes that is a good fear; for instance, we learn not to touch the stove after one experience. While these fears may serve to protect us from harm, they can also shield us from joy and connection.

All of our experiences make us who we are. We are more resilient due to those tough experiences that we have endured. Yet that layer of protection sometimes creates a shield to our hearts, and we cover over who we really are. Yoga is about uncovering who we really are. That’s all. It is a process of coming home, coming back to our true selves that was covered, protected, and concealed by our experiences of life.

All of our poses, our breathwork, our meditation is not the goal of yoga. Yoga is about bringing awareness to life. “It is our dedication to living with open hearts that will transform us. When we are open to the present moment, we are not on a spiritual path, we are the spiritual path.” We stop looking for guidance from gurus and start the hard work of uncovering the layers of life so that we can come home to the divinity already within us.

Yoga is referred to as a practice because we will always encounter moments when life overwhelms us. We sometimes react poorly instead of responding with grace and calm. The first step is cultivating compassion for ourselves. By bringing awareness to our behaviors, we begin to understand why we do what we do. We can forgive ourselves and others when we don’t behave the way a yogi is expected to. Yoga teaches us to observe our patterns without judgment, which helps us slowly release them and become more present. We can stop burdening ourselves with “shoulds,” reflect on why we reacted poorly, and welcome forgiveness, kindness, and compassion.

With Love, 

Crystal Bailey