Its funny how this happens. I am such a mental person so for a message to simply be inside of me rather than a creation of my mind is amusing when I look at it. Even more amusing, when I am not in the midst of it, is my desire to fight a message that does not come from my mind. So what is this message that has simply manifest itself inside of me? My body needs yoga.
This isn’t a new message by any means. In times of need yoga seems to be what is craved, even more than dance. If you know me, then you know how profound a statement that is. Many years ago, at a low point in my life, in walked this amazing yoga instructor looking for a window to display her teacher certification poster. She ends up showing me pose modifications in the middle of a store wearing jeans and a winter coat. This was the woman I wanted to learn yoga from! No need for the ‘right clothes’ or studio setting. At that time I had no physical activity in my life whatsoever and many people told me I would never be able to do the yoga practice. I showed up and continued to go weekly for many months. This woman not only encouraged my practice but amazingly never treated me any differently than her other students. I was at least twice the size of anyone else in her classes. And never once did I feel like I shouldn’t be there. This experience led me to make some radical moves in my life, one of which was to temporarily move cross country. Upon returning from that trip I never returned to regular classes at her studio but kept in contact with her over these years.
So my body seems to need yoga again. It probably never stopped needing it, but I was just too busy with other things to hear it as loudly as I am today. I brought my mat back with me from New York. I have cards with postures on them. Multiple books with postures in them. The information and the supplies are all waiting in my room for my body to push my mind aside and get on that mat. My body knows how good it feels. And my spirit knows how reconnecting to my body transforms me.
Joyful, soulful, body movement is the one of the quickest ways to begin reconnection with your True Self. Sometimes for me, my mind talks me into avoiding that movement because it knows how quickly I will move from mundane worries back into the real me. So to move myself into action I ask you…can you hear your body? How does it want to move you to reconnect? I encourage you to step into the unknown and not only listen to that sudden inspiration you find inside that suggests you do something wild and fun…especially if others tell you that you should not…but physically move into it. You might be surprise at how wonderful it feels. As for me…I’m heading home to my mat.
*The amazing yoga instructor I mentioned is Amy Pearce-Hayden. You can find her on Facebook and her websites TheYogascape.com and YouYoga.me
Dawn Welburn 