Yoga — Better Late Than Never
I started my practice midway through life and thanks to both the physical and particularly the spiritual philosophy I now embody the life my soul meant us to live
The Journey Inward
For me, yoga started as a simple physical practice on the mat, and for some, that is all it will ever be, which is more than okay. When I found yoga, I was living life on auto-pilot, trying to keep everyone happy, and doing what I was supposed to do from my family’s and community’s point of view.
Then I woke up.
The truth is, I had yet to show up and take responsibility for life. Ashtanga Yoga, and the philosophy associated with it, enhanced my life and allowed me to step into the person I am today. In his Yoga Sutras of Sri Patanjali, Sri Swami Satchidananda laid out the 8 limbs of Ashtanga Yoga and how these provide foundational support for living a healthy and spiritual life. My yoga practice provides more than just physical exercise — my adherence to Ashtanga Yoga’s spiritual principles provides a pathway to deepen my awareness (aka mindfulness), which I carry with me and integrate it into every aspect of my life, thus raising my consciousness and ultimately transforming me into the best version of myself.
An excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita:
“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”
Acceptance
Yoga can literally allow people to accomplish things they never thought were possible as you witnessed in the video of Arthur. Yoga teaches us not only not to compare ourselves to others, but to accept ourselves where we are so that from that place of acceptance we can then grow, transform, and become the person we truly want to be.
I believe “God” created us to experience happiness, joyfulness, and the divine love that provides the essential energy for our existence. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that we live in a world that is glorified by being overly busy, possessing too much STUFF, and pulling us in way too many directions that at the end of the day, leaves us with no time or energy left for self-reflection and discovery.
Yoga solved this dilemma for me not only by giving me a set of guidelines by which to live to which I could relate, but also by creating focus, purpose, calm, and good energy in my life. I finally showed up in my mid-thirties and started to live my authentic life in alignment with my life’s purpose as opposed to living to please others.
My kids even said, “Wow mom you should do yoga every day! You never yell anymore.” Yep, when your children notice how mood-altering it is, that has a profound and lasting effect.
The 8 Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are as follows:
1. Yama’s: ethical standards how we conduct ourselves in life. There are five Yama’s.
- Ahimsa: nonviolence physically, verbally, or mentally. Loving and respecting all of creation.
- Satya: truthfulness, to think, speak and act with integrity
- Asteya: non-stealing, non-hoarding through both action, words, and thoughts
- Brahmacharya: moderation, proper use of sexual energy
- Aparigraha: non-attachment, non-possessiveness, non-greediness
2. Niyamas: self-discipline or spiritual observances. There are five Niyamas.
- Saucha: cleanliness, purity of body, mind, and speech
- Santosha: contentment, acceptance, turning inward
- Tapas: fiery heat, passion, quest for truth
- Svaydhyaya: self-study, contemplate
- Isvara Pranidhana: surrender to the divine, give up attachment to outcomes
3. Asana: The physical practice of the postures (yoga poses) on the mat.
4. Pranayama: The practice of breath control. There are many types, but this is the understanding that your breath is your life force. We activate the parasympathetic nervous system by engaging in slow deep inhales and slow deep exhales and by doing so lower blood pressure.
5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal from sensory experience, or the ability to step out of the body and mind and simply observe free from judgment.
6. Dharana: Concentration on a single object.
7. Dhyana: Meditation, quieting the mind, letting go.
8. Samadhi: Ultimate connection with the universe and God.
Let me tell you, using these techniques has improved my life vastly in every area. I went on to take yoga teacher training and after that to train other instructors because I was so enthusiastic about this practice and its tradition. My personal experience is that the longer I practice and the more disciplined I am, the more I begin to truly embrace each of these qualities. I have become far less reactive to conflict, I am much more confident in my decisions and need no external validation. I do not live in fear and I do not want as much of the clutter in my life that I once tolerated in my younger years. Even after several years, it is a process, and I will continue to evolve. I can always grow and continue to improve. That is what “the practice” is all about…. It is a journey!
I also just want to say is never too late to begin. There are many styles of yoga. Ashtanga is fairly athletic, but there are very slow-moving styles such as Yin Yoga, and Hatha Yoga, and there is even chair yoga. My parents really appreciate chair yoga and it has improved their balance quite a bit. So I would encourage you to at least research a style that appeals to you and give it a try. Yoga is certainly not about standing on your head or touching your toes. It is about tuning out the external chaos and going within.
If you are not flexible, physically and/or mentally, that is all the more reason to start practicing.
“The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.” ~Sakyong Mipham
Spiritual Growth
I now fully trust the process, let go of all the worry and drama, and live each day of my life with divine love the way I was intended to live. Choosing the path of spiritual ascension is not something I just woke up and decided to do, rather it was a gradual process of mindfulness and shedding self-limiting beliefs and negative patterns that were holding me back from accomplishing all that I desired. I am drawn to love, I am now attracting abundance, and not allowing that inner critic to stop me from accomplishing my deepest desires. I see life as a gift rather than a burden.
This does not mean I see life through rose-colored glasses or that it is perfect all the time, in fact far from it. Being spiritual does not mean I am happy all the time. It simply means I am better equipped to handle the stressors in my life and return to a baseline of contentment. I practice non-attachment to outcome, which is the fifth Yama, Aparigraha, which helps me to understand that things may not always go the way I had hoped, but sometimes it turns out even better. I just have faith that even when I do not understand, it is all there for a reason, and there is a lesson to take from it. I love my newfound awareness and acceptance of life as it unfolds and whispers beautiful songs to my soul. I truly have all that I need within myself and that is a very comforting thought and feeling.
The light in me honors and sees the divine light in you. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you are living the life you love and if not, I hope you find the courage and strength to reinvent your life as many times as it takes until it feels right to you.
