Your life, or the reflection of it?
So, we live in an image-conscious world. From fashion magazines to billboards and ads on the street, in stores and everywhere else, it has become impossible to avoid the constant reminder of what we are expected to look like and what is considered "beautiful" by today's standards.
Do you find this annoying? Pervasive even? Personally, I do. One reason is that behind this never-ending visual assault hides a simple purpose: to make us buy stuff. Stuff we don't necessarily need, but we buy it anyway, because - ever so briefly - it'll make us feel good.
Another reason is the pressure to be perfect. Perfection is a self-defeating goal that takes us away from what is truly essential: who we really are.
Look at yourself in the mirror: who do you see? Mirrors can be deceptive: while we're caught up in the reflection, we don't see the person, just the image that's projected. It's the same with life. Are you really living your life as you want it? Or are you so caught up in trying to live up to standards that perhaps are not completely yours, that somewhere along the line you have lost sight of what's truly important: you?
In your yoga practice, there's no room for that. No competition, no standards, no being judged and looked down at.
In your yoga practice, there's no need for mirrors. You are encouraged to be yourself. Actually, there's no other option: you can only be yourself. With your abilities and your limitations. No one there will push you to be something you're not or make you do something you don't want to. For the length of time you are on the mat, you get to be as genuine, as authentic, as free, as much yourself as possible. In your yoga practice, you are always perfect, because you are always you.
So stop looking at yourself in the mirror! Live your life, not the reflection of your life. And if you're not sure where to start, may we suggest: your yoga mat?
Namasté,
René Quenell
Owner, Yoga Madre
