Sharing my 'AH HA' moment and helping you create your own
Whilst away teaching the retreat in Puglia, I had a wonderful Eureka realisation. I was in the midst of leading a class, when all of a sudden a smile seemed to encase my whole being and I realised... I LOVE doing my job. Maybe teaching yoga is what I was always destined to do — my dharma.
What makes it special is the wonderful community of people we create by practising together; the progress I see you making on the mat; the feedback you give me about how you can move better, breathe easier, handle life more calmly because of your practice.
The six skills I have been teaching during retreat are:
- Grounding (16 stars meets the violet flower)
- Evenness of tone (equanimity)
- Breathing in a way that creates shape change (Y shape your breath)
- Functional movement patterns for a stronger body
- Transferring weight
- Centring — drawing to an imaginary centre line (wearing skinny jeans)
We begin where we are — after all, there is nowhere else to start. We come to the mat and maybe we take a tentative step forward. With a good teacher we learn some skills which make the incredibly difficult yoga poses just a little easier.
After a while we may delve deeper. Maybe we develop a self practice. Maybe we go on retreat. Whichever route we take, going deeper is when the magic happens. As we peel away the facade we show to the world, we begin to practice authenticity and gratitude. We stop performing or judging ourselves and allow ourselves space to BE.
Then maybe, in our quiet, we realise we are our own best friend and from that place of being centred, we can move forward more confident and complete. We are our own rock. Yoga shifts seemingly stuck negative patterns, to awaken the mind, body and spirit to new possibilities. It is a coming home to oneself.