Let's start this off by saying I believe in angels.
I know I am going totally off the point when I am supposed to be writing a post about yoga but I wanted to let you know how this post came about today.
The phrase "It's the journey, not the destination" is something I say in virtually every yoga class I teach and so I knew I wanted to write a post on this topic but was not sure where to start.
When I sit down to write I just let the inspiration flow and it is the same with the topic, I effectively let the angels pick it for me, going with my inner direction but today was different. I had much more obvious guidance.
This is where we come back to angels and the fact that for some reason the first thing I did this morning was watch an angel card reading from Kyle Gray on Facebook. Normally I would meditate when I get up but I had an urge to watch this video even before I got out of bed.
Just as an aside Kyle Gray is one of the most inspirational light workers around and offers amazing guidance. If you want to learn more about how to connect with the angels around you then go check him out.
Ok so back to the video of the reading which I feel an instant connection to. Then somewhere near the end Kyle reminds us that it is the journey not the destination and then I knew, I have to write this post and possibly take the idea a lot further. But anyway here is the post and why it is so important to your yoga practice and beyond.
As a yoga teacher one of the courses I have done is a how to teach yoga to athletes and although I learned a lot about the body I was left feeling cold as it seemed to strip all of the spiritual elements of yoga out of what I was teaching. But like so many this was actually a vital step in my spiritual journey.
When you work with athletes you realise how difficult many of them find the physical element of yoga, both flexibility and strength. The thing with teaching athletes is they are a bit more vocal than other class attendees and so you actually know how they are finding things and what they think.
Because athletes are all about achievement they are constantly thinking about what they are trying to achieve in the class and comparing themselves to each other and to you as a teacher so it becomes vital to get them thinking about the journey.
The most interesting thing for me was that it actually shone a light on how I was more focused on the destination.
I was always looking at my teachers, other students, famous yogis and wishing I was there or could do what they could. So to have a large number of students wishing they could do what I could made me so much more aware.
It was like something clicked into place and I started to love the difficult poses, not because I was trying to get anywhere, just because they made me more aware and connected.
Your yoga practice is just a stepping stone to awareness
So next time you are on the mat, forget what the person next to you is doing, forget what the teacher is doing and focus on you.
Actually go inside your body, feel how the pose feels for you at that moment, you might be able to go further at another time or you might not, that is not the important thing.
The only thing that matters is accepting where you are, accepting what is and just being with it.
Every single person in the world is unique and we are all at different places and this will be reflected in our practice.
If I wanted to put a marker down I have to be honest and say my body has totally changed since practicing yoga but I still have tight areas and sticking points and places where I just seem to stay the same.
As a person I have a choice to either resist where my body is and so create more tension or to accept it and just be happy with what is. I know which one I prefer.
So the next time you find yourself wishing you were somewhere else remember you are where you are where you are supposed to be.
I would love to know how your yoga practice changes if you accept what is more, just add your comments below as I read them all.
Image courtesy of bplanet at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
