Namaste Beautiful Hearts,
I am enjoying the break in the humidity and the refreshing nip of autumn. It offers another reminder to yield to the patterns of transition that create rhythms in my life. Looking closely at these rhythms I see the teachings of yoga everywhere. Nature’s cycle of birth, growth, death and decay holds, for me, the greatest truth.
To truly embrace and accept this cycle as it unfolds within myself, my relationships, my work, even my beliefs, creates a level of awareness that allows me to ride the waves of what is. I don’t mean to imply that this is easy or that I am always successful. For me it is THE PRACTICE. It’s the practice of yoga off the mat. With concerted effort, day-by-day and momen-by-moment, I work to unhook from my conditioned, habitual ways of being. With ahimsa (non-violence), karuna (compassion) and satya (truthfulness) I remove my masks and veils of illusion to reveal the many ways I delude myself and dance in my own puddles.
2018 has been a year of unexpected challenges that have demanded my attention. My practice has been tested and my faith affirmed. I know deep in my soul that this work is the essential work. I admit that this ongoing unveiling of my conditioned personality can be quite painful and difficult to behold but I remember the teachings and acknowledge with compassion that these aspects of my character once served as a skin that helped me negotiate my sense of the world. As I bring discarded pieces of myself into consciousness with love, healing begins and yoga (wholeness) unfolds.
As I molt this skin that that has become too tight I feel space for the seeds within my heart to blossom. So again I yield to the cycle of nature arising within me. New birth and growth, death and decay.
May you find many blessings in the teachings of yoga and may they always be a guiding light. Thank you for the gift of knowing you.
Love and Namaste, ellen