The Journey

I hear it all the time in class:  “I’m just not flexible”.  I always say the same thing, “yoga is how you get flexible”.

But really, it’s not about being flexible at all, it’s about the journey.   You don’t have to be flexible, or strong or young or old.  You can be Catholic, Jewish, Protestant or Hindi – none of that matters.   All that matters is your journey; where you are on the path at that very moment.   It’s not who you vote for, it’s that you are putting thought, research and energy into it, and actually voting.  In other words, it’s about what you are learning along the way.  You can learn so much about yourself.  We think we know, we think we have it figured.  But what are we really looking at?  We are looking at the world through the eyes of who we have become.  All our trials and tribulations have made us who we are.  Could we have been someone else?  Maybe if that had not happened I would have been a pilot or an Olympian.  Then, instead of enjoying the journey – we are blaming the journey and looking to the future or living in the past, or being swept away by the river of life without a choice.  None of those things are teaching us about who we really are, who we are deep down inside, apart from all the things that have happened in our lives.

What does all that have to do with yoga?  The answer is EVERYTHING.

We start with the physical body and move deeper.  By being present and open to the experience of lengthening your hamstrings you can learn about the way you make decisions, about the way your ego behaves, about the competitiveness in you, or the defeatist in you.  Just that one stretch, done very mindfully, in a supportive environment, can lead you down the path to overcoming the obstacles blocking your way.  Take what you learn there and apply it in meditation you will learn mega things about yourself.  What you like and don’t like, what you want to change and what you want to develop.   The yogi’s have a science, a science that compliments your life and enhances your experience.  It all starts in yoga class and you don’t need to be flexible.

Have a great week, full of learning, and don’t forget to VOTE!

Namasté, René