It's All About Love
Yoga is a practice of self-love, which integrate mind, body and spirit. - B.K.S Iyengar
What we are all looking for is deeper connection; connection to ourselves, others or Source/Goddess/The Divine. And, we all struggle to stay connected, because of discomfort, fear, pain and numerous other reasons. Do you remember the last time you struggled to be vulnerability and stay connected even when you knew you wanted to? I do and it happens to all of us sometimes. Yoga welcomes you to focus on staying connected to your body, your heart and your mind and stay curious about what you find. Yoga is a path to connecting to that which is deep within. It is fine to do yoga with other goals in mind. Having a healthy body or less stress are good to. But, what is your highest goal? What is most important to you? Why are you really here?
We all have parts of ourselves that feel challenging to love. Yoga offers the chance to love your whole self. We must be able to love ourselves before we can truly love another. Right now, consider an aspect of yourself you would like to send love to; your belly; the critical voice in your head, your anger - anything at all. Take a breath...
“ All things in the universe are of divine origin and deserve to be loved; it has, however, to be born in mind that the love of the whole includes the love of the parts.” -Vivekananda
Our subtle anatomy has a location where the vibrations of love, compassion and self-acceptance resonate. Anahata is the name of the heart chakra, located in the center of the chest. Many of us can feel this chakra when we are in a place of feeling lots of love or of feeling a loss of love. At both of these times there can be a strong sensation in the chest; feeling open and expanded or closed and contracted.
This contraction comes from the inflated ego. The ego is that part of us that helps to define who we are and creates a sense of self. It separates us from the rest of the world. In many ways these boundaries are healthy, but when we affiliate too much with our ego, and the boundaries between us and others that it creates, it can be unhealthy. We lack connection to our environment and our relationships. In the Yoga Sutras, Sutra 2.6 says, “ Egoism is a reflection of the self. It is not the true self. It falsely represents the true self.”
Yoga can be used to both create and dissolve the boundaries. Sometimes we need a “No”. Sometimes we need a “Yes”. Consider your boundaries. Which ones are serving you and which ones are not? Where do you need more space from others in order to care for yourself? Where are you not allowing more deepening of connection to occur in your life?
Our true self is pure bliss, ananda. The rest is illusion, maya.